This Indian student’s shoes will stun you … with electricity

21 Sep 2017

Siddharth Madala, a high school student from the Indian state of Telengana, has come up with a pair of shoes that can electrocute attackers and alert police and family members at the same time.

The wearer only has to kick the perpetrator for the “Electroshoe” to inflict 0.1 Ampere worth of electric current, according to Joy Online (via Oddity Central).

Indian Student Invents “ElectroShoe” That Lets Women Electrocute Attackers https://t.co/hsQW37ewcb pic.twitter.com/CltbLfNBcg

— Spooky (@OddityCentral) September 21, 2017

“I invented a patent-pending device called ElectroShoe. It can electrocute the perpetrator instantly by inflicting 0.1 Ampere of electricity, while sending an alert for assistance to cops and family members,” Siddharth told The Better India.

Mandala’s invention was borne out of bearing witness to and attending several protests against India’s sexual assault problem.

“The basic idea was that it had to be something that women would have with them all the time. Women might forget to carry tasers or other protective devices, but no one forgets to wear shoes before they step out,” the student said.

Although Mandala has no training in science or technology, the student had tried to develop the shoe solely on his own to his detriment when he ended up suffering several electric shocks himself. His friend, one Abhishek, even got a nosebleed.

The process of consulting programmers and engineers, both online and offline, to get the answers Mandala needed took years. Some even stopped responding.

But 17 failed prototypes later, a viable version was finally born.

17-year-old high school graduate invents 'ElectroShoe', for women's self defense, which will give an assaulter a strong electric shock pic.twitter.com/ZyFj2XQy1v

— Anonymous (@AnonymousNewsHQ) September 16, 2017

“To accomplish this, I created a unique circuit board that uses footsteps to charge itself with the help of a concept called the ‘piezoelectric effect’ which I learned in my physics class. The more the user walks, the more energy is generated and stored in a rechargeable battery.”

Mandala is still sorting out a few kinks in the Electroshoe as well as making it work for other shoe styles apart from flip-flops, so the invention will not be available for purchase yet.

Oddity Central noted that Mandala intends to pursue an education and career in science and technology to continue creating more innovative crime-prevention products.