BANGKOK, Feb 5 — Noticing his father getting exhausted by having to keep his eyes on the road at all times during a family vacation, L. Prahveenraaj decided to come up with an invention to reduce drowsiness during long-distance driving.
He said nodding off at the wheel while driving puts the driver and other road users at risk.
Therefore, the 11-year-old student of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil St Theresa’s Convent in Taiping, Perak, devoted his time to finding a remedy for drowsiness behind the wheel to reduce the number of road crashes.
“I wanted to create an eco-friendly, affordable and hazardless compound that could increase alertness and prevent accidents,” he told Bernama.
Prahveenraaj and his teammates S. Kaviynashrie and M. Avvaneesh used peppermint leaves, Mexican mint leaves, cloves, cinnamon, holy basil leaves and olive oil to create the anti-drowsiness compound which was transferred to car freshener, spray, inhaler and mask to keep drivers fresh and alert.
“The compound could be used as natural antibacterial, respiratory system regulator and natural insect repellent,” he said.
The students were participating in the Bangkok International Intellectual Property, Invention, Innovation and Technology Exposition 2020 (IPITEx 2020) at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC) here in conjunction with Thailand’s Inventors’ Day on Feb 2.
An international pavilion was set up for participants to showcase their inventions and innovations. It is a platform for young inventors to unleash their untapped potential as well as gain in-depth experience and exposure.
Another Malaysian invention that caught the attention of visitors was eco-friendly sanitary napkin, which is 100 per cent biodegradable and hygienic.
P. Deva Nayagi and P. Abbinayaa, both 13, and from SMK Sultan Badlishah and SJK (T) Thiruvalluvar respectively, produced biodegradable and eco-friendly sanitary pads made from banana fibre, neem and vitex powders with high absorption levels.
Deva Nayagi said women use sanitary pads which contain chemicals including chlorine bleach which can cause cervical cancer and pelvic inflammatory disease.
“Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in Malaysia. Therefore, we invented eco-friendly sanitary pads which use only natural materials. Eco-sanitary pads are biodegradable,” she said, adding that on average, a woman generates about 23 kilograms of plastic from sanitary pads.
Anti-drowsiness herbal remedy and eco-friendly sanitary napkins are among the 170 inventions, new products and techniques showcased by Malaysian young inventors.
Head of the Malaysian delegation, Prof Dr R. Vigna Kumaran of the Malaysian Invention and Design Society (MINDS), said more than 500 students from primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities from Malaysia were participating in the exposition from Feb 2 to 6.
“We are hoping for 50 gold in the invention and innovation competition. The results will be announced tomorrow,” said the head of Power Systems Units in Institute of Power Engineering (IPE).
Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand Datuk Jojie Samuel visited the Malaysian booth to lend support to the Malaysian delegation. — Bernama
