This Bengaluru techie’s AI gadget shames people who smoke in real-time

Ever been in a bus cease or a restaurant and somebody lights up a cigarette proper subsequent to you? One Bengaluru techie received so performed with public smoking that he determined to do one thing about it – with AI.

So, he created a small gadget that may detect individuals smoking and reply by enjoying the sound of a child coughing paired with a grandma scolding the smoker within the native language. Yup, it is like your interior nagging aunt, however in audio kind and far more passive-aggressive.

How does it work?

The machine runs on a Raspberry Pi, the tiny laptop that is principally the Swiss Army knife of hobbyist tech. Using YOLOv8 + MediaPipe (fancy AI instruments for detecting objects and human gestures), it will possibly spot somebody puffing away.

Once detected, the audio kicks in and because of Sarvam AI, giving people who smoke an prompt dose of guilt or confusion.

In his early take a look at at a bus stand, the techie mentioned one smoker truly put out his cigarette and had no thought why. Well, mission completed.

The prototype remains to be fundamental and largely examined on public photographs to keep away from real-life privateness points; he’s engaged on a 3D-printed, transportable model to launch quickly.

Why are individuals loving it?

Social media reactions have been largely supportive. Gen Z and millennial customers particularly cherished the thought of low-cost DIY tech tackling on a regular basis annoyances. One person wrote on the submit shared by the techie, Pankaj, “You can just shoot lasers at the cigs and call it Iron Dome for non-smokers.”

Another mentioned, “This is amazing, Pankaj; slowly I’m becoming a fan of your ideas 😀”

While one requested, “Is the initial version already published in GitHub on your portfolio?” Also, how are these capturing the photographs on a real-time foundation?

Is that a part of the Raspberry Pi setup itself? BTW, cool issues. BTW, you deleted the final posts whereas I used to be typing my response. Hope I copied it; in any other case, this is able to have gone Followed you. Let’s join mutually.”

To which Pankaj replied, “My Raspberry Pi has a digital camera and GPS module. It’s taking a photograph each second and detects if somebody is smoking. It makes use of largely open-source fashions with a bit fine-tuning. The preliminary model works decently. Once it detects the place I’m, it figures out the place I’m and mechanically performs an audio within the native language. There is a heating subject with the machine that I plan to repair someday. Tech-stack-wise, it is a quite simple Python script. If individuals discover it helpful, I’m in all probability going to open supply the DIY setup.”

While some users even joked about the device being the ultimate anti-smoking wingman, quietly enforcing rules without confrontation.

DIY social engineering: How AI lets anyone nudge behaviour

Here’s the deeper takeaway: This project isn’t just a funny gadget; it is an example of how accessible AI and low-cost hardware empower everyday people to influence social behaviour.

Think, 20 years ago, only governments or corporations could enforce public rules. Now, anyone with a Raspberry Pi and some AI know-how can create tools that nudge people to act differently. It blurs the line between public health, social commentary, and experimental tech.

Basically, that is social engineering in your pocket, however cute, innocent, and barely annoying.