Why its important for young people to innovate and how to get started
[Music]
the covid19 pandemic started last year
and infected
millions i saw the direct impact on my
community
especially my high risk and vulnerable
neighbors
it motivated me to do my part to slow
the spread of this covid19 pandemic
and save lives introducing six feet
apart
a wearable social distancing device to
simplify
and quantify social distancing i built
this device embedded in a hat
using the latest developments in
ultrasonic technology
infrared imaging and artificial
intelligence to ensure the user would
maintain
safe social distance according to the
cdc’s guidelines
here’s a quick look at how six feet
apart works
the hat sends short pulses of ultrasonic
waves out into the environment
so when a person comes within the 6-foot
detection range these waves refract
back into the sensor of the device and
the user receives
live haptic and acoustic feedback to
alert them that they’re in the range of
unsafe social distancing
these alerts also go out via bluetooth
on the six feet apart
mobile app that i coded myself if you
don’t want to wear a hat i also embedded
the same technology
into an armband for on-the-go safety and
a lanyard for students and professionals
covet 19 is a challenge unique to this
time
but i don’t believe it will be the last
we will encounter other unfamiliar
challenges
and my generation must be a part of
creating solutions for them
many of my peers however don’t believe
they have the ability to build
meaningful solutions
but i think they can after all the
greatest innovators are just like you
and i the difference is they’ve
channeled their focus
to accomplish extraordinary things what
we need is a roadmap or a framework to
innovate
throughout my innovation journey i’ve
used a simple three-step process
for all my inventions and devices and i
believe that anyone can use this as
their framework
the three steps are identify innovate
and impact the first step identify
is all about understanding the problem
choose a problem that you’re most
passionate about solving
personally i look for problems that have
a large scope
where a solution will impact as many
people as possible
but is also feasible for me to solve i
work
to truly understand the problem by
stepping into the shoes of the people
experiencing it
using the mental model of first
principles thinking
to ask why over and over again until i
can’t ask
why anymore it’s impossible to solve
every branch of a problem
so we must break it down into smaller
solvable chunks to address it
in building six feet apart i looked for
the root causes
of the rapid spread of the covid19
pandemic
and dove deeper into the aspect of
person-to-person transmission
if we break down a problem like covet 19
into its sub-problems
we can begin analyzing the root causes
and creating
lasting and impactful solutions we can
see that the spread of covid19
is not a root problem in itself it’s an
outcome
i’m also really passionate about
researching to build up an understanding
of a topic
starting with simple videos and
increasing in complexity
to research papers and speaking with
industry experts
but most of all you don’t have to be an
expert in a field to innovate
you only need enough knowledge to build
your innovation
and continue learning along the way the
second step
innovate is perhaps the most important
step of them all
innovation is an iterative process and
going back to the drawing board
is all part of the learning it’s normal
to get really excited
about working with a cool technology or
technique but we should only use methods
that actually address
a problem instead of looking for ways to
apply a technology like ai
i learned to first solve a problem
regardless of what technology is used
once you’ve picked your initial approach
build it test it
get feedback on it and go back to the
drawing board to reiterate
and improve your solution by deploying
your solutions out into the real world
you can begin to impact lives today
the last step impact is all about
spreading awareness
and sharing your work because the
exposure enables you to find future
mentors
collaborators and organizations to work
with
mentorship has always been a huge
catalyst for my innovation journey
my mentors inspire me to solve big
problems
and constantly give me opportunities to
grow
to all the adults out there i challenge
you pass on your wisdom
who knows the next person for whom you
open a door
might go on to be a future innovator for
the past couple of years i’ve been
running innovation workshops with
museums
schools and companies to raise awareness
of stem
and youth and build the next generation
of problem solvers and innovators
through my global virtual
and in-person outreach i’ve directly
impacted over 22
000 students and industry leaders
this process has worked for me and i’ve
created over
five different inventions using it
including mobileme
a device and app to prevent mobility
loss and falls in the elderly
using artificial intelligence and
predictive analytics
and i’m working on a couple of new
innovations to diagnose
diseases at an early stage using the
latest developments in biomarkers
i am just a teenager but by using this
process
i’m able to create so many different
solutions to real world
problems some of my innovations have
gained recognition
from the nasdaq new york times abc
and more and i share this to highlight
just
how much society values young innovators
our generation is just beginning to
embrace
innovation gen z already knows what
problems to care about
but they just don’t know how to channel
their passion into tangible solutions
we need to empower all youth to get
involved with innovation
what we need is an all hands on deck
approach
to solving not just covet 19 but also
climate change
threats to cyber security and to human
rights
even as these and many other challenges
may seem insurmountable my generation
also has access to so many new
tools and technologies like artificial
intelligence
3d printing virtual reality blockchain
and more
we need to expose kids to stem
at an early age so that society can gain
more
innovators and problem solvers working
towards the same
common goal together we can create a
rich
innovation ecosystem to foster ingenuity
and problem solving
now more than ever we have the power to
harness cutting-edge science and
technology
to create positive change in our
communities
with more people involved in the
innovation process the more problems we
can solve
and the faster we’ll be able to do it
having the innovation ecosystem
is the biggest thing we can do and youth
are such a critical part of that
ecosystem
we need youth alongside adults and
organizations
solving problems creating change and
innovating
to create that better world for all of
us
to everyone in my generation i challenge
you
find a real world problem that you’re
passionate about
and get involved today put your passion
and creativity towards solving these
problems
get started now with frameworks like my
three-step
process to guide you and use whatever
tools you can access
just start somewhere take that first
step
and the journey will be so rewarding