(November 9, 2023) A thought-provoking yet unfortunate statistic from the World Health Organisation reveals that fire-related incidents claim an estimated 180,000 lives each year on a global scale. And one such accident gave California-based innovator, Shanya Gill the motive to build an affordable fire alarm using thermal imaging and software-based occupancy detection.
It was a late summer afternoon when the kitchen of a restaurant in San Jose had a fire accident. Even though the staff on the spot tried their best to contain the fire, the restaurant was eventually destroyed. “It was right behind my house,” said the 13-year-old in a recent interview, “Since then, my mother became increasingly cautious, always asking me to double-check that the kitchen stove was turned off before leaving our house.”
A few days later while studying, the young innovator stumbled upon the intriguing capability of thermal cameras to identify heat loss in homes during the winter season. This newfound knowledge sparked her curiosity, leading her to research more about whether these cameras could potentially expedite the detection of house fires compared to conventional smoke detectors. “With an early warning system, we could save thousands of lives every year,” the Global Indian said.
And that is where it all changed for her. The innovator’s fire alarm design recently received top honours in the foremost middle school science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competition sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific and the Society for Science. Shanya also won a prize award of $25,000 for her innovation. “It’s a very proud moment for me. I plan to continue working on projects that will help make society a safer place,” the innovator said after winning the award.
Towards a better world
An outstanding student, Shanya has been a dedicated contributor to various school projects since her first-grade year. Currently, a sixth-standard student at Stratford School – Sunnyvale Raynor Middle School in San Jose, this young innovator devoted countless hours to refining the theory behind her fire alarm design. To create her fire-detection system, Shanya linked a budget-friendly thermal camera to a compact computer. She then skillfully programmed the system to identify individuals as warm, moving entities and heat sources, such as an active gas burner, as stationary hot objects.
The innovator coded the system to dispatch a text message if it detected a heat source but no human presence for a continuous period of 10 minutes. Subsequently, the prototype device was affixed to the kitchen wall. She conducted numerous tests at different times of the day, with individuals entering the camera’s field of view from diverse angles to ensure its reliability. “It took me some time to conduct all these experiments, however, it was a lot of fun,” she shared. Her system has been able to consistently identify human presence with a 98 percent accuracy rate and detect heat sources with a 97 percent precision.
Ultimately, Shanya’s system demonstrated an impressive accuracy rate, successfully identifying human presence 98 percent of the time and detecting heat sources with a 97 percent accuracy. Furthermore, it reliably dispatched text messages 97 percent of the time in cases where a heat source was left unattended. “With further improvements,” the innovator believes, “this device has the potential to outperform traditional smoke detectors in terms of accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and speed of emergency response.”
She might have won the award, but the innovator hasn’t stopped testing the reliability of her device. “In order to deploy at a large scale, I am doing experiments where the device would be placed on the ceiling like a smoke detector. There, the device can draw power from existing electric lines and view a wider area,” she said.
Colourful feathers in her cap
But, if you thought this innovator was all about books, you are very wrong. A champion swimmer, water polo, and table tennis player, Shanya is an all-rounder. “I thoroughly enjoy engaging in sports, as it has been a passion of mine since a young age,” she expressed. Interestingly, that’s not all. Shanya also has a passion for crafting, coding, and sharing her knowledge with younger children. Looking ahead, she aspires to pursue a career as a biomedical engineer. “By combining my love for biology, desire to make a difference, and passion for innovation, biomedical engineering is the perfect fit for me,” the innovator said.
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