Class 10 student develops ‘Thing Finder’ for elderly

For most Board students, books are their only companion and so immersed are they in their studies that they do not do anything else. However, going beyond his studies, a Class 10 student is busy developing a device that helps senior citizens and Alzheimer patients locate misplaced things in the house.

Aabhas Senapati, who studies at Zydus School for Excellence, at 14 years is currently the youngest incubatee at Gujarat University Startup and Entrepreneurship Council (GUSEC). The idea to develop such a device occurred to him after he struggled to find a TV remote at home. "If our mobile phone is misplaced, we can call on our number and locate it from its ringtone. However, if we misplaced other things, it is difficult to locate them, especially for senior citizens and people with medical condition. It is with this idea that I decided to take up this project - Thing Finder," Aabhas said.

Initially he discussed the project with an online community regarding the idea that occurred to him two years ago. Though there such apps are available in the market, the idea was to have a low-cost device for people in need.

Talking about functionality of the device, Aabhas said, "Thing Finder is a tag that has to be attached to various things one is likely to misplace often. The device has a transmitter placed for each room in the house. Whenever a person misplaces a thing, it can be found through mobile app or through browser by making a request on any of the Artificial Intelligence assistants like Google assistant or Siri. The request will set the buzzer in the tag with the use of either internet or a local network. This sound will help people locate the missing item."

Aabhas has developed the working proto-type and is in process of taking the product to the next level with the help of GUSEC. GUSEC Group CEO Rahul Bhagchandani said that he is only the second incubatee from school. More and more school students are taking interest in entrepreneurship.