Robotics has done a world of good for the disabled. New inventions are improving their life. Now, a 17-year-old teen in India has invented a smart spoon that can help people with Parkinson's disease (PD) (帕金森病). Now more than 7 million people in India have PD.
Aarrav Anil has had a deep interest in science since childhood. This allows the teen to take part in more than 20 robotics competitions around the world. But Aarrav didn't invent his smart spoon to win a prize. His idea for the invention came from seeing his uncle, who has PD, failing to feed himself. Food kept falling out of his mouth, making him look a mess.
Aarrav wanted his uncle to be able to eat by himself. This encouraged the teen to look for a way to help his uncle. So he decided to invent a new tool. But not everything went well.
"It was not easy to be able to find certain parts I needed in India. I had to buy some from abroad, and it took a long time for them to arrive." Aarrav said in an interview. Aarrav made a first model, but the spoon was hard for his uncle to hold. "I've been improving the invention. It needs to be waterproof (防水的) so that it can be washed. The spoon must be easily taken apart, so that it can be cleaned and turned into a fork. And the spoon needs to be deeper to hold more food," the teen said.
The smart spoon is now being tested at a local college. The test is expected to be completed in early 2024. Aarrav hopes that his smart spoon will be used in hospitals soon.
