A 14-year-old Chennai teen Advay Ramesh has won the prestigious Google Community Impact Award from Asia for creating a device that enhances fishermen’s safety and productivity, announced Google India on Wednesday.
Advay, a class 10 student from Chennai’s National Public School, has also added another feather to his cap by being shortlisted in the 20 finalists to compete for a $50,000 scholarship from Google. Describing his happiness he said, “Winning the Google Community Impact Award means a lot to me, it would help me learn more and develop my idea further.”
He designed the “Fishermen Lifeline Terminal (FELT)” a hand-held terminal that uses the Standard Position Services (SPS), an open service without encryption which is provided by the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, to enhance fishermen’s safety and productivity at the sea.
As a part of his project description he said, “I have often read news about the troubles encountered by fishermen in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. They have to stay at sea for many days to do their work. Sometimes, Sri Lankan forces arrest them for crossing the International Maritime Boundary line. Location-based information can provide many valuable services to these fishermen to handle these situations.”
The Google Community Impact Awards aim at creating awareness and impact in people’s lives and honour a project that makes a practical difference in the innovator’s community by addressing an environmental, health or resources challenge.
“Young minds are inventive, thoughtful, and determined to try things that other people think are ‘impossible.’ It’s imperative for us to support and encourage these young people to explore and challenge the world around them through scientific discovery,” said a Google spokesperson.
Out of several projects across the globe, Google has selected top 100 ideas, including 14 projects from students across India.
