Teen Invents 'ElectroShoe' To Protect Women From Attackers

At a time when crimes against women are skyrocketing, there is a great need to find ways to enhance safety measures in public spaces. And 18-year-old Siddharth Mandala may have just the answer for it. The Telangana boy has invented ElectroShoe, a gadget with which women can literally give a shock to their attackers.

It was Mandala's mother who made him aware about the atrocities that women have to go through. She used to take him to various protests against crimes and inequality since childhood.

Also, seeing everyday media reports on violence against women, Mandala was inspired to invent ElectroShoe.

ElectroShoe is a shoe that is designed to electrocute attackers by inflicting 0.1 ampere of electricity. It also alerts the police and the wearer’s family about the attack. The wearer just needs to kick the perpetrator to activate the device

“I invented a patent-pending device called ElectroShoe. It can electrocute the perpetrator instantly by inflicting 0.1 Ampere of electricity, while sending an alert for assistance to cops and family members,” Siddharth told The Better India.

“To accomplish this, I created a unique circuit board that uses footsteps to charge itself with the help of a concept called the ‘piezoelectric effect’ which I learned in my physics class. The more the user walks, the more energy is generated and stored in a rechargeable battery.”

"Whenever I felt like giving up, I remembered my favourite inventor Thomas Edison’s words, ‘I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light-bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps’."

17 failed prototypes

It took Mandala 17 failed prototypes and several shocks to attain the perfect version of ElectroShoe. As a very young inventor, he had no profession technical knowledge to pursue his dream project but that did not hinder his dedication.

When he faced difficulties in his project, he resolved to seek professional advice from programmers and engineers, both online and offline. For years, he kept bothering them for solutions to his problems. Some even stopped responding, he said.

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“While experimenting, I faced electrocution twice, and my friend Abhishek even developed a nosebleed,” the 17-year-old said.

“But whenever I felt like giving up, I remembered my favourite inventor Thomas Edison’s words, ‘I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light-bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps’.”

Currently, ElectroShoe only works in a flip-flop variant. Mandala is working to produce it in shoe format. The teenager has filed for its patent and plans to launch it soon.

Apart from inventing this kickass shoe, he has become an activist. He has also set up an NGO to spread awareness of sexual assault. He also teaches children basic coding.

Picture credit- The Better India