(Left) Belenso T Yimkhiung (Right) A prototype of ‘Tiger,’ a voice-activated light control system designed and developed by Belenso.
Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 16
Most youngsters today are known for their social media addiction and dubious amount of time spent playing video games. But some break the mould. Globally, there is a new generation of precocious youths trying to solve problems in their communities with ambitious, innovative tech.
Over the past week, videos of Belenso T Yimkhiung’s homemade experiments emerged on various social media platforms. The video depicted a voice-activated apparatus called ‘Tiger’ responding to Belenso’s voice commands to switch the lights on and off.
For many people who are familiar with appliances like Google Home and Amazon Echo, automated light control systems like ‘Tiger’ may seem somewhat insignificant.
However, considering that ‘Tiger’ was developed by a twenty-year old Arts student with no training in computer programming or electronic engineering, it is a rather admirable feat.
Growing up in Pungro town in Kiphire district, Belenso T Yimkhiung had a natural curiosity for all things electronic.
“Ever since childhood I was always interested in electronics and electronic things. My first experiment was a robotic hand which I showcased during a district science exhibition in 2018,” he told The Morung Express on Wednesday.
Belenso said he has also created Lifi—an audio transmission device using solar panel and LED lights.
Elaborating on the tech behind his latest project, Belenso said he bought an Arduino microcontroller and installed voice programming on it. The other materials he used included a few light bulbs, an old speaker and some wiring.
Arduino is an open-source hardware and software company, project, and user community that designs and manufactures single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices.
While choosing a name for his project, Belenso said he was inspired by a video wherein the Yimkhiung people were referred to as having the ‘blood of tigers.’
The young inventor said he wanted to refine his project and create a device which will enable people to have audio controlled lights in their homes.
Speaking about his early education and future career prospects, Belenso said he completed his schooling (Nursery to Class 10) in private schools in Pungro town. After his matriculation, he wanted to pursue studies in the Science stream; however, familial responsibilities prevented him from going outside the district to study Science.
“I am the only son among three siblings and owing to my mother’s ill health, I had to stay at home to take care of her,” Belenso recounted.
He also pointed out that there were no educational institutions offering Science and Commerce streams in the entire Kiphire district. Under the circumstances, he opted to join the Government Higher Secondary School in Pungro town as an Arts student.
After completing his higher secondary education, Belenso enrolled for training at the Nagaland Tool Room & Training Centre (NTTC) in Dimapur as an Assistant Electrician. The course will be completed by the end of March.
Following this, Belenso said he will be joining the Government Polytechnic in Kohima to pursue a course in electrical engineering.
In the meantime, he is working on another project to make life easier for the people in his native village of Longtsunger.
Explaining further, he said the water tank in the village is built very high, and requires people to physically climb the tank in order to check the water levels. Concerned that the activity could be dangerous as it may lead to serious injuries, Belenso has plans to develop an electronic water level indicator so that the water levels can be checked without having to climb the water tank.
“I am currently working on the indicator and collecting electronic parts for the same,” he added.
