KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/22 March) – A group of engineering students from a local school may soon acquire a patent for their invention: an electronic helmet that they said can detect drunk driving.
Agham party-list Rep. Angelo Palmones said his group will help the student-inventors apply for a patent to protect their intellectual property rights.
Palmones considered the invention necessary since drunk driving is one of the many causes of vehicular accidents not only in North Cotabato but also in many parts of the country.
“This is very impressive, that’s why Agham party-list, through our representative, is bent on supporting the patent application of the invention,” said Bing Belarmino, a staffer of Rep. Palmones.
Belarmino said they have already given the inventors the checklist needed for the application so they could submit the documents to the patent division of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
The electronic helmet was invented by fourth year Electronics and Communications Engineering students at the Notre Dame of Kidapawan College, namely Dessa Caro, Bryan Lumbayan, Julius Lopez, and Darwin Zoilo, all residents of this city.
Caro, the group leader, said they could not imagine their invention would reach this far.
“I just could not believe it. We did not expect we’ll reach this far. Actually, we invented this product as part of our thesis and as a requirement for our graduation,” she said.
Lumbayan said they were inspired to invent a motorcycle helmet when one of their classmates was hurt in a road mishap on his way home to Makilala, North Cotabato. The driver, he said, was drunk and did not use a helmet.
The group spent two months on their invention.
The critical stage was when they had to dispose some of the parts they earlier used to make the product work. One of these, Lumbayan said, was the Solenoid bulb.
“We intend to include in the gadget a gas sensor using Solenoid bulb. But we didn’t use it because we have problems with the switch. It may create a spark and may cause a fire so we have to dispose it,” he said.
For the wireless communication, the inventors used a chip taken from a remote-controlled toy car which they used as transmitter and a receiver.
Lumbayan said all the materials they used to manufacture the product are available in the Philippines.
They all said the invention was 100-percent original.
“The gadget worked. We know it’s also viable, meaning, it can be reproduced and sold in the market,” said Lumbayan. (Malu Cadelina Manar/MindaNews)