Thane kids create gadgets based on daily life observations

THANE: Four 13-year-olds from AK Joshi High School have taken inspiration from a few observations in their daily life and created two gadgets that use the basic principles of physics to help the society at large.
While class VIII students Varad Lele and Chaitanya Paranjpe have created a tech savvy infrared sensor equipped wheelchair that will enable the physically challenged to move independently by only moving their tongue, their classmates Shubham Karampure and Aashutosh Sathe have innovated a method of generating electricity through vehicular movement using simple physics.
These young innovators have now been invited to showcase their technology and represent India at an adolescent science and technology innovation contest in China from August 15 to 19.
Speaking about the revolutionary ways to generate electricity, Aashutosh said, “Shubham and I were discussing what made the popular children's shoes glow. We found out that it was the mechanical stress generated by the act of walking that converted into the charge that lit the shoes up.” He added, “After research and guidance from teachers, we found that Piezo plates can be used for generating electricity in the same way as their particles produce mechanical energy when under pressure. We created a prototype of this, which if put under pavements or roads will create electricity with the movement of every vehicle or person over it. The excess energy can be stored or added to the power grid.”
Regarding the other project of an infrared sensor equipped wheelchair for the physically challenged Varad said, “We were taken aback by the complete dependency of the disabled community on others even for basic requirements. We realised that if they had a wheelchair like Stephen Hawking's, then they would regain their sense of independence. We created a chair wherein one handle is at the face level and uses infrared sensors to detect tongue movements of the disabled person. This circuit has three sensors which monitor the leftward, rightward and frontal movement of the person's tongue respectively.”