A Durham teen is getting praise for winning an award in a nationwide STEM competition.
Yash Mehta, a 14-year-old student from Durham, won a first-place technology award as part of the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge. His goal of building an inexpensive braille reader showed enough promise and acumen to impress judges.
For his project, Mehta used tiny rotating motors to poke users’ fingers in braille letter patterns. He tested using two motor sizes, arranging six of each motor in three rows, and experimenting with the distance between the motors. Mehta connected the motors to an Arduino, which moved the motors based on text from a computer. His findings showed that the smaller motors could not withstand the pressure of fingers, while larger ones could. He also compared the distances between motors to see which allowed people to read braille with accuracy.
The competition is hosted by Society for Science, a nonprofit organization.
For his work, Mehta won a $3,500 scholarship to STEM summer camp. He has filed a patent for the device, according to the Society for Science.
In his spare time, Mehta enjoys playing the piano and fencing. He is an eighth grader at Durham Academy.
