Kolkata :
A wheelchair that can climb stairs, a medicine dispenser that sends out reminders to users, and a walking stick that helps people with visual impairment mavigate with the help of audio messages. These were among 30 innovations that students at 24 institutions in eastern India demonstrated at a CII meet on innovation and startups in the city.
Conscious of the difficulty that the elderly and infirm experience in climbing stairs, students at JIS College of Engineering presented a wheelchair designed to climb stairs, with the help of three sets of wheels that work in tandem. Another innovation was Urja, a multi-purpose electric source, presented by Anish Kumar Sarangi from Silicon Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar. The device can be used as a portable power source, a high-frequency mosquito repellent, a passive water filter, an LED light and a USB port, from which mobiles can be charged or USB fans can be operated. “Nearly two out of every 10 people in Asia and almost 300 million people in India do not have access to electricity. The challenge is to bring power to them.” Sarangi said.
“CII has formed innovation clubs at different colleges. Commercially viable projects are selected by the jury. Those projects, along with their prototypes, are displayed and some of them adapted in industries. We focus on four main fields: agriculture, education, finance and health,” said Dipankar Chakrabarti, co-chairman, CII Eastern Region Startup & Innovation Taskforce.
Students at Sudhir Chandra Sur Degree Engineering College have created an automatic medicine dispenser for which an app has been developed. Once the medicine schedules are fed into the dispenser the machine can deliver tablets or syrup at the correct time.
Among the other innovations was a solar AC proposed by Narula Institute of Technology. Its students have also proposed smart gloves that can translate gestures into speech to facilitate easier communication by people with speech impairment.
Jadavpur University students have proposed a light, portable, durable and fire-proof cabin that can be used by armed forces at the border.
MCKV Institute of Engineering presented a walking stick and a safety app that gets triggered when a ring worn by the user comes in contact with the mobile. The stick is fitted with GPS and guides the user —a visually impaired person—with audio directions.
Software Technology Parks of India additional director and officer in-charge Manjit Nayak felt most proposals had the potential to be developed into products. “A Class XII student from Bihar came up with a wireless device with which one can remotely control a tractor,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kolkata News> Schools & Colleges / TNN / July 03rd, 2018