What is this Award? What did Krithik make? 

Recently, Krithik Alluri, a student of the Class of 2026, won the Congressional App Award: a national award that recognizes outstanding, highly innovative student-created apps. Krithik founded and coded “Neurowheel,” an app that is hooked to a brain-controlled wheelchair, that uses the brain signals of the user to move. He is also the founder of Stembotics, a non-profit that brings STEM education to students. I was lucky enough to get an interview with Krithik to ask some questions about his unbelievable accomplishment, and get some advice for students interested in STEM, coding, and biomedical engineering.

Questions

Q: What inspired you to create a brain-controlled wheelchair? 

So, basically, I got the entire idea from a few doctors over at Jefferson’s Neurology ISU, where I volunteered. And from there, I connected it with, like, a personal experience I have with someone who has Quadriplegia, which is like when someone’s arms and legs are unable to move. And kind of from that, I connected the dots together with, like, my own experiences on technology and I read online about brain control interfaces and how you can control stuff with that. I just connected all that together and came up with the idea for the wheelchair.

Q: How do you stay motivated when a project or problem gets difficult? 

Honestly, I kind of forced myself to do it. I just push through and kinda brute force my way through any issues I face. I do think that planning beforehand, my planning beforehand is extremely important to the project. That planning also gives me, like, if I get stuck on a problem I can kinda take my mind off for a moment and do something else. While also keeping a record of that problem with a fresh mind or something.

Q: How did you test the device, and what did you learn during that process?

I tested it more scientifically, researched based. I invited six to ten different volunteers who were all varying ranges, varying demographics. I had them sit down and go through a training session, to do the testing session, where they basically trained my machine by thinking about where they were going. I asked them if the wheelchair responded to their thoughts. And, yeah, that’s basically how I did it. I think the first few times were a little bit choppy just because it was my first time doing, like, a human related physical research. But after that, I kind of got used to it and it got a lot easier.

Q: What part of the project are you most proud of?

I think this one thing is one of the highlight moments of my entire life. So my first time training it was poor. I sat down, looking at my computer screen and it was just telling me, do not move, and just think you’re moving left or right. And just sitting there, staring at a dot on a screen, trying to move it is like, top ten worst experiences. But after doing all that training, and actually getting my wheelchair to move just based on my thoughts and the first time where instead of turning right and turning left it actually was being able to move where I wanted it to move. It’s gotta be like the best feeling.

Q: How do you balance schoolwork, research, and your nonprofit work?

Honestly? I think during my sophomore year, when I really started this project I was not balancing at all. My grades dipped heavily, and my GPA took a huge hit. But I learned more, kind of, of how to balance stuff. It’s still important for me to work on my projects. Going home, and working on the wheelchair, I noticed that if it’s something you actually, truly want to do, then it’s not going to be tiring. Balancing that, and then doing school work, doesn’t feel as much like mental fog as much as like forcing yourself to do all of that. 

Q: Do you have any advice for students who want to get involved in STEM, coding, or research?

One of the most important things is taking it into your own hands. If you wanna do something, you kind of just gotta go out and do it. You gotta put your own work into it instead of relying on others to try and help you and guide you.

Conclusion:

Krithik’s accomplishment is not only groundbreaking, but it also shows what happens if you are truly passionate about something, and put in the work for it. His journey hopefully inspires many Lenape students to innovate, and create something impactful of your own.