Dubai-based Indian boy finalist in Google Science Fair

Dubai, May 26 (IANS) A Dubai-based Indian boy has ranked among the top 100 regional finalists for the Google Science Fair global contest for his project to make street lights smarter, the media reported.Shaamil Karim, a grade 11 student at the Indian High School Dubai, was selected from thousands of entries, Gulf News reported on Saturday.His project detects if a car or person is passing by and makes the next street light brighter and the previous light dimmer, saving energy.Karim, a 15-year-old computer whizkid who originally hail from Chennai, said his father was his inspiration to come up with a solution for power wastage."We were at a park late at night and all the lights were switched on. My dad said, 'Can't we do something about this?' I decided to do my project to make street lights smart," he told the Gulf News.Karim added that his project would be around 63 per cent cheaper than infrared-based sensors. The global 20 finalists are expected to be announced this month.
--IANS ksk