Exclusive Interview with Abhishek Bhagat, the youngest innovator of India

In this issue, we are extremely happy to publish the interview of Mr. Abhishek Bhagat, the youngest innovator of India to receive a number of prestigious awards including two times National Award from former president of India. Apart from being inventor, other skills like motivational speaker, entrepreneur, 3d artist, VFX artist and UI developer are some of the additional feathers in his cap. Abhishek is currently pursuing B.Sc. degree in animation and multimedia. Abhishek has been awarded many prestigious awards like INK- Fellow 2011 as Inventor; IGNITE 09 (National Innovation Foundation) award by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam; in 2011 and 2012 National Award by former president Of India Smt. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil. In July 2011 Abhishek got his name in India Book of records. Some of his most highly acclaimed inventions are–RoboCook (checkout our innovative product of the month section), Landing Stand for Space Craft, Sun Flower system for solar plate etc, are a few to name.

Here are the excerpts of the exclusive interview with him:

Origiin: We convey heartiest congratulations on being the youngest innovator and receiving so many prestigious awards. It is a great pleasure for us to interact with you and publish your thoughts in this interview.

Mr Abhishek: Thank you so much for this opportunity. I am much honoured to do this interview with you and share my view and experience with everybody.

Origiin: Your first invention came out at the age of 12, which happened to be a “timer operated explosive device”! Would you like to share with us, how did you conceive this invention and what was the reaction of your family?

Mr Abhishek: I never thought that it will end up like this, as I never wanted to make a time bomb, it was just an accident!Actually when I was playing with a torch, I accidentally dropped it and the bulb inside it went boom. I picked up the torch to see if it was working so I pressed the switch and a short flame came out, I became very excited to see the flame as I got a brilliant idea of making a bomb for Diwali. After a few more days I thought why not set a timer for the bomb so that it explodes whenever I want it to. So, that made me to create a timer of the torch which was connected to the switch. I went to the market and got an alarm watch and read how it basically worked and used that science in my time bomb.After seeing this everybody was shocked, but this experiment made me create my first program which later helped me in making my cooking machine.

Origiin: You have received a lot of appreciation for your invention “RoboCook”, including the highly prestigious Ignite 2009 from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. How have you perceived the idea of this automatic cooking machine?

Mr Abhishek: Well it started like this,once I was making tea for my mother, that time I thought my mother was doing same thing every day i.e. she always mixed two tea spoons of sugar, one tea spoon of tea leaves and milk. So, then I decided to make one machine for my mother which would make every kind of recipe automatically and she does not need to go through the same tedious process again and again.

So, I came up with “RoboCook”which is a machine for making food automatically. It is an electrically operated automatic food making machine.  It has different boxes for ingredients.  A recipe card is used to select the type and quantity of the dish to be cooked. The machine automatically takes the required ingredients and cooks the dish.

I have developed two prototypes and NIF (National Innovation Foundation) has involved a professional design firm to develop the marketable product.

Origiin: At such a young age you have been awarded by the highest dignitaries like Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Smt. Pratibha Patil with the National Awards and had an opportunity to present your invention in front of the present president of India, Mr Pranab Mukherjee. How does it feel to be so privileged?

Mr Abhishek: I feel much honoured to have achieved all that I have till date. It feels very nice when people know you from the work that you do. But what makes me even happier is that people now know my family by my name, this is the happiest thing that has ever happened to me and I feel very proud of it.

Origiin: Whether there have been any obstacles that you need to overcome in your journey towards innovation?

Mr Abhishek: My journey towards innovation has never been always easy, as I have faced many technical and financial obstacles. But I am thankful to NIF India as it has always supported me financially and even technically, because of which I have achieved my goals and scaled greater heights.

Origiin: Are you considering any of your inventions to make it commercially available? Have you received any help from any organization to help your ideas get translated into reality?

Mr Abhishek: Presently, I am trying to make “RoboCook” commercially available in the market for people to use it. But this needs a very large setup to be launched, so I am facing financial problem with this. But still I am trying my level best to get it to the market by telling more people about RoboCook and its benefits.

Origiin:How important is IP protection like patent, trademark or copyright for any IP work.Have you sought any Intellectual Property Protection for any of your invention?

Mr. Abhishek: Yes, I have sought IP Protection for my invention “RoboCook”.

It is very important to protect your work. Reason being:

First, and foremost it is your legal right to protect your work. Imagine that you have invented a unique pen, and showcasing it with no patent/copyright, and a few months later you find that someone has stolen your pen’s idea and developed it under his own name and received a tremendous financial gain for your work. There is virtually nothing you could do about it, as there would be no proof of sole ownership, all these however could have been avoided entirely,had there been an IP protection taken preliminary. Moreover it can make you money. Under IP laws you are able to allow others to use your works for a fee, or you can sell your IP asset to others for a larger fee, by using a license. If someone chooses to infringe upon your IP work, you are granted the right to seek legal action. provided you have the necessary legal evidence of being the true inventor, you will more than likely be awarded financial compensation.

Origiin: What is your interests and area of research that you would like to focus on in future?

Mr Abhishek: I want to create a robot which can be easily operated and programmed by a kid. In a single sentence, I want to make the programming of a robot as simple as having a cupcake

Origiin: Would you like to give any advice to students as well as young aspirants who carry the same zeal like yours to come out with something innovative that contribute to society?

Mr Abhishek: I request all teachers and parents to encourage their young ones not to study just for the sake of passing the exam but to understand and think what they are studying.This will not only make them a better learner but they can also relate to what they are learning and lastly they should never stop thinking.

Origiin: Thank you so much Abhishek for your valuable inputs and your time spared for Origiin. I am sure our readers will thoroughly enjoy it. Wish you best wishes for all your future endeavours.