PATNA: At a time when the second wave of the coronavirus has gripped the nation, two high school students from Patna have come together to develop a unique device to measure temperature and practice social distancing.
Arpit Kumar, a Class 12 student and his brother Abhijeet Kumar of Class 10 from Bihar Bal Bhawan Kilkari worked on the 'Contactless Temperature and Distance Measuring' (CTDM) for four months during the lockdown last year.
Impressed over their technical talents, the Kilkari has provided them with a scientific platform and other logistic support. “Both Arpit Kumar and Abheejit Kumar, who come from middle-class families of Patna, have set an example of technical excellence shown in developing this unique device. They have worked hard on the device that is now registered by the patent office of the central government," said Jyoti Parihar, director of the Kilkari.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Arpit said that the device is the size of a badge that can be pinned on to their clothes. "As soon as someone with a high temperature above the normal level comes to the close proximity of this device, the person wearing it will get an alert," he explains.
The device called CTDM also helps the user in maintaining physical distancing in the crowd at the time when the risk of infection of Covid-19 is rising at an alarming pace. It is an advance modified miniature version working on the formula of Infrared Sensitivity (IS).
“This custom compact device (shapes of illustrates a ‘Badge) measures the surface temperature of a body and receives data processed through a microcontroller at mega 328P,” the two students claimed, further adding that they worked on the device from May to August last year.
The Kilkari helped register the device with the official agency and the duo received the certification from the patent office in Mohali on March 5 this year.
Parihar further said that the process to kickstart the commercial production of the device. "We are in touch with several companies that manufacture devices and have started the consultation with some Bihar-based industrialists who can take it to the production level for the larger benefit of those battling this deadly virus," she said, further adding that the Kilkari offers support and opportunities to those children who are deprived of the same at their homes and schools.
Arpit and Abhijeet's father is a nursing staff in the private sector.
“Young researchers like them get the right opportunities at the Bihar Kilkari Bal Bhawan which falls under the education department of the state government. The two brothers have also published their research papers at such an impressively young age”, she said.
The siblings have also won several awards including the RICOH Sustainable Awards-2020, CSIR-CIASC-2020.
Manju Kumari, the institutional mentor and science trainer at Kilkari and the central electronics and the Engineering Research Institute Pilani in Rajasthan have been providing them the guidance from time to time to develop the device.