Date:11/03/2010 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2010/03/11/stories/2010031160622000.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Front Page Devices that take one's breath away Smriti Kak Ramachandran 'Exhibition of Innovations' attempts to link inventors, end-users Seventeen-year-old Susant Patnaik gives a demonstration of the Super-Brain Modulator to President Pratibha Patil during the 'Exhibition of Innovations' at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Wednesday. NEW DELHI: The hardship faced by disabled persons while manoeuvring their wheelchairs, and the difficulty with which the speech-and hearing-impaired convey their needs inspired Susant Patnaik, a 17-year-old school boy from Orissa, to build a breathing sensor device to assist the differently-abled. Resembling a plastic toy-chair mounted on a maze of wires with sensors, the device could well be a fanciful gizmo designed by school boys. But for its innovator, it is a means of empowering disabled people. "The super-brain modulator is based on the principle that breathing is something that everybody does. And the device relies on breathing for getting across the thoughts of the disabled and converts them into actions," says Susant, who is awaiting a world patent for his innovation. Two years went into designing the device, which will help physically challenged people perform tasks like switching on lights, reaching for a remote or communicating their needs. Susant's innovation is among several others that are on display at the Rashtrapati Bhavan as part of an 'Exhibition of Innovations,' inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday. The first of its kind in the Rashtrapati Bhavan precincts, the exhibition is an attempt to forge a relationship between innovators and end-users. To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
