Nearby lies, what he calls the Quamphibian. This amphibious vehicle is made up of plastic bottles and a battery.
Aditya Sareen is hard at work on a piece of Thermocol, wires and a battery. Suddenly exultation abounds as the piece of Thermocol roars to life. “It's ready,” he says. “My Quantum Carrier is finally ready.”
What Sareen has made is ostensibly an engine that can float and move on water. Nearby lies, what he calls the Quamphibian. This amphibious vehicle is made up of plastic bottles and a battery. “The Quantum Carrier will move on water carrying my Quamphibian, and if it faces an obstacle, then I can control my Quamphibiam and shoot it aside,” he adds.
You can be forgiven for thinking that this is something straight out of the Battlestar Galactica handbook, but you've also got to admit, it does sound ingenious. But here comes the clincher: Sareen is 12-years-old.
Children today have moved out of Dexter's laboratory and are on their way to becoming scientists and engineers in the real world. Some have formed groups or enrolled in courses where they can pursue their dreams.
“The Internet has given these young minds so many options. All they need to do is log on to the Internet and learn all about building robots,” says Shailesh Sansare, a tutor at the Mumbai Robotics Hobby Group, which is certified by the Mumbai University.
“Ever since I saw King Cyborg, Dr Kevin Warwick on the Discovery channel, I wanted to be like him,” said Mithil Kadam, 14, from St Xavier's Boys Academy. Warwick aka King Cyborg, implanted a chip in his arm, with which he could control robotic objects around him. Kadam cannot remember when he first started fidgeting around with electric components, but he has no problem naming, what he calls his “greatest invention”.
“My greatest invention is the Hexapod, which I built when I was 12,” he says, of his six-legged robot.
Omkar Darde, 12, from JB Khot High School in Borivali, recently built the Swift Roller, a remote controlled robot that can race around the place. He is part of the Mumbai Robotics Hobby Group, where members prepare robots that take part in various robotic competitions in the city.
“Many of my classmates think I'm a nerd,” says Hanish Mehta, 13, from Lady Vissaji Academy, Andheri. When he met Sareen, and Soham Sankaran, 12, of Jamnabhai Narsee School, he realised he was not alone. “We share the same passion for science,” says Sankaran.
The trio has formed a group called Quantum Robotics, and listening to them talk one could easily mistake them for entrepreneurs, talking about their latest business venture.
It is only when Mehta says that they cannot meet more often because they have exams coming up, that one realises that they are kids with big dreams they one day hope to fulfil.
b_lhendup@dnaindia.net
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