School going Aditya Bhople Invents gadget for the Blind!
1 4 – y e a r – o l d Aditya Bhople from Nagpur has a lot to be proud of! At an age when teens start demanding the latest gizmos from their parents, Aditya has gone on to invent a device that aids the visually impaired to actually help convert text to speech. It also helps the user with navigation! The current version of his invention, titled ‘Autoreader’, Association as a usable device. A student of Std IX in Narayana Vidyalayam, Aditya won the National-Level Science Exhibition organized by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) as well as Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS) Science Fair. In its current form, the ‘Autoreader’ has the capacity to identify and convert to speech, eight fonts of typed text in English language, and to detect obstructions within a range of 3.4 meters.Aditya is currently working on enhancing the functionalities of his invention with the help of senior scientists. This new version is slated to be presented at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in the US in May. As per the suggestion of reviewers from Nagpur Blind Relief Association, there are efforts to incorporate an SOS system to the device. Other improvements planned include making Hindi fonts recognizable by the reader and reducing the size of the device from 130 grams to 60 grams.