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Nadiad whiz kid invents folding keyboard, rape prevention device [Ahmedabad] [Times of India](Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) AHMEDABAD : Long before Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his call to "Make in India", Nadiad-based Nandan Shah, a third-year computer engineering student has been working on innovations that are not just technologically smart but also socially relevant. Inspired by Steve Jobs, 20-year-old Shah and two friends have invented four devices - a folding keyboard, smart locking device, rape prevention wrist band and mass-storage device. Shah has applied for four patents in just a year, these are being processed by the patent office of the Government of India. According to the rules, once a person applies for patent and the patent is being processed, no one else can make the device even with minor variations. The folding keyboard, developed by Shah is 1/8th the size of a normal keyboard and has been made on a cardboard that one can carry in their pocket. The rape prevention device, invented by Shah and his friend Sanjay Bathavar, is a wrist band with sensors which will be activated on the pulse rate if a girl is in danger and can thwart the attacker using chemicals. The smart-locking system which works on mechanical passwords by Shah and his friend Vaibhav Patel has been developed with die cast keys costing just Rs 200. "When we went out in the market to get a key made for our project, we were told that the die casting alone will cost Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000. So we made it in my lab at my home," said Shah who calls his room as NanLab where all his inventions have been made. Shah is planning to launch a start-up with his friend Vaibhav to manufacture folding keyboards on a printed circuit board on a large scale. "I had scored very low marks in Class 12 but still my parents, especially my father motivated me a lot to work on innovations. Apart from financial help, he has been working with me to develop newer devices," added Shah. (c) 2014 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited |