Nowadays, TV addict Kids in India simply love
Japanese cartoon character ‘Doremon’ who always come up with very cool gadgets
to help his very average and foolish brother Nobita. Doremon’s gadgets are
unreal but still fantastic and innovative and kids always dream of having them.
But I wish to take this opportunity to talk about Susant Pattnaik, a real life Indian
Doremon.
Susant, son of a veterinarian from Bhubaneswar, is
a serial innovator and an entrepreneur, having invented several cool devices
since his high school days. From a wheelchair
that operates through breathing to an anti-theft mechanism for cars, the list
of his innovations is big and enviable. Moreover, more than ten of his innovations
have already made the critical transition from idea to a working prototype. Recently,
Susant was also among the top winners of the seventh National Grassroots
Innovation Awards, given by the National Innovation Foundation.
One of the most interesting and award winning
innovation of Susant is his wheelchair specially designed for paralyzed and which
operate just through breathing. This wheelchair prototype uses an innovative battery
operated breathing sensor invented by Susant, which is worn as a headphone by the users to navigate the chair by giving
commands just with their breath. The sensor acts both on air and heat in the breath. This breathing sensor is attached to a
transmitter while the receiver device receives wireless signals in the form of
breath. As the user breathes, the transmitter transmits the signal and the
receiver receives it for controlling the movement of the wheelchair and
performing other tasks. Now, Susant has also designed a novel anti-accident
circuit for the wheelchair to avoid any mishaps.
This breathing sensor technology
has been recognized and awarded by various organizations like National
Innovation Foundation, MIT Technology Review, NASA, Intel, etc. He was also
selected as youngest inventor by MIT Technology Review.
Another interesting innovation by Susant is the
anti-theft mechanism for cars which is operated through a mobile phone. The
anti-theft device uses a mobile SIM card which can be paired with your
phone. The moment anyone breaks into the car and tries to fiddle with ignition,
you get a beep on your phone with a call back number. The moment you call back, the mechanism get activated to immediately
shutdown the car. This device also enables you to even trace the car via
GPS.
Susant claims to have successfully installed this mechanism in over 50
cars in Bhopal. Moreover, variation of the same technology can have wide
applications especially in security systems for home, office and shops.
Another innovation by Susant
which can have wide application is the Low Cost Voice Operated Electrical and
Electronics Appliance system. It works on voice by saying the name of the
electrical appliance, for example light bulb or fan by mentioning its proper
time of activation or deactivation, through any cell phone.
Presently, Susant is working on a very interesting concept, ‘Super Sense
Technology’, a circuit-based device that will remove the need for a
keyboard or mouse for a computer. One can attach it on the wrist and
operate any computer by a slight hand movement. He is also working on an
advanced model that has a jacket with an in-built computer. The jacket
and the wrist band together works like a computer. According to Susant, you
can type, draw or even access the internet – without needing a separate
computer.
Apart from being a serial innovator and entrepreneur,
Susant is also a motivational speaker and regularly addresses large gathering
of students, which includes students from premier institutions like IITs. He
even has a NGO for supporting innovators like him. Needless to add, he lists
Dhirubhai Ambani among his role models.
Important: National Innovation Foundation (NIF) and Prof. Anil Gupta is working aggressively with Susant to take his innovations to masses.
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