Team Herald
PORIEM: School education should bring out the best from students, in terms of creativity, which is the highest form of intellectual abilities.
Two students of Bhumika Higher Secondary School, Poriem, Sattari, have just done that.
They have innovatively crafted an automatic electric wheelchair using scrap materials. The project, which was completed in just five days, is aimed at assisting persons with disabilities (PwDs) and senior citizens.
The higher secondary school principal Yeshwant Sawant praised the students -- Istdev Morya and Shubam Samant's initiative and suggested that with sponsorship, the prototype could be further improved and manufactured on a large scale.
In a remarkable work of creativity and innovation, the students have designed the wheelchair to aid the differently-abled and senior citizens. The chair functions independently without needing assistance, featuring emergency buttons and automatic turning controls. The students mentioned that the project cost them around Rs 20,000.
Istdev Morya, one of the innovators, said that he observed that the aged and disabled persons were not able to walk properly. He said Goa has the second highest population in India above the age group of 50 years.
“A simple wheelchair needs an assistant or a lot of effort to move it from one place to another. A simple wheeler chair costs between Rs 5,000 and Rs 8,000. An assistant will charge above Rs 15,000 and above to help the aged. To solve this problem we made this automatic wheelchair. It needs no assistant. It has an ultrasonic sensor which detects obstacles. It also gives a beep sound that makes the person aware that there is an obstacle. The chair is also equipped with a GPS tracker which sends the location of the person to the family members,” Istdev Morya told O Heraldo.
Morya said the automatic wheel also has an emergency button which can be pressed in case the person needs anything. The budget of this project is Rs 20,000 and it is a base model and can be upscaled based on finances.
Shubham Samant, the co-innovator said, “We have here a 700 watt motor and a 48 watt battery. The charging duration is two to three hours and it can run upto 50 km on a single charge. The maximum speed is 25 kmph. This model was made within five days.”
An elated Principal of Bhumika Higher Secondary School, Yeshwant Sawant, said, “Such types of projects are usually made by college and engineering students. This project is done by Class 11 and 12 students hence it has to be really appreciated. Secondly, this project is made out of waste. To make a good wheelchair will require finance. If sponsors come forward and assist the students and their teachers, there will be publicity and it will be very useful for the people in need.”
Vice Principal Raosaheb Rane also praised the efforts of the students especially since they come from a rural higher secondary.
The students Istdev Morya and Shubam Samant aspire to improve and produce more chairs in the future to donate to those in need, provided they receive further support and sponsorship.