After a long wait, Johny Samuael could finally take part in a global event and present the “flood analyser app” he developed after one-and-a-half years of hard work and research.
The Class XI student of the Corpus Christi School at Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and the youngest delegate to attend the international conference on remote sensing for disaster management, hosted by the Department of Geo-Engineering, Andhra University College of Engineering, considered the platform a unique experience.
Sharing his excitement with The Hindu , Johny says: “I feel glad to share space with over 300 participants from Indian Space Research Organisation, Vellore Institute of Technology, IIT-Bombay, and Andhra University, along with a host of foreign delegates, in my maiden international conference. Though I tried to take part in global meets earlier, I was rejected because of my age. However, the organisers in Andhra University gave me the first chance to participate and help me explain the advantages of the app.”
Soaking up the admiring glances bestowed on him at the global meet, where he explained the features of the geospatial flood mapping and analysis tool, Johny says the app plays an imperative role in helping the victims in the flood-affected areas.
“All one has to do is to key in the location and the app helps in tracking the inundated areas and identifying the safe zones where people can head to. It also gives information on flood alerts,” he says, displaying the markers that popped on his mobile screen in different colours, denoting safe and danger spots.
Johny could develop the application with the help of Basic4Android (B4A) programming.
“My parents, Jeni Padua and J. Sahaya Arul, and principal Rita Paul supported me in fulfilling my dream. I used to spend three-four hours a day on the project after school and study hours,” he says.
Johny, who aspires to become a space scientist, says the recent Chennai floods and the aftermath made him come up with the flood analyser. The app would soon be made available in Google Play Store, he adds.
His next project is on providing rescue operations to those affected by landslides.
