Becoming a Maker was my destiny! I’ve been Making stuff and learning about it since I was young! I started building things using Meccano sets since I was 5 years old. I had many old sets which were used by my parents when they were young. My parents added more Meccano sets for me when I was young. I started learning about electronics using different electronics-focused games since I was 8 years old. I started learning computer-thinking, algorithms and coding from my Dad since I was seven years old!
Until I was about ten, I started becoming really interested into Robotics. I built my first Robotics Project which was a manually controlled Robotic Hovercraft when I was 13 years old. I had participated in the India’s largest Technology event, the IIT Techfest for which I had built the Robotic Hovercraft.
My hovercraft had considerably higher speeds as compared to other competitors in the event because of the light weight and carefully selected components, but unfortunately could not sustain the competition because of a burnt motor. So I was disqualified after few initial rounds.
The hovercraft body was made using corrugated PE sheets and its frame and structure was built using aluminum sheets. I had used a powerful 25,000 RPM DC brushed motor for thrust and a small 6000 RPM DC brushed motor for navigation. Overall the design was crisp, steady and aerodynamic which proved beneficial in the competition.
Many of my competitors who got defeated by me, were much older than me. In fact I was one of the youngest competitors, and with a great design! Though I could not win the competition, the competition gave me a confidence that I can Make things!