Electric safety switch by young inventors
Published on: Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Parents in future need not be worried about their children's safety at home, thanks to a group of 16-year-olds who invented an electric shock free switch. The students from SMK Bandaraya namely Waldo Michael, Elsie Marianne Wilfred and Ainelly Ajuin invented a Touch Sensor Switch (TSS) that earned them the top spotv in the National Intellectual Property Award for Secondary School Students Category at Tang Dynasty Park, Sembulan, Monday. The group brought back with them cash prize worth RM500, a trophy, a medal and a certificate of appreciation.
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According to Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (Sabah Branch) Director Law Sha Gek, the trio will be representing the State in the national level competition at Putra World Trade Centre on Sept 10. The Touch Sensor Switch was specifically designed for use in areas that are constantly exposed to water, such as kitchen and toilet. The idea of TSS was generated because the existing switches are not user friendly and can usually cause an electric shock when touched with wet hands.Law explained the competition that was held annually aimed to increase innovation among Malaysians. "We will offer them assistance in terms of advice, however, the costs for the invention are allocated by the students' respective schools," she said, adding that the competition went on from March to May this year.
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The students' teacher adviser Nurul Hafiza Pauzi said the idea was first brought up by the group's leader, Waldo."Waldo has always been fascinated with electronic equipment since young.
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We discussed it and I saw the product is marketable because if you compare the current switches we have at home, the TSS is much safer as you can touch it with wet hands without getting an electrical shock."The product is made up with a combination of several electrical components for example, transformer, relay, resistor and transistor which can control the current and wave movement," she explained. All three students from Kg Keliangau, Menggatal said they will try to improve the product's features for the upcoming national-level competition."I hope we will be able to market the product for the benefit and safety of all Malaysians," said Waldo. Nurul said it took them three months to complete the product and all the students showed their commitment and made a lot of sacrifices."They had been staying back after school since January and sometimes I had to send them home because some of them had to walk home from school. There were certain occasions when they had to stay overnight at my place to prepare themselves for their presentation," she said. The group in May had also participated in the Asia Young Investors and Malaysia Young Inventor Exhibition in May and won gold in both competitions. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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