Young innovator creates Meditel, a life-saving mini-robot | Fusion - WeRIndia

Fifteen-year-old Nikhil Lemos from Vadodara, Gujarat, has developed an innovative mini-robot called Meditel. This creation stems from his desire to help his grandparents remember to take their medications.

Nikhil, a Class 11 student at Navrachana Higher Secondary School, noticed his grandparents often forgot their pills. Inspired, he sketched an alarm system on the last page of his notebook. Nikhil’s basic drawing turned into a full-fledged project during a school science fair.

Meditel evolved from a PowerPoint presentation to an electrical model, gaining significant attention. He even presented his creation to football legend David Beckham at a UNICEF event.

Nikhil initially aimed to create an alarm system to remind people to take their pills. He soon realized more issues needed addressing. For instance, his grandmother would delay taking her pills if she didn’t have water.

This led him to integrate a reusable water bottle into Meditel, which was attached by Velcro. Meditel has an alarm system, a water bottle, and a pill organizer that manages multiple doses and schedules, accommodating up to six daily alarms.

Building and coding Meditel was challenging, especially since it was Nikhil’s first model built from scratch. He mastered the Arduino coding board, which controls the device’s functions, with the support of his parents and mentor, Mukesh Bind.

Nikhil’s dedication earned him several awards, including the INSPIRE Award. Presenting Meditel to David Beckham in November was a highlight of his journey. Even though he had not planned it, his project was sent to UNICEF, with which he gained huge popularity.

Nikhil envisions Meditel expanding beyond its elderly-centric focus. His survey revealed that medication forgetfulness affects younger people too.

He aims to integrate algorithms into Meditel to predict medication habits and track health metrics, hinting at a future healthcare innovation startup.

Nikhil also leads an initiative, Elder Allies, to teach seniors the basics of technology. Despite moments of doubt, he finds inspiration in other youth-led initiatives.

Thus, this young innovator, Nikhil Lemos is making a significant impact on the world, one innovation at a time.

Image from Pxhere (Free for commercial use / CC0 Public Domain)

Image Published on April 07, 2017

Image Reference: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1387686