Indian teen wins Google Science Fair 2016

New Delhi: Advay Ramesh, a 14-year old Indian teenager from Chennai has won the coveted Google Community impact Award. Ramesh Advay, a student of class 10 at the National Public School in Chennai, is working on an application that runs on a hand-held device like a smartphone that will warn fishermen if they are about to cross an international water boundary. Called FELT or FishErmen Lifeline Terminal, the app will also help fishermen map their route of travel, mark the places where they have deployed their nets and warn them about rough weather.

FELT works with the help of a map and a Global Positioning System-like (GPS) technology. During his experiments Advay used Google Maps on an Android smartphone and Global Positioning system (GPS) to create travel routes, mark zones and determine accuracy. Advay said “The app will save lives, help families and increase productivity for fishermen.”

Google Science Fair is an international, online science and technology competition that encourages students between the ages of 13 to 18 to use science to make the world better. Google later awards the students with scholarships or helps them make it a reality.