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| Sunday, 8 February 2004 |
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By Farah Macan Markar
Presently 23 years of age Asiri has completed 28 inventions and five for which he has obtained patents. The first is for an Electronic Specific Heat Capacity Counter (ESHCC) which measures the specific heat capacity of any liquid and is able to gauge the purity of it. "It is 99.9% accurate" says Asiri who took five months for the making of it. The ESHCC won him the National Award 1998, Junior Inventor of the Year 1999 and the International Award 2001. Bulb protector Asiri's second Patent is for his invention of a Bulb Protector which extends the lifetime of a normal bulb by five times. Thus the normal 1000 hour life span filament bulb is multiplied to a 5000 hour life span and is energy saving. It was this Bulb Protector which won him the Junior Inventor of the Year 2001. Next is the Multipurpose Cassette which made De Silva the Youth Award Winner 1999. This somewhat unusual cassette which has no tape in its inside, is filled with tiny wires connected to a tiny battery and a computer chip. It is used to check the working of a radio amplifier and clean the head of a cassette player. It can also be used to listen to music which has already been computerized into it. Asiri is as yet developing a way to be able to re-record its music. Asiri's fourth patent is for an Electronic Fish Keeper which is light, small and cost effective. It helps in controlling food given to fish as well as filters the dirt in the fish tank/pond. Life saving kit Lastly is the Electronic Life Saving Kit for which this enterprising young man has just applied for patent. The newest invention of the lot, this life saving jacket automatically inflates when sensing struggle in water (something like the car air bag system). An attached cellular phone then automatically sends a help signal to a corresponding land phone and a 15 minute oxygen mask comes up with it as well. Inventions which mostly fulfil a home need, among Asiri's creations are modified blackboard dusters, modified wiring electronic trip switch testers, an Acv fitter and a fertilizer machine which makes compost in just three days. Says this young master mind of physics "All my inventions come from my fascination of electronics. I'm inspired by day to day physics I see around me as well as books on sound electronics and the Vidusara paper". Born on the 1st June 1980, Asiri's first invention came at the age of twelve with an automatic sieve. Observing his mother at work manually sieving flour and other ingredients in the kitchen, he came up with his own device which would be worked on electricity. Having studied at Ananda College Asiri did physics, chemistry, zoology and botany for his A's and is presently engaged in an external degree at the Colombo University doing a Bachelor of Information Technology. He is also working as a Banking Trainee at the Commercial Bank, Wellawatte Branch, of which this is his third year. Books Inventing new creations in his free time, based on his experience and learning Asiri has published two books in Sinhala. One is on the Java Programme, which until his piece of work, had only English publications. The second book is on Electronics and Transformer Rewinding. Both books are available in leading book stores. A "lack of laboratories" and "Poor Marketing" are what Asiri describes as the most difficult problems faced by Sri Lankan Inventors. "To really get into creating items, it is necessary to have large space and equipment. Also the promoting of these products in the local market is poor. The people are either ignorant of these low cost products or have no faith in them". As a counterplan to the marketing problem, Asiri is working on creating his own firm, "Asiri Designers", the site for which is under construction in Panagoda. Says Asiri "I want Sri Lankan Inventors to get together under this umbrella and be able to market their products in a professional manner". Among this young Inventor's hobbies are playing badminton and chess. Asiri also has a love for web designing, graphic designing and software development. For the future he dreams of getting into the fields of electronics and computers. |
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His room is a labyrinth of wires and batteries. His head is filled with
physics. His name is Asiri Dilhan De Silva and he is the National Award
Winner 1998, Youth Award Winner 1999, Junior Inventor of the Year 1999,
Junior Inventor of the Year 2001, International Award Winner 2001,
Vocational Excellence Winner 2002, Commonwealth Youth Programme Asia Award
Winner 2002 and The Outstanding Young Persons Award Winner 2002.
