3 Idiots, a smart boy, & hope for disabled Published: Monday, Dec 17, 2012, 2:52 IST By Santosh Andhale | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA While Aamir Khan bowled over the audience with his performance in 3 Idiots, a teenager from Nasik drew inspiration from the actor's character, scientist Fungsuk Wangdu, in the movie. Rishab Mishra, 16, has developed the Wangdu chair which helps senior citizens, the physically challenged and those with paralysis with mobility.
The most salient feature of Rishab's innovation is that a patient with paralysis can move the chair with the help of his/her tongue. For this, a force-resistive sensor - a small chip - is installed in the pallet. The chip is adjustable and can be removed while eating. "Another feature is that whenever there is a power cut, the chair's lights get switched on automatically. The reverse happens when power returns," said Rishab, a standard X student of Fravashi Academy in Nasik. The Wangdu chair was among 31 projects displayed at the 25th Western India Science Fair at the Nehru Science Centre which saw the participation of people from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. "The chair was very popular among students who came to the fair," said Ashok Jethe, co-ordinator of the fair which ended on Sunday. Rishab told DNA that the chair works on the principle of electromagnetics and infrared (IR) sensors. "I was working on the project for a year. This chair works with the help of IR and sound sensors. Whenever sound pressure falls on the sensors, it detects the sound and converts it into electrical energy. The message then goes to the 'brain' of the chair," the budding scientist said. "Wangdu chair works with the help of DC motors which work on the principle of Lorentz force (electromagnetics). It is a fully programmed chair." The teenager is already in demand because of his innovation. "We received an email from the NCERT informing that Rishabh has qualified for the Indian National Congress exhibition to be held in Kolkata from January4-6, 2013," said Mamta Mishra, Rishab's mother. Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ 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
