meet angad daryani
Angad is a 16 year old student, maker, researcher, artist, social entrepreneur, public speaker , environmentalist and philanthropist from Mumbai, India. His passion is to solve real world problems using technology. He loves marine biology and studying the symbiotic behaviour between nature and animals (Marine or otherwise). Angad is currently pursuing the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP).
Ex-research collaboration student at MIT Media Lab ReDx and TreeLabs at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Ex-technologist at Innovators Club of India. Founder of SharkBot 3D Systems and Shark Kits. Founding team member at Maker's Asylum Mumbai.
Daryani, a 16-year-old Mumbaiker, quit school in the 9th grade, frustrated by rote learning. Soon after, he built India’s first 3D printer (and possibly the world’s cheapest 3D printer). In 2013, he developed an “eye-pad” for the blind with MIT. When he was younger, he set up a miniature solar-powered boat and created an automatic watering system for garden plants. He has a longer list of hobbies that you can see here.
He calls himself a maker.
He’s not just messing about all day, though. Rather, he left school to spend 6 hours a day, learning math, science, and language with a tutor. It was in these years, that he truly started tinkering – and discovering solutions.
“I didn’t quit studying and I wouldn’t recommend that option to anyone,” he emphasizes. Rather, he calls his study technique, open schooling. Open suggesting freedom to pursue his passions, such as building low-cost tech devices that can also help people.
Daryani was a natural entrepreneur, using his tech skills to develop two new companies, designed for makers: Sharkits, which produces low-cost maker kits, and Sharkbot, a low-cost 3D printer that will last longer than the ones currently in the market. Sharkbot will produce 3D printers for roughly $350 a unit (Rs. 20,000), considerably cheaper than 3D printers sold in the United States.
While these may be Daryani’s commercial ventures, he’s very keen on using technology to tackle social issues. Last year, he submitted his ‘eye-pad’ for the blind for a Google Science Fair competition; he was selected, among 90 other makers in the world.
The eye-pad, or more formally called a “Haptic Feedback E-reader for the Visually Impaired,” converts Roman text into Braille in real-time. Traditionally, the blind have to wait till books are converted to Braille for them to read; this could become the world’s first Kindle for Braille users of its kind, Daryani says. The device was crafted with Ramesh Raskar and Anna Young of MIT’s Media Lab, an organization that Daryani admires.
In addition to helping the blind, Daryani collaborated with MIT on a wearable, low-cost ECT heart monitor. The project was built under the guidance of Rohan Puri, Ramesh Raskar and Maulik Majmudar of MIT Media Lab and students from across India. While these projects are still in development, Daryani is clear that he wants to build technology for the masses, not an elite few.
“After quitting school and working with people from MIT Media Lab, I discovered how to solve problems. Before that, I was just a tinkerer,” he says.
He especially wants other kids to see what science and technology can do. He’s simply learning by doing, he says.
Ex-research collaboration student at MIT Media Lab ReDx and TreeLabs at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Ex-technologist at Innovators Club of India. Founder of SharkBot 3D Systems and Shark Kits. Founding team member at Maker's Asylum Mumbai.
Daryani, a 16-year-old Mumbaiker, quit school in the 9th grade, frustrated by rote learning. Soon after, he built India’s first 3D printer (and possibly the world’s cheapest 3D printer). In 2013, he developed an “eye-pad” for the blind with MIT. When he was younger, he set up a miniature solar-powered boat and created an automatic watering system for garden plants. He has a longer list of hobbies that you can see here.
He calls himself a maker.
He’s not just messing about all day, though. Rather, he left school to spend 6 hours a day, learning math, science, and language with a tutor. It was in these years, that he truly started tinkering – and discovering solutions.
“I didn’t quit studying and I wouldn’t recommend that option to anyone,” he emphasizes. Rather, he calls his study technique, open schooling. Open suggesting freedom to pursue his passions, such as building low-cost tech devices that can also help people.
Daryani was a natural entrepreneur, using his tech skills to develop two new companies, designed for makers: Sharkits, which produces low-cost maker kits, and Sharkbot, a low-cost 3D printer that will last longer than the ones currently in the market. Sharkbot will produce 3D printers for roughly $350 a unit (Rs. 20,000), considerably cheaper than 3D printers sold in the United States.
While these may be Daryani’s commercial ventures, he’s very keen on using technology to tackle social issues. Last year, he submitted his ‘eye-pad’ for the blind for a Google Science Fair competition; he was selected, among 90 other makers in the world.
The eye-pad, or more formally called a “Haptic Feedback E-reader for the Visually Impaired,” converts Roman text into Braille in real-time. Traditionally, the blind have to wait till books are converted to Braille for them to read; this could become the world’s first Kindle for Braille users of its kind, Daryani says. The device was crafted with Ramesh Raskar and Anna Young of MIT’s Media Lab, an organization that Daryani admires.
In addition to helping the blind, Daryani collaborated with MIT on a wearable, low-cost ECT heart monitor. The project was built under the guidance of Rohan Puri, Ramesh Raskar and Maulik Majmudar of MIT Media Lab and students from across India. While these projects are still in development, Daryani is clear that he wants to build technology for the masses, not an elite few.
“After quitting school and working with people from MIT Media Lab, I discovered how to solve problems. Before that, I was just a tinkerer,” he says.
He especially wants other kids to see what science and technology can do. He’s simply learning by doing, he says.
