A team of A-Level students from Regent College have invented a device that can sense an oncoming petrol bomb attack on a vehicle and minimise its effect.
The project, named Petrol Bomb Extinguisher, was one of the many projects that were displayed yesterday at the Third Annual Science Fair of Regent College in the capital’s Gulshan area. The project won the first prize in the competition.
As team members Mushfiqur Rahman Saad, Fahmid Uddin, Akash Biswas and Sadi Murshed explained, the device consists of a flame sensor, a micro-controller and a sprinkler system. With a response time of 10 microseconds, when the flame sensor detects an approaching firebomb, it triggers the micro-controller to switch on the sprinkler system set up in and around the vehicle to prevent fire damage.
“For science to be of real value to society, it requires not only the understanding of the theory but the application in the real world. This project showed both the academic knowledge and the innovation and creativity necessary for practical use,” said Dr Aloke Kumar Chakraborty, renowned physicist and one of the judges in the competition.
Thirteen teams from seven Dhaka schools, including the host, participated in the fair. Other judges were Keith Shurlock, principal at Grace International School, and Dr Gopal Debnath, retired professor of Dhaka College.