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practical inventor Most of what he knows has been learnt from books and various websites, says this 33-year-old techno wiz. "I can repair almost any computer operated machine now,” says Dinesh. Dinesh's technique is to study the mechanism and then create his own version. "You can't just copy the system because each machine has a unique chip," he says adding, "When you copy, you are stuck there but when you design your own you can keep updating it." One of Dinesh's first major inventions was a surround stereo system he designed soon after his O/Ls at President's College, Maharagama. "As unbelievable as it sounds, I made my system before news of such an appliance ever hit Sri Lanka," smiles Dinesh. His buffer system enables the listener to have sound quality even on low volume. Though during the experiments he was accused by his neighbours of trying to 'bring down buildings’, once it was complete Dinesh says, "You could listen to loud music without disturbing anyone outside." Knowing him to be the techno wiz, Dinesh's friends now come to him with their problems. "A friend of mine was worried about the safety of his home out of Colombo and he wanted me to design an alarm system," says Dinesh. This was connected to the phone lines in the house and an automatic phone call would come on his friend's cell phone if ever an intruder stepped in. At another friend's request he designed a car for ‘learners’ which placed inside a studio gives virtual reality simulation, complete with traffic and pedestrians. "It is easier for people to learn how to drive in a realistic atmosphere," says Dinesh Dinesh and his family use many of his creations in their day-to-day life. "I prefer to make whatever I can rather than buy it," says Dinesh who customises the appliances to suit his needs. Working from his Maharagama home, Dinesh is helped only by his nephew. "It's better to work alone because experiments do go wrong," he admits, adding that you need to be willing to take risks and spend money on projects that may not succeed. "It's a good field but very costly," he says, adding that in the future, he has his heart set on getting into the field of artificial intelligence. low
cost and user-friendly While working in Kurunegala, Dinesh met Dr. Windsor Perera, a paediatrician at the Kurunegala Hospital and offered to repair some faulty pumps. Then with the support of Dr. Perera who donated Rs.50,000 towards his experiments, Dinesh designed his own pump in six months. " There were lots of complications with the first machine,” says Dinesh explaining that it was made out of a pencil box. Ten machines were modified and put out for testing in one year. Each patient who wore the machines was monitored and after further modifications another 40 machines were made. Dinesh's pumps which cost Rs.9,500 are vastly cheaper than the imported pump. "There are so many types in the world but this one is designed to suit our country," he says adding that his machine causes less swelling and pain for the patient than some imported brands. Dinesh has also added colourful pictures to make it "less scary for the children to face the people coming at them with the machine and needles”. Patients buy the machine made at the Misco Lab directly from Dinesh while others purchase them through the hospitals. Since 2001, Dinesh has sold pumps to several government hospitals. Clubs and associations also fund the machines giving them free to the patients. |
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