Good touch, bad touch: This doll doubles up as an instructor

HYDERABAD:  The awareness sessions held in schools these days to teach children the difference between good and bad touch do not seem to be effective. But here’s a 21-year-old innovator who has gone a step ahead to break down the concept for schoolchildren. 

Yakara Ganesh from Warangal, who believes that children learn better in a playful environment, has devised an interactive sensor doll which doubles up as a good touch-bad touch instructor. MK Kaushik, along with whom Ganesh developed this doll, said: “It has sensors which recognise sound and touch.

There are sensors on its chest and private parts. If touched inappropriately, they signal a ‘bad touch’. But if the doll is touched on its hands, these sensors will prompt a good-touch response.”

Ganesh and Kaushik, who is also the CEO of Vaagdevi Incubation and Business Accelerator, demonstrated their innovation, which they pieced together in 11 days, at a government school in Nandanam on the outskirts of Warangal. “It provided encouraging results.

We have observed that children learn quickly in a playful environment. As of now, all good-and-bad touch campaigns in schools are theory-based. If children play with this doll, they will be able to grasp the concept better,” Kaushik said. Teachers of the school were happy about the innovation and expressed their interest to use it in the classroom.

The innovation has also piqued the interest of Telangana government officials such as IT and Industries Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan, the Confederation of Indian Industry - Telangana and others.On Monday, Kaushik and Ganesh will meet Ranjan and senior police officials, including those from the SHE Teams, to explore the idea of its usability. “This is a crucial social issue which can do with such innovative solutions,” Ranjan said.