Our inventor this time is Abhishek Vaidya, who came up with an idea to make better turn signals on bike handles. His invention won a national level award as part of the “Student Ideas for a Better America” competition organized by the National Museum of Education. He designed the bike handle as part of our summer camp, held in collaboration with the Archimedes School.
Here is Abhishek talking about his idea in more detail.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Abhishek Vaidya. I am in the 5th grade Quest program at Lake Washington School District. I like to play tennis and run track. I enjoy writing narratives and math.
What is your invention and how does it work?
My invention is an advanced bicycle handle. I found that most people crash on bikes when they are using their hand for turn signals. Some people do not even bike on streets because they are not comfortable with taking their hands off the bicycle handle to give turn signals. My invention solves that problem by putting buttons on the handle right above where your thumbs will be. The buttons each activate a light on the back and front of the bike showing which way you will turn, kind of like a car’s turning lights.
How did you come up with the idea?
One day, I was looking out the window and I saw a really cool looking motorcycle. The biker was going wobbly trying to use turn signals. That sparked an idea which led to another until I came up with the bicycle handle idea.
Did your prototype work? How was that experience?
Yes, my prototype worked. It was a bicycle handle made of paper, with a pressure sensor on the handle bar.
What did you learn from the summer camp?
I learned that creativity has no bounds. I enjoyed thinking outside the box and coming up with ideas to use technology to solve simple problems.
What is your most fun memory from the camp?
My favorite memory of the summer camp was creating 3D printing models on a software called Sketchup.
What kind of problems do you want to solve when you grow up?
I would like to use my creativity to come up with solutions to problems faced by underprivileged people, especially children.
What will you be using your prize money for?
I will save my prize money in my bank account that my father opened for me. It will be my emergency stash.
Congratulations Abhishek for a well deserved award! We love your goal of helping underprivileged children and wish you the best.