My Science School

When most kids ask their parents for a puppy, they either get one or don’t. But when little Arsh asked his parents for one, he was gifted a Lego Mindstorms kit instead. While most of us would have been dejected at the thought of not getting what we wanted, Arsh made the most of it. He used his skills to build himself a robot puppy from the Mindstorms kit. This, however, is only the beginning of Arsh’s innovative journey.

The robo master

Born in March 1998 in Panipat, Haryana, Arsh has always been interested in robotics. The young boy has received constant support from his parents, and his journey robotics began with the Lego Mindstorms kit.

It was 2010 when Arsh was 12 years old, that he built the robot dog. The same year, Arsh won the national-level Indian Robot Olympiads. The next year, he won the first position in the North Zone in INSPIRE creation was an unmanned ground vehicle, which also fetched him honours in 2012 from then President Pratibha Patil.

In the following years, Arsh has gone on to build a 50 cm-tall humanoid which can do push-ups, stand on its head and climb stairs, and a hexapod (spider-like robot),among others.

Time to TALK

One of Arsh’s most notable inventions has been TALK, an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device that helps people with speech troubles, including those who cannot speak or communicate normally. How does it do this, you ask? The device processes a user’s breath patterns through Morse code and converts it to speech. Almost the same weight as a smartphone, TALK takes only 0.8 seconds to dictate the letter ‘A’, 0.4 seconds for ‘E’ etc. Considered one of the fastest AAC devices, TALK has nine different voices for different age groups and genders.

In 2014, TALK was selected as one of the Top 15 Projects of Google Science Fair. Arsh was the only Asian in the final round of the Fair.

While he didn’t win the top honours, his innovation won the Voter’s Choice accolade at the Google Science Fair.

Arsh, who is now pursuing his studies at the Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, the U.S, has been in talks with manufacturers for commercialising TALK, and continues to innovate and build robots.

What make him special?

His passion for innovation. Since a young age Arsh has stayed focussed, pursued his passion, and continues to innovate and build things.

 

Picture Credit : Google

It’s not how expensive or fancy something is that matters. Sometimes, a small backpack can make a big difference in someone’s life.

When 11-year-year-old Kylie Simonds, now a teenager, from Connecticut, the U.S., was asked by her fifth grade teacher to come up with something that solves an everyday problem, she knew just what she wanted to create – a backpack. But why?

Facing everyday challenges

When she was just eight, Kylie was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare childhood cancer that affects the connective tissues in the body. Kylie had to undergo chemotherapy, radiation and surgeries while attending school.

After 46 weeks of struggle, Kylie was given a positive prognosis from the doctors at Yale Cancer Centre in Connecticut. Ever since, she has remained healthy.

However, having undergone cancer treatment herself, Kylie realised the everyday struggles associated with it. She started to lose hair and would fall sick easily. She would usually feel too weak to move around and do things. But on days when she was bright enough to go out and play, she faced the issue of immobility. Kylie had to carry intravenous (IV) poles with her everywhere she went. Often, the bulky pole, coupled with the IV drip bag attached to her, would come in the way of her play. She would often trip over wires, get tangled up in them and have to drag the pole around.

An innovation from a personal struggle

Thus, in 2014, her fifth grade teacher asked the students of her class to come up with something that could solve an everyday problem, Kylie had the answer.

From her personal struggle, she knew just how much happiness a compact backpack, which could carry the drip bag, help a child with cancer. In her words, “I would have loved this thing for myself.”

She worked with her parents to design the bag. She sought tips from her doctors and nurses to design the best version she could. The one thing on everyone’s mind was the weight of the bag. It had to be light and portable.

A few weeks later, she had her prototype ready. The backpack, which featured a Hello Kitty (cartoon) design, included a metal drip bag protection cage to prevent the drip bag from puncturing. Kylie also built-in an IV controller for the drip bag’s flow rate.

Kylie and her parents then created an online fundraiser to raise money for the backpack design. They managed to raise close to USD 55,000.

Kylie also filed a patent application for her design and has been screening companies to make her idea a reality.

What makes her special?

Having overcome cancer, Kylie drew inspiration from her personal struggle to design something that could prove useful for others undergoing something similar. It might not be a cure, but her innovation manages to provide someone a chance to play without the worry of getting tangled up.

 

Picture Credit : Google

The defining moment

Thus began Licypriya’s activism. Though her father supported her, her mother was wary as she was worried about her future. But Licypriya decided to move forward and raise her voice against climate change and for disaster-risk reduction.

A year after Licypriya travelled around the world, having been invited by countires to address at events, her mother decided to extend her full support.

Licypriya garnered national attention in June 2019 when she protested in front of the Indian parliament. She protested for weeks, holding a placard urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Members of Parliament to pass the climate change law to control and regulate carbon emission. In doing so, she also became the one of the youngest climate change activists and earned the title ‘India’s Greta Thunberg’.

Soon, she was invited by several organizations and countries to talk about climate change. In September 2019, she was invited by UNESCO Partners’ Forum 2019 in Luanda City, Angola. She addressed the topic of climate change along with prominent leaders from African countries. She also took part in a climate strike in Luanda City along with over 50,000 children and youth.

In October, she started the Great October March 2019 at India Gate, New Delhi, with thousands of others. The March, which took place in various locations in the city, requested immediate action on climate change and the enactment of the climate change law in India. The same month, she brought out a device called SUKIFU (Survival Kit for the Future) to curb air pollution. The zero-budget kit (a portable mask) is designed from trash to provide fresh air.

From Manipur to Madrid

In December 2019, she was invited by the United Nations to speak at the 2019 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25) in Madrid, Spain. Though she was invited, she had to find a way to get to Madrid. Her father wrote to the Indian government requesting sponsorship, but there was no response from them. He then decided to crowdfund the tickets for them to Madrid. Her mother had to sell her gold bangles to book hotels for them. However, just as she was set to leave, the Spanish government intimated her about them sponsoring her accommodation.

When she made it to COP25, she became one of the youngest climate change activists in the world to address at the forum. She also got the chance to meet her inspiration Greta Thunberg, the Swedish activist.

For her activism, Licypriya has won several awards including the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Children Award by the Khwad Foundation and World Children Peace Prize from Global Peace Index – Institute for Economics and Peace.

What makes her special?

Licypriya persistently worked towards her passion of speaking against climate change despite lack of support, first from her mother, then from the governmental activists in the world and has world leaders listening to her speak.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Sometimes, great businesses start from a small idea. And if you keep an eye out, you might just spot the idea, like Akshay Ruparelia, the teenager from Harrow, London, did, Akshay set up an online real-estate business when he was 17, after he realised the hefty sum charged by high-end real estate agents in the U.K. Today, his business is one among the many successful ones in the U.K.

The idea

Akshay is from Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, England. Living with his parents, both of them hearing impaired, Akshay was shocked to discover the costs.

After finishing his GCSEs (equivalent to Class X) he developed an app called HouseSmart. The app was aimed at connecting property buyers and sellers. However, he scrapped the idea even before launching it.

Then, when he has studying for his A-levels, Akshay came up with the idea of doorsteps.cp.uk, a real estate website that he developed.

Setting up the site

Still a teenager, Akshay needed money to make his dream reality. He turned to his family and relatives for loan and they obliged. Akshay managed to obtain a 7,000-poind loan, a majority of which was provided by his uncle who had started and sold two online businesses of his own.

With the initial amount, Akshay managed to set up a very basic website and have it up-and-running from the bedroom of his house in 2016 when he was just 17.

The first client

Akshay knew that he might not get a client immediately. And he was patient. A few months after starting his website, he got his first customer from East Sussex, England. The customer wished to sell his house and some land, and Akshay decided to pay a visit to the place himself. He had his sisters, friend drive him since he was underage for a driver’s licence.

He met the client and got to work. A few weeks later, he managed to sell the house for a good rate, and Doorsteps received its first five-star review. Akshay, though, could not celebrate his success immediately since he had to study for his A-level examination.

Slowly and steadily, Akshay’s business began to grow. Still in school, he enlisted a call centre to take calls from clients when he was in school. Once home, he would attend to them. As his business began to grow, Akshay employed a network of mothers who show clients houses that are up for sale for a fraction of the cost that other real estate agents charge.

 Akshay’s business became so popular that in just over a year since it was started, it was listed as the 18th biggest estate agency in the U.K. This also made him the country’s youngest millionaire.

Today, Doorsteps continues to sell houses and is among the top companies in the U.K.

What makes him special?

Akshay identified a problem when he was helping his parents move homes and decided to devise a solution to tackle it. He worked hard, balanced education and business and managed to set up a successful business at a young age.

 

Picture Credit : Google