Jammu and Kashmir: Bandipora students devise ‘smart spoon’ which checks salt quantity in dishes

Six friends from North Kashmir’s Bandipora district- Adnan Farooq, Tabish Mushtaq, Seerat, Tabasum Mansoor, Zainab-un-Nissa and Amaan have made a 'smart spoon' which detects the amount of salt added in the dishes and beverages.

The 'smart spoon’, is a reliable and affordable device for those suffering from hypertension.

It works on the basic principle of conductivity and resistance.

Adnan Farooq, a class 10th student from Bandipora, along with his friends who worked on this invention told Rising Kashmir that he wanted to invent something which would prove helpful for the people.

"My mother is hypertensive patient and was not able to check the salt of different dishes and teas. During Ramadan, it was difficult to check the salt of dishes and tea. So, we decided to invent a smart spoon," he said.

Another inventor, Amaan who also studies in class 10th said that they have made a ‘smart spoon’ which can prove beneficial to many. He said the spoon has a display which has a green and red light indicating the amount of salt present in a particular dish.

“When the amount of salt increases, the light goes from Green to Red, and when the salt decreases, it goes from Red to Green again. The whole spoon works smartly on conductivity and resistance," Amaan said.

These five students are working under the supervision of Jahangir Ahmad- who invented a wireless prototype diaper with a new technology useful for adults, babies and for paralytic patients.

Jahangir told Rising Kashmir that these students have made a “wonderful smart spoon which we want to share in the public and wouldn't use it as a patent.”

He said that people need to set the value of salt according to their taste, then dip the spoon in the curry or tea.

"The spoon will display the value of salt on the organic led display fitted on the spoon," he said.

He said the spoon has an inbuilt battery which needs to be recharged. Jahangir said that they are still trying to find a way so that the ‘smart spoon’ should not require the battery but should get power or energy from the temperature difference by utilizing the concept of ‘The Seebeck effect’.

“The Seebeck effect is a phenomenon in which a temperature difference between two dissimilar electrical conductors or semiconductors produces a voltage difference between the two substances," he said. The intake of excessive salt can lead to high blood pressure (hypertension), which hardens and narrows the blood vessels. “It is necessary for us to take the salt in less quantity but it is very hard to maintain the proper amount of salt in different dishes and teas," he said.

He said that another important aspect is that the tongue feels numb after checking the taste of multiple dishes. “So far, we didn’t have any device that would tell us the amount of salt added in the dish or the tea," he added.