A hand-written book, "The World of Electronic Formulae", which Jantakon Kogthong found when he was in grade 1, inspired him to explore the mysteries of the scientific world.

Ten years have passed, and Jantakon, now 18, still follows his passion. Apart from studying electronics at Phitsanulok Technical College, he learns physics, chemistry and biology, as he hopes that with his enthusiasm for science he will one day become an inventor in new technology.

"I never become tired of trying to make my dream come true, and that's why I keep learning," said Jantakon, now a second-year vocational student.

Jantakon started to explore the scientific world when he was young. Like other boys his age, he loved to play with mechanical toys, and he enjoyed discovering what was behind them.

"When I played, I always had questions in my mind about how the toys worked, and then I began to satisfy my curiosity by dismantling them to see what was inside," he said.

Even though he sometimes failed to reassemble them, many times he succeeded in modifying or reinventing his toys to give them more features, by using the theories he had learnt from "The World of Electronic Formulae".

In Grade 2 Jantakon invented what he called a secret code switch, a small device that once attached to an electric appliance allowed only an authorised person to turn it on.

"The idea was that you had to enter a code to turn it on. If the code was wrong, you couldn't use it," he said.

This was a jump-start. In recent years he has invented a charger for conventional alkaline batteries. The latest project, a robotic hand, is bringing his dream closer.

The project is to develop a computer-controlled artificial hand, and it has shown Jantakon's talent.

He said it was designed to replace a human hand, either in industrial applications or for amputees, and could move its fingers by computer control in the same way as humans do while grasping objects.

This project is an advance as it does not just use knowledge in one field but integrates mechanics, electronics, computers, biology and materials science.

"It's really challenging me," he said.

To develop the hand, Jantakon has to apply all the scientific knowledge he has gathered over the past decade and blend it with his new studies. He said he had to learn about the anatomy and movement of the human hand so that he could design the program to control the hand naturally.

A year into its development, the hand can move and grasp objects such as a ball, though he said the arm required more development to give it more accuracy.

In addition to making the hand look more natural, he plans to find a better material.

"This first version was made from wood, but I think I need some more flexible polymer so that it looks more like a real human hand," he said.

Since the device could be used by amputees, Jantakon dreams of linking it with the human nervous system so that it really will be a part of their body.

"When the brain decides to move the hand, the signal will go direct to the computer-control. This will make the amputee more natural," he said.

However, this project requires more advanced technology. Jantakon said he planned to do more study so that eventually he would be able to develop an artificial hand closer to a real human hand.

"There is much more to learn to reach that goal, and I mean to see it through," he said.

Pongpen Sutharoj

The Nation