When Saarang Sumesh stood in front of the audience and announced that he was a young maker at the age of 8, it would probably never have occurred to his listeners that the boy had come up with a number of complicated innovations.
In 2016, Saarang was the youngest exhibitor at the largest Maker Faire in the world at Silicon Valley in US, which paved way for him to become the youngest TedX speaker, the same year.
Since the age of 3 when he got his hands on a robotic kit, there was nothing that prevented the young boy from innovating. Now, at the age of 9, Saarang has a number of innovations to his credit, from a walking stick for the blind, a cleaning robot, a robotic hand, an electronic clock and a smart seatbelt, among others.
According to an interview given to Hindustan Times recently, Saarang draws inspiration from his surroundings. And of course, from his father, who is an electronics engineer.
For instance, talk about how the Class 3 student came about creating the cleaning robot, and he says that he was upset at seeing his mother tired at the end of the day, after having mopped all by herself.
He made a device to clean the floor.
"My role model is my father who imbibed a scientific spirit in me. I also love our former President APJ Abdul Kalam who always used to ask youngsters to dream big,” Sarang was quoted as saying.
His innovations took him to places including the MakerFest at Ahmadabad, Maker Week End at Cochin University of Science and Technology, Techfoss at TocH, and LEGO league at Coimbatore.
At the Tedx talk held in Kochi in 2016, Saarang smartly explained his creations one by one, detailing how each one of them works.
"It is not just talent that took me to the world's largest event and also brought me here, from my small home. I want to share my experience with you, because I want other youngsters to be inspired like I got inspired. I want them to change their lives, the way I did," Saarang said with passion.
"My father saw a 13-year-old boy presenting at an event in college. We thought, if a 13-year-old could do it, so could I. We spoke to the organisers, they let me present there. As per what my parents told me, I presented nicely and it gave me confidence. Just think about it, if we had decided not to go there, my life would have been entirely different and would have definitely missed the next episode," he said.
Among his latest innovations, is a smart seatbelt, that automatically senses when the vehicle meets with an accident. This is what took him to the Makers' Fest in Ahmedabad.
In an interview, he elaborated more on how the smart seat belt works.
“The smart seat belt can sense when the accident is happening and act accordingly. Collision will be detected by accelerometer. It can also sense fire or water and release the belt quickly,” he said.
Watch the video here: