Making life easy with THE POWER OF INNOVATION……Neha Pushkarna
At least 50 simple but smart innovations that reduce effort and minimize costs were showcased at IIT Delhi
At least 50 simple but smart innovations that reduce effort and minimize costs were showcased at IIT Delhi
Every engineering student dreads that long march from hostel to classroom early in the morning.But DCE graduate Subhav Sinha,wiser from personal experience,created a one-seat vehicle to cut short his distance. It took me 10 minutes to reach my classroom from my hostel every morning when I was studying in DCE two years ago, Sinha said.
To save time,Sinha got inspired to make a personal mover. The idea came while I was watching a cartoon programme.The personal mover,Mitra,is priced at a reasonable Rs 5,000.It can be used on campuses,factories,offices and housing societies.It is easy to manoeuvre and is battery-operated, he added.About 50 such need-based innovations were showcased at the second edition of I3 (India Innovation Initiative) National Fair held at IIT Delhi recently.
Students,engineers,teachers,scientists and researchers from across the country gathered at the fair with their simple and scientifically advanced i n n ovat i o n s,which promise to reduce effort,increase efficiency and save costs.Mandar Ramesh Thites photo clipping machine is another such innovation.Thite,who lives in Pune,had a unique problem at home.His father loves preserving newspapers.But one day no more space was left in the house to stock the papers.So Thite began scanning them and how. My father had been collecting newspapers for the past 40 years.Getting them scanned from the market would have cost us Rs 100 per paper, Thite said.
But Thite thought out of the box to save costs. I then made my clipping machine that has a digital camera fitted on a roller feeding device.The camera clicks the image of A3 size paper which appears in the connected computer. The machine now costs around Rs 10,000.Thite has already scanned about a thousand newspapers with it.
Kolkatas Subrata Dutta and Kondamudi Swarna Rekha from Andhra Pradesh are working on innovations to benefit the communityurban and rural respectively.
While Dutta has made a virtual inverter costing Rs 500 that can restrict the power usage in every household in case of power crisis. It has to be taken up at a policy level and can form an alternative to power cuts by controlling the distribution of electricity, Dutta said.
Rekha,on the other hand,is developing a network through which farmers will get an SMS if the water level in their fields dips.
To fight the swine flu pandemic,professor Dhananjay P Mehendale,head of the department of electronics at SP College,Pune,has made a special purifying mask. It has diodes in a panel which generate ultra violet light.The UV rays kills germs when air enters the mask and only clean air reaches the nose.The Indian Medical Association has certified it as promising.I will now put a UV shield to make it absolutely risk-free.Its going to provide safety in hospitals, Mehendale said.
The fair also showcased a herbal mosquito repellent made of eucalyptus,tulsi and other herbs. It is much safer than the repellents available in the market, said 18-yearold student of microbiology,Ayan Mukherjee,who helped his father in the innovation.These innovators were selected in various regional rounds for the national fair put together by CII,department of science and technology and Agilent Technologies.
* SUBRATA DUTTA,HYDERABAD – VIRTUAL INVERTER
Can restrict the usage of electricity at consumers premises whenever there is power crisis.It can be used to stabilise the demand-supply ratio avoiding the need for a power cut.The device costs Rs 500
Can restrict the usage of electricity at consumers premises whenever there is power crisis.It can be used to stabilise the demand-supply ratio avoiding the need for a power cut.The device costs Rs 500
* DHANANJAY P MEHENDALE,PUNE – AIR-PURIFYING MASK
Has a panel with diodes fixed in a cylindrical cavity that generates UV light.The light performs germicidal action on harmful micro-organisms
Has a panel with diodes fixed in a cylindrical cavity that generates UV light.The light performs germicidal action on harmful micro-organisms
* MANDAR RAMESH THITE,PUNE- PHOTO CLIPPING MACHINE
Its a scanner that uses a digital camera and a standalone sheet feed system.It requires only 15 watt power to scan A3 size pages.Cost is Rs 10,000
Its a scanner that uses a digital camera and a standalone sheet feed system.It requires only 15 watt power to scan A3 size pages.Cost is Rs 10,000
* RAMESH S KIKKERI,MYSORE – FUEL-EFFICIENT STOVES
It has three pans in which a typical South Indian mealrice,sambhar and one vegetablecan be cooked simultaneously in rural areas
It has three pans in which a typical South Indian mealrice,sambhar and one vegetablecan be cooked simultaneously in rural areas
* LADKAT RAJENDRA VITTAL,PUNE – SANJEEVANI RESCUE KIT
A patented safety box with 17 components ideal for taking along on a picnic.It can float on water,contains a rope that can help in case of drowning.The wooden planks can be joined to support a victim with spinal injury.The suction apparatus can pull out venom from a snake-bite
A patented safety box with 17 components ideal for taking along on a picnic.It can float on water,contains a rope that can help in case of drowning.The wooden planks can be joined to support a victim with spinal injury.The suction apparatus can pull out venom from a snake-bite
* SUBHAV SINHA,NEW DELHI – MITRA – PERSONAL MOVER
A battery-operated vehicle that can be used to travel short distances on a campus,in a factory,housing societies,etc.It is a one-seater and can be operated either sitting or standing.It costs around Rs 5,000
A battery-operated vehicle that can be used to travel short distances on a campus,in a factory,housing societies,etc.It is a one-seater and can be operated either sitting or standing.It costs around Rs 5,000