Using borrowed computer, Malawian student develops app that controls home and office gadgets

A first-year student at the University of Malawi (UNIMA), using a borrowed computer, has developed a mobile application named ‘Grace’ that can control electrical appliances at homes and offices through oral instructions.

The innovator is Shadreck Kamwana from Wimbe in Kasungu district who is currently studying electronics at UNIMA.

According to a video which has gone viral on social media and shows Kamwana explaining about his latest innovation, ‘Grace’ is a mobile application which can do some office and house chores.

Kamwana explained that ‘Grace’ has an artificial intelligence unit which enables it to think and carry out some tasks at home or office as per oral instructions from the one using the mobile application.

“I have developed this software and I have named it ‘Grace’. It can carry out almost every task but for now, it is specifically designed for home and office tasks. The app has artificial intelligence.

“It behaves like a person, you can talk to it, ask it questions, it will respond to you. Students can even use this app for discussions.

“You can even instruct it to do some tasks at your home and office as well,” explained Kamwana in a video.

In the video, Kamwana who is also known as the ‘community innovator’, is seen talking to ‘Grace’ through his phone and instructing her to switch on and off some electrical appliances including lighting bulb, an electric kettle and a stove at his house.

The intellectual further said he also developed a system control unit which he say connects to various home and office electrical appliances such as bulbs, TV screens, home theatres, kettles, stoves, printers, just to mention but a few.

Kamwana added that the application connects to the system control unit and can control everything that is connected to the system as per oral instructions from the user.

“I also developed this temporary System Control Unit which connects the appliances and the application. Every message which Grace is receiving and being instructed to, is displayed on the system control unit,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kamwana is seeking financial assistance, specifically a Personal Computer with at least 8 GB ram and 500GB Hard Drive, saying he wants to perfect ‘Grace’ because he developed the application using a borrowed computer.

Kamwana has also previously developed a house cleaning robot which was named ‘Naphiri’, flood alarm, an automatic dispenser and many other innovations.

• Online