At this Mogappair home, robots rule the roost

“I want to build a Chitti of Enthiran . He is the best gentleman I know,” said seven-year-old Bharanitharan, going back to his wires, sensors and motors.

Surrounding him is a group of children, all about 10 years old, watching the construction of a ‘sumo wrestler’ that will fight other robots at the Junior Roboteer competition to be held soon at IIT-Madras.

This scene at Karunanilayam Home in Mogappair is unique. 

Every child here aspires to be a scientist or an engineer, and they seem to be on the right track. Most of them, orphaned at a very young age, have spent at least last five years at the home. The children started taking an interest in robotics when a group of college students started frequenting the home to teach them about machines and robots.

“Initially they were reluctant but then we showed them how they could make a light glow. 

Now, they wait for us to come, and don’t let us leave easily,” said Udhaya Shankar, a final-year engineering student from DIYA, a team under the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Foundation, an NGO that looks at making robotics affordable and accessible to all children.

Udhaya and seven of his friends have been teaching children at the home to make robots for six months now.

Apart from the sumo wrestler they are building, the children are working on other projects. Kaushalya (11) is working on a smart house sensor that switches off all lights and fans as soon as people leave the house, and switches them on when someone enters the room.

“This can be useful to families with toddlers. Sometime babies crawl into dark rooms and get hit by sharp objects,” he said.

Another student is building a robot that assists a biker, and tells him when to slow down. “Both the rider and the robot will wear helmets,” says 10-year-old Santhosh. Seven-year-old Vignesh however, wants a robot that can bark like dog, and also play with him. “I want a pet badly,” he said.

Managing with less than 10 motors and 20 kits, the college students say the children have learnt to share their limited resources. 

“We only want more volunteers who are patient with them. Some children work on this the entire day. That level of interest is something we hardly ever see in other children,” said Harish, another volunteer. 

Day care centre for haemophilia

A free day care service centre for haemophilia patients was inaugurated at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital on Thursday. The centre, situated at SPM block of the Madras Medical College, was inaugurated by Health Minister C. Vijaya Basker.

A press release said the college has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Baxter for setting up a Centre of Excellence in Haemophilia Care. This would provide diagnosis, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, and psychosocial and psychiatric counselling under one roof.

As per the Public Private Partnership, Rs. 30 lakh will be given at regular intervals for various amenities.

Booklet on insulin to be distributed

To create awareness among diabetics and medical practitioners about the right way of using insulin injections, a booklet on guidelines will soon be distributed in the city.

Addressing presspersons on Tuesday, C.R. Anand Moses, treasurer, Diabetes Association of India, said one-third of diabetes patients are insulin dependent. But several of them have psychological barriers against using insulin injections or do not know the right practices.

Awareness needed

A. Sundaram, advisory member of FIT India, and one of the authors of the booklet, said several people use wrong techniques and inject in the same place. They must rotate injection spots for effective blood sugar control.

The booklet provides detailed description on the use of insulin techniques. It is also available online atwww.fit4diabetes.com/ india, said A. Paneerselvam, DAI co-chairman.

Compiled by a team of 14 doctors, the booklet has been released by the Forum for Injection Technique India, an autonomous body formed to promote safe injection practices.

January is observed as insulin injection month as the first insulin injection was administered on January 11, 1922 in Canada.

Several diabetics have psychological barriers against using insulin injections or

do not know the right practices

Thandalam - Sourcing good quality organic food

Thandalam, a small non-descript village about three km from Arakkonam, may soon become an important place for sourcing good quality organic inputs and cooking condiments such as ready-to-use masala powder.

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, has come forward to lend a helping hand to several SHGs in the village, who are making the inputs and have been meticulously trained by an NGO called Thandalam Yogakshema Trust.

A function was held recently in the village by the Trust, which invited TNAU Vice-Chancellor Dr. K. Ramasamy to strengthen, guide and help several women and farmers in the village to improve their production.

The trust placed a request for regular guidance on all organic practices that farmers in Thandalam have presently undertaken.

“Though we have a capacity for producing more than 10 tonnes of vermicompost and 15 tonnes of several masala powder varieties, which have been certified as best by many leading buyers in Chennai, we have not been able to maintain consistency in production because of several factors such as lack of storage facilities and absence of proper information. We decided to seek the help of the university to help and guide us and the Vice-Chancellor has promised to take steps to address our requirement,” says Radha Parthasarathy, Managing Trustee.

Addressing over 200 farmers, who assembled in a government school, Dr. Ramasamy requested them to make use of the university extension staff facilities in their region.

“The university is ready to work with any farmer to improve his lifestyle. There are several subsidy schemes introduced by the government’’, he said, asking them to make use of them. “You have the right to seek and make use of our university’s expertise,” he said.

The Vice-Chancellor promised that the university’s team of specialists would follow up on their requests and once in a fortnight, the field staff would visit the village.

HOPES - A NGO

HOPES, a voluntary organisation, will conduct a training programme-cum-workshop on February 1and 2.

The programme will be on ‘Basics of stock market trading for beginners exclusively for educated housewives’.

For details, contact: 9840173311