When teenager Sharath sees the Bigshot camera in an electronic store window, he is certain to have a wide grin on his face. He may even convince his parents to let him get his hands on the device, since it will help in learning scientific concepts. After all, as an 11-year-old student of MES Kishore Kendra, Sharath, and other children from the school played a small but important role in the development of this trailblazing gadget, around four years ago.
The DIY camera designed by Shree K Nayar, T C Chang Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University, has just been launched all over India and can be used by both children and adults.
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Bigshot is powered by batteries, but unlike any other camera, it also comes with a manual power generator in the form of a hand crank that lets you take photos even when the battery runs out of charge. It has a lens setting for taking 3D photos. Each building block of the camera teaches a scientific concept – how mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy, how gears work, physiology of the human eye, what is LCD technology and so on. Once the camera is built, it introduces you to photography and hones your creative skills.
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“The idea behind Bigshot was to use the enormous appeal of cameras to address a social issue, namely, education,” says Nayar.
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Putting together the Bigshot kit exposes users to a wide range of science and engineering concepts – mechanics, optics, electronics and image processing. These concepts are described on an accompanying website (www.bigshotcamera.com)
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