Budding scientists ideate for development

Samanway, a national conference organised by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on March 3 and 4, witnessed 200 student delegates from across the country who presented their ideas on the use of science and technology for social development.

The conference was organised to encourage students to bridge the divide between science and society and to provide platforms for innovations by budding scientists.

The conference covered numerous topics of current interest such as ‘Farming for Transforming’ which discussed food security, mechanisation in agricultural sector and organic farming. Another subject was ‘Good Health, Better Society’, which focussed on preventive and social medicine, tele-healthcare and genetics.

Save environment, save future; structure and infrastructure were two other areas where students presented many creative ideas.

Panel discussions with eminent professors from IISc and outside were also held to brainstorm on issues of crucial importance for the development of society.

Shiva Kumar H R, a research scholar from IISc, presented an innovation which gained much appreciation from the audience. He has developed a tool which enables the blind to read an ordinary book. This tool can be enabled through any portable scanner and an android phone. All you need to do is scroll the scanner through the text. “The scanner will send images of the characters to the phone and with a headphone, the person can listen to the book he is holding,” explained Shiva Kumar.

Shiva Kumar’s creation helps the android phone receive images scanned by the scanner and converts the text in the images into audio format.

Many have already found this innovation useful and the WORTH Trust of Chennai has also bought the tool from him for its activities. Including the android phone and the scanner, the cost of the tool would come up to anywhere between Rs 7,000 and Rs 8,000, estimates Shiva Kumar.

The younger students also had many innovations up their sleeve. Adithya Pasupuleti, a student of MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology (MSRIT), presented an idea for cheaper rural electrification and agricultural practises. Adithya and his friends tried making use of a simple concept of filling a plastic bottle with water and fixing it on the ceiling through the roof, to light up a room.

“We made use of empty water bottles and filled it with water. A hole is made on the roof to fit the bottle into the ceiling of the house. When sunlight falls on the bottle outside, the bottle filled with water refracts light and lights up the room,” explained Pasupuleti.
The student and his team have also come up with low cost UPS costing about Rs 1,000. They are presently distributing it for free in villages.

The students of MSRIT have begun their work in a village in Chikkaballapur and are waiting for funds from voluntary organisations to extend their work to many other rural parts in the State.