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Teen invents device to avert road accidents
TRICHY: The death of a close relative in a road accident has prompted a 13-year-old student in the Nilgiris to invent a device he claims can alert drowsy drivers and help avert accidents.
The 'Eye Blink Infrared Sensor', the result of a year's efforts by M Gokul, provided the class 8 student of the municipal middle school at RK Puram in Ooty, a chance to participate in the state-level exhibition for INSPIRE Award conducted by the Union government's department of science and technology, Tamil Nadu science and technology centre and Shivani College of Engineering and Technology, Trichy on Saturday.
The device is aimed at preventing accidents due to the drowsiness of the drivers of all vehicles, including two-wheelers. The infrared sensor is designed to sense the blinking of the eyelids. If the lids remain idle for a few seconds, the sensor will pass a signal through a pic micro controller to the vibrator under the driver's seat. The activated vibrator will shake the seat, jolting the driver awake.
"It was the death of my uncle P Kumar, a government bus driver, which kindled my innovation to design a device to avoid accidents. He met with the accident as he slept while driving the bus. The accident forced me to think that no one should die due to the drowsiness of the driver," Gokul told ToI. He said he had been working on the device after class hours.
The signal will also stop the engine and make the vehicle come to halt gradually. L Sundaram, the science teacher who supported Gokul in his project, said they were making efforts to test the device in vehicles with the government's help. "It is not costly and can be used in all vehicles. We need support from the government to take it to the next level," he said.
Gokul's father A Mani, a tea agent, is proud of his younger son. "When he expressed his thoughts to invent a device, I wholeheartedly supported him.
His continuous efforts have helped him create such a device. I will encourage him to go on in his career," said Mani, whose elder son also won a competition at the INSPIRE programme in Chennai.
Teen invents device to avert road accidents - The Times of India
TRICHY: The death of a close relative in a road accident has prompted a 13-year-old student in the Nilgiris to invent a device he claims can alert drowsy drivers and help avert accidents.
The 'Eye Blink Infrared Sensor', the result of a year's efforts by M Gokul, provided the class 8 student of the municipal middle school at RK Puram in Ooty, a chance to participate in the state-level exhibition for INSPIRE Award conducted by the Union government's department of science and technology, Tamil Nadu science and technology centre and Shivani College of Engineering and Technology, Trichy on Saturday.
The device is aimed at preventing accidents due to the drowsiness of the drivers of all vehicles, including two-wheelers. The infrared sensor is designed to sense the blinking of the eyelids. If the lids remain idle for a few seconds, the sensor will pass a signal through a pic micro controller to the vibrator under the driver's seat. The activated vibrator will shake the seat, jolting the driver awake.
"It was the death of my uncle P Kumar, a government bus driver, which kindled my innovation to design a device to avoid accidents. He met with the accident as he slept while driving the bus. The accident forced me to think that no one should die due to the drowsiness of the driver," Gokul told ToI. He said he had been working on the device after class hours.
The signal will also stop the engine and make the vehicle come to halt gradually. L Sundaram, the science teacher who supported Gokul in his project, said they were making efforts to test the device in vehicles with the government's help. "It is not costly and can be used in all vehicles. We need support from the government to take it to the next level," he said.
Gokul's father A Mani, a tea agent, is proud of his younger son. "When he expressed his thoughts to invent a device, I wholeheartedly supported him.
His continuous efforts have helped him create such a device. I will encourage him to go on in his career," said Mani, whose elder son also won a competition at the INSPIRE programme in Chennai.
Teen invents device to avert road accidents - The Times of India
