A 14-year-old invented a handheld device that uses AI to detect pesticides on produce.The design won him the $25,000 grand prize at this year’s 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Sirish Subash invented device uses AI to detect pesticides. The device is in its preliminary stages but could eventually help shoppers avoid pesticides, one day. When 14-year-old Sirish Subash was told to wash his produce before eating it, he did what any inquiring young mind might do: he asked himself “Why?” Then, he got to work.
Subash wasn’t satisfied with the explanation that washing removes potentially harmful pesticides from produce. He wanted to know how effective washing actually was, so for this year’s 3M Young Scientist Challenge, he set out to invent a device to answer that question. He spent about 11 months researching and developing what ultimately became a handheld device, called Pesti Scand. It attaches to a smartphone and uses AI to detect the presence of certain pesticides on common produce. A 9th grader from Snellville, Georgia, has won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, after inventing a handheld device designed to detect pesticide residues on produce.
Sirish Subash set himself apart with his AI-based sensor to win the grand prize of $25,000 cash and the prestigious title of “America’s Top Young Scientist. ”Like most inventors, Sirish was intrigued with curiosity and a simple question. His mother always insisted that he wash the fruit before eating it, and the boy wondered if the preventative action actually did any good.
His device, called Pesti SCAND, employs spectrophotometry, which involves measuring the light that is reflected off the surface of fruits and vegetables. In his experiments he tested over 12,000 samples of apples, spinach, strawberries, and tomatoes. Different materials reflect and absorb different wavelengths of light, and Pesti SCAND can look for the specific wavelengths related to the pesticide residues. After scanning the food, Pesti SCAND uses an AI machine learning model to analyze the light waves to determine the presence of pesticides. With its sensor and processor, the prototype achieved a detection accuracy rate of greater than 85%, meeting the project’s objectives for effectiveness and speed.
Sirish plans to continue working on the prototype with a price-point goal of just $20 per device, and hopes to get it to market by the time he starts college. As one of nine finalists in the competition, the boy, who attends middle school at the Gwinnett School of Math, Science, and Technology, spent the last four months working with one of the 3M scientists who mentor the kids one-on-one to help perfect their prototype.
During the final Challenge events at 3M global headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, this month, Sirish secured the coveted title.“ I am beyond impressed and inspired by this year’s Young Scientist Challenge finalists who have demonstrated an incredible ability to develop creative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” said Torie Clarke, 3M’s chief public affairs officer.
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