Coronavirus: This Class XI student from Delhi has designed a contactless doorbell
Amid social distancing and maintaining hygienic practices due to coronavirus in India, Sarthak Jain has designed a doorbell that does not require human contact.
As the world fights the novel coronavirus, the World Health Organisation, doctors, healthcare workers, and researchers, among others are working tirelessly to curb the outbreak.
Globally, the number of coronavirus positive patients has risen to about 2.5 million with over 165,000 deaths. As of Monday, 17,615 positive cases and 559 deaths have been reported in India, according to Worldometers, a real-time population tracker.
In order to prevent the spread, the masses have been advised to religiously practise hygiene and social distancing, as the SARS-CoV-2 can transfer from an infected person with physical contact.
While researchers are developing test kits and discovering vaccines, a young scientist from Delhi has come up with a doorbell that does not require human contact.
Sarthak Jain and his contactless switch
Switches, especially doorbells, are possibly one of the biggest sources of germs, as it’s not something that people consciously clean regularly. Sarthak Jain, a student of Class XI from the Modern Public School, Delhi, has designed a doorbell that functions without human contact.
“I developed an automated touchless doorbell with social distancing in mind as even the doorbell is a potential carrier. I programmed Arduino such that when the ultrasonic sensor will detect the presence of an individual in the range of 50 centimetres, it will respond by producing a buzzer sound,” Sarthak said.
The Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL), a programme for students to build their scientific temper at Modern Public School, provides students with a platform to explore, be creative, and keep tinkering at all times. Through an online session with the ATL, Sarthak got in touch with a group of students and the respective mentor to discuss the feasibility of the project, before going ahead with the execution.
“Sarthak has always faced challenges and overcome them by trying something new. With the invention of this contactless doorbell, he has proved that science is a solution to many problems. I am full of appreciation for his out-of-the-box thinking,” said Alka Kapur, Principal of Modern Public School, Delhi.
Apart from Sarthak, many individuals, educational institutes such as IIT, corporates, as well as the Indian startup ecosystem, has come up with various solutions, ranging from contact tracing, telemedicine services, the building of personal protective equipment such as face masks, shields, hazmat suits, etc., and ventilators, among others to fight the deadly virus.
Further, the Indian government is also helping these groups to come up with solutions to help a country mitigate the crisis, that has a population of 1.3 billion, and inadequate healthcare facilities.
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Edited by Suman Singh