“Just a year ago, I read a piece of scary news about a gas cylinder explosion in a building in Chandigarh. Someone had left the gas knob on, causing almost the entire building to burst into flames. This horrific news moved me personally. A momentary oversight can cost you your life,” says 14-year-old Bikas Khadka, from the Atal Tinkering Lab of Government High School, Dadu Majra Village, Chandigarh.

No wonder then, when given the opportunity to use technology and find solutions for real problems, Bikas decided to work on creating a smart home safety device that could protect homes from issues like gas explosion or thefts.

Bikas and Suman Degi, a 15-year-old Class 10 student of his school, took five months to create a smart home prototype. This safety device could set and alarm to alert any unauthorised entry into the house.

Also, in case anybody leaves the gas on by mistake, system turn the knob off automatically. Further, an exhaust fan strategically placed in the house ensures that all gas is removed quickly

“There have been several theft cases in our area, which prompted us to include another feature of a password-protected digital lock system, instead of the normal key-operated one,” says Bikas, who studies in Class 9.

“We started with a good concept, but there were many hurdles in the way. Most of it was due to our lack of experience and knowledge. That is where our mentors and teachers stepped in. Supporting us every step of the way, they helped us create this prototype. We are now trying to increase its scale by introducing this technology in an industrial set-up as well, and look forward to seeing this implemented across India, on a larger scale,” says suman.