New Delhi: The old and infirm may soon be thanking an Indian schoolgirl for making their lives relatively easier.
Seeing the plight of older people, who struggle with their walkers while climbing stairs because these are not flexible, Shalini Kumari, 12, managed to conceive an adjustable walker.
The Patna girl, who was neither pursuing a career in engineering nor studying in a top grade school, became the national award winner in a competition called “Ignite”.
An Ahmedabad-based organisation, the National Innovation Foundation (NIF), had in 2011 invited ideas from pupils, as part of its work to provide institutional support to grassroots innovators from the unorganised sectors.
The awards were instituted by NIF with the intention of identifying talent early and cultivating a research temperament among students.
Since the final version of the model was produced recently and is likely to hit the market soon, the technology company manufacturing the adjustable walker awarded Shalini, now 16, a sum of Rs200,000 (Dh12,056). She will also get Rs100 for each unit sold, as she holds the patent for it. The ‘walker with adjustable legs’ has become the first innovation made by a child to be prototyped, fabricated and commercialised.
The schoolgirl speaks to Gulf News in an exclusive interview.
How did the idea of an adjustable walker for the physically challenged people strike you?
I am very fond of my grandfather, who met with an accident in 2011. The injury forced him to use a walking aid, but he could not climb the stairs with the walker, which had fixed legs. I was only 12-years old then, but had seen him walking up and down the stairs since childhood. It pained me to see him restricted to the ground floor of the house. I wondered why we did not have a walker with adjustable legs and one day discussed it with a family friend, who suggested I develop the idea and send it to the National Innovation Foundation (NIF).
What was your next step?
Whenever I spoke to the elders at home, they would laugh it off, saying I should concentrate on my studies. But I guess, children can be far less patient with unsolved problems, whereas the elderly learn to live with them. So, I decided to connect various solutions and came up with the idea of an adjustable walker. But since I had no means to develop such a walker on my own, I sent the idea to NIF. Few months later, I was informed that my idea had won an award.
Were you the only one chosen for the innovative idea and given the award?
No, the NIF receives hundreds of ideas every year. It believes that innovations are need-based and driven by ordinary people, including, farmers, mechanics, potters and housewives. For the first time, they had added school students to the list. I am told that they received over 4,100 entries from all over India, of which only a handful were selected. Interestingly, the creative ideas all come to them from small towns and not big cities. The idea behind the exercise is not just to give awards to children, but ignite new ideas in them.
Who will be developing the walker now?
NIF first got a prototype of the adjustable walker made and worked on it for further improvements. NIF evaluates the idea, and then their engineers and designers develop prototypes and test them. They went through several reproductions and developed at least five versions of the walker and tested different materials and systems to move the front legs, before finalising the innovation. The technology was recently transferred to a Nagpur, Maharashtra-based firm, Kaviraa Solutions, for commercialisation. It is engaged in home medical equipments such as crutches to enhance the experience of quality treatment to patients.
How will it function?
Ordinary walkers are not flexible, but the adjustable walker will have spring-loaded self-locking front legs. When the user pushes the front legs of the walker on the upper stairs and the rear legs rest on the lower stairs, the walker is stable enough for climbing. It also has a foldable seat that can be pulled out.
So, will the firm be gifting you a walker for your grandfather?
Actually, they don’t need to, as my grandfather is fine now and moves around without a walker! But I hope the company will be empathetic and make life easier for many others who require such an equipment to fulfil their day-to-day duties.
Do you personally stand to benefit by the innovation?
For me, it was a big moment to receive the award for the “Walker With Adjustable Legs” at the hands of former President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. I was given a citation and a certificate and a file that contained details of the adjustable walker and its patent number. Organised in the environs of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, I also got to meet other young innovators. I couldn’t have asked for more. But recently, Kaviraa Solutions felicitated me and because the patent of the adjustable walker is in my name, I am told, I stand to benefit when the units are sold.
What do you plan to do with the prize money?
My parents want to secure that for my further education. Though everyone seems to think I want to become an engineer, my dream is to study medicine and become a surgeon.
Profile
Shalini Kumari was born on December 28, 1997, to mother Kiran Devi and father Subodh Kumar, in Patna.
She won the National Innovation Award at the age of 12.
She studies in Grade 12 in Hartmann Girls School, Patna.
