
12th Class Indian Student Invents Shoes To Charge Your Mobile - trakin
http://trak.in/tags/business/2014/03/21/indian-student-invention-mobile-charging-shoes/
======
aviraldg
I know I'll get downvoted by the Indian crowd here on HN, but I feel this
needs to be said:

This illustrates the characteristically Indian trait of mindless hero worship.
Our media has a tendency to blow such things out of proportion, even if it's
immediately apparent to anyone even slightly technically competent that they
are definitely not original, or as revolutionary as they are claimed to be.

More examples:

Recent coverage (in one of India's largest newspapers):
[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Guwahati-
te...](http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Guwahati-teen-scripts-
ReVo-lution/articleshow/30585775.cms)

Thoroughly debunked: [http://technofaq.org/posts/2014/02/unmasked-afreed-
islam-rev...](http://technofaq.org/posts/2014/02/unmasked-afreed-islam-
revobook-revoixos/)

or

[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/enterprise-
it/securi...](http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/enterprise-
it/security/Indian-student-in-Cornell-University-hacks-into-ICSE-ISC-
database/articleshow/20450666.cms) ("Hacks")

~~~
sizzle
I think it has more to do feeling pride for one's own country. I fail to see
how this is "mindless hero worship", rather than a means to push India into
the spotlight for their 15 minutes of fame, granted the story makes
international headlines.

Now bollywood movies on the other hand........

~~~
aviraldg
>> I think it has more to do feeling pride for one's own country.

India has considerably more impressive achievements to be proud of.

>> I fail to see how this is "mindless hero worship"

Of course it is. Some kid does something entirely ordinary (and probably
realises that is the case), and the media treats it like the next big thing
and calls him a prodigy. (For examples, look at the links I posted.)

>> rather than a means to push India into the spotlight for their 15 minutes
of fame, granted the story makes international headlines.

Better unknown than famous like this.

~~~
sizzle
I agree with what you're saying, but I think this is more of an Indian media
tactic. No one would know about this student otherwise, so you should be
pointing your finger at the reports/journalists to create better content. I
suspect this story was aimed at their Indian audience.

This achievement is largely forgettable to our population, but when Indians
read this they feel a sense of pride for their fellow people's achievements. I
think the Indian media is just exploiting this Indian trait to get more views.

------
dubiousclaims
Dubious claims as ususal - "Rajesh is now working on a better prototype of the
model, wherein mobile or any electric device can be charged without any wires.
If the person keeps the mobile in his pockets and just walks, then the battery
would be charged wirelessly."

~~~
balladeer
> Dubious claims as ususal

How is it dubious, or how is it dubious as "usual"? He is a student in 12th
grade, he tried to make sth and then he dreams to make sth more, sth better.
Maybe he will fail or maybe he'll succeed but what is dubious here?

------
curiousDog
Ugh, for god's sake please stop submitting stuff like this.

~~~
sizzle
care to elaborate on what's wrong with it, considering it's being upvoted?

------
mattlutze
In college, one of my physics professors put it this way: Even though someone
else may have discovered a law or theorem already, doesn't make independently
reasoning it out and getting to the same conclusion any less of an
accomplishment.

Good on him for attacking a problem, and for having the wherewithal to attempt
more advanced prototypes.

------
dbbolton
>As per the preliminary reports, this shoe cum charger can light a bulb by
placing a battery in the shoes.

What?

~~~
mrflett
ha! might as well have the headline: '12th class student charges his phone
from thin air' and then reveal in the article it is just made by placing a
battery in thin air...

~~~
zem
why put the worst possible interpretation on things? it was pretty clear to me
that the battery was rechargeable and that the shoe was charging it.

------
yalogin
The article is horrible. Its a report on a high schools student's project at
best. Its like India longs for greatness and the media is desperate for some
one to do something big.

------
amits89
Mobile Or Smartphone? If It's Smartphone then it's a great idea because In
India people are demanding big screen which comes with 2000mAh (5-inch screen)
So Smartphone user are facing issue with battery. If it's mobile charger also
the scenario is great because in India we have 900 million mobile device,
which include 80 Million smartphone as of now. Last but not the least This
setup will help India in a long run, This boy need good team member to have
his company.

------
jsudhams
As mentioned in article not new but i kind of like parallel products
developed. another one is [http://trak.in/innovation/indian-school-girl-
invents-washing...](http://trak.in/innovation/indian-school-girl-invents-
washing-machine-without-electricity-302013/)

But i would rather find solution or imlement solution why power is getting cut
even famous places ulike Chennai/Bangalore on regular basis. I know one reason
which poor labor work.

~~~
rajeevk
+1

Also, I would like the title of the article to be changed. IMO, whatever
achieved, according to the article, is not an invention. It is just another
usage of a dynamo.

~~~
trakin
I agree, the title may be a little over the top. But, see the guy, he is a
student living in a place where they do not have much facilities or exposure.
They were cut-off from the world, with no lights etc. For most of us urban
folks, it may just be another interesting thing, but for them, it could be a
communication enabler!..

------
EGreg
Awesome! I wanted to make shoes that use piezoelectricity to charge batteries
in the heel or just keep warm. This kid did it!

------
baddox
Sounds like a fairly inefficient way to turn food into electricity. Surely it
would be cheaper, faster, and more efficient to just have something like a
small hand crank to generate the electricity.

~~~
tzs
The point of this kind of thing is to generate electricity form something that
you would be doing anyway even if it did not generate electricity.

~~~
baddox
Sure, but to generate _x_ watts probably requires the walker to output _x_
more watts than normal while walking.

------
enscr
Feels really good to see innovations at school level, even if it's mostly
inspiration. The practical application of what we study has been lacing in
Indian education system.

