BHUBANESWAR: Necessity is the mother of invention. The adage is apt for an 11-year-old girl, who has developed a model that can help unsuspecting people, including those with disabilities to know about a Covid containment zone, and prevent trespassing of outsiders by minimising the requirement of barricading the containment zones.
With the resurgence of Covid-19 cases across the country as the focus is turned on micro and mini containment zones to effectively prevent the spread of the virus without affecting economic activities, Pratibha Pallai from Khandagiri in the State Capital has come up with an application-based device that may come handy for officials or communities struggling to keep an eye on the movement of people.
The coronavirus human detector device runs on aurdino codes. First the user will have to install the application in a laptop and then connect it to the device.
After the device is linked to the app, the user can set the required radius of the zone he/she wants to keep under surveillance.
If anyone enters the zone, a buzzer will ring and a red bulb on the device will glow indicating that someone is trespassing.
Once the device is installed at the entry of any area or business establishment, mall, educational institution or market which are declared as containment zones, the passerby can get a hint about the status. Simultaneously, the users can also know about the trespassing once people come close to the zone.
A Std VI student of Vikash Global School, Pratibha says a prototype of the device has been developed and it can be produced commercially.
Since lockdown is not feasible at this juncture, she believes that localised containment with such devices will definitely help contain the spread of virus in the populous cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata.
“Many people make themselves vulnerable to infection unknowingly. Once the device is installed, people with disabilities will also find it easy to escape the containment zone. Visually challenged people can hear the buzzer and those with hearing disabilities can see the red light. It can also be used in border areas, antique and jewelry stores, private property, and countless others for safety
as well as privacy,” she claims.
Youngest daughter of Indian Army veteran Bhupesh Pallai and homemaker Basanti Pallai, Pratibha developed interest in online learning since she was a kid. "I enrolled her to BYJU'S a couple of years back seeing her interest in online learning. We are happy that she has proved her potential at such an early age," says Bhupesh.
Pratibha credits her teachers for playing an active role in realising her dream. The learning app made her more confident and encouraged her to contest Olympiads and competitions. She has so far bagged 15 Olympiad awards.
A young enthusiast in robotics, Pratibha believes that technology has great potential in the field of medicine and can be utilised well for the betterment of society. She aims to become a doctor cum entrepreneur and set up a hospital which will run by robots.
HOW THE APP WORKS