Warangal man invents low-cost solar-powered PC
The single board computer is economical, suitable for all age groups
Warangal Rural: S Santosh Kumar, Associate Professor with Department of Computer Science Engineering (CSE) at Balaji Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) near Narsampet, has invented an ‘economical single board computer’ that is ideal for people who cannot afford branded computers. The cost of the computer is just Rs 17,000 and will be available for customers after the launch.
Speaking to Telangana Today, Santosh Kumar, a resident of Warangal city, said: “This single board computer can do pretty much everything that a desktop computer can do and is suitable for all age groups who are keen to explore computing. It comes with all the software and also inbuilt battery and also can run with 24V solar panel.”
“But if one wants to extend the functionalities to some extent, one will need to take the help of an OS running on the device. It performs as a bridge between the user and hardware. OS is the most crucial programme that helps one to develop and execute programmes. It enables the hardware to communicate with the software for generating meaningful interactions. Also, it manages CPU, memory, disk drives, printers, establishes user interface and provides services for applications software. This new computer can give one-hour backup power with inbuilt lithium ion batteries through solar power. The total cost of this new PC is Rs 17,500,” he explained.
It is a low cost, single monitor (15 inches) computer that plugs into a computer monitor, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse and Ethernet. It is a capable little device that helps to learn how to programme in languages like Scratch, Java and Python.
One can also play games on this computer. It has the ability to interact with the outside world, and has been used in a wide array of digital projects, from music machines and parent detectors to weather stations and tweeting bird houses with infra-red cameras. The supporting OS (Operating Systems) are Windows 10, Windows IoT Core, Ubuntu Core, Gentoo Linux, Arch Linux ARM and Kali Linux.
Santosh received the Young Scientist Award from University of Mysore-2018 for his Sound Telescope Research (voice telescope). He also developed an ‘unmanned autonomous combat ground vehicle’ for Indian Armed Forces and secured Ambedkar National Fellowship Award from BDSA, New Delhi, for his research. “I also invented a ‘brain wave detector’,” he said and added that he was planning to meet IT Minister KT Rama Rao to launch his ‘economical single board computer’ soon.
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