With petrol prices increasing, Asad Abdullah conceptualised the idea of developing an electric cycle in which six people can be accommodated.
Innovation on a dozen wheels by ITI-trained diploma engineer in electricals, Asad Abdullah. (Photo | EPS)
Innovation on a dozen wheels
All that innovation needs is a brilliant mind and passion coupled with the patience to apply it. Asad Abdullah, 22, of Azamgarh proved it by developing a 6-seater electric cycle. Asad’s innovation got recognised by none other than Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, who tweeted a small video of the cycle and made the innovation so viral that the video crossed 1 million views since December 1.
Mahindra tagged the chief design officer of the auto sector of his company asking if this device could find global application. With petrol prices increasing, Abdullah conceptualised the idea of developing an electric cycle in which six people can be accommodated.
He used scrap material and the motor of an old battery-operated. two-wheeler to develop the cycle in a month’s time at a cost of Rs ₹10,000-12,000. “I want to make it commercial and sell it to others at an affordable price,” says Asad Abdullah, an ITI-trained diploma engineer in electricals.
Lucknow touches zero covid mark
After a long span of 32 months, the city of Nawabs touched zero Covid figure mark as the last patient recovered from the ailment and no new case was reported, claim health authorities. The last patient who recovered and was discharged on Tuesday had tested positive last week. “This zero is a precious figure and we are making all efforts to sustain the status in Covid,” said Dr Manoj Agrawal, Lucknow CMO.
Lucknow has never had a status of zero Covid active cases since the 2020 pandemic. The first case in the state capital was reported in the third week of March 2020. Lucknow’s first Covid-19 patient was a doctor who returned from Canada. The second case reported was also that of a doctor and the third one was of a Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor, who turned out to be a mass spreader after returning from the UK.
10 UP heritage sites up for adoption
UP Archaeological directorate has shortlisted 10 heritage sites up for adoption under the ‘Adopt Heritage Scheme.’ These sites include the Alambagh building of Lucknow, Potrakund in Mathura, Kalpa Devi and Astik Baba temples in Sitapur, Caves of Devgarh of Lalitpur, Raj Mandir Guptar Ghat in Ayodhya, Lakshmi temple in Jhansi, Fort of Tahrauli in Jhansi, Fort of Balabehat in Lalitpur, Digragarhi in Jhansi and Shiv temple of Bithoor in Kanpur.
Those interested in adopting the heritage site would be known as Smarak Mitra who would sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the department and work towards the conservation of the site. Smarak Mitras will also be responsible for arranging logistics for the tourists at the site.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / December 07th, 2022
As a sweet little six-year-old, when Zain Samdani saw his mother taking care of the household like a pro, he decided to lend her a robotic hand. In all his innocence, he went up to her and said, “I will build you a robot that can do everything.” Today, the same boy has grown into an entrepreneur whose invention goes behind the peripheries of any household.
Meet Zain | (Pic: Zain Samdani)
He won the Young Entrepreneur Award from the Indian Business Forum, Riyadh in January 2018
But before the result came the hard, gruelling work of learning everything there is to learn about robotics.
Born in Hyderabad and brought up in Saudi Arabia, Zain started by reading. And then some. Then came a series of instruction videos and only after he turned 14 came his first robotics kit. In 2013, he pursued the PSSO Robotics Programme at the King Salman Science Oasis in Riyadh apart from participating in international competitions. He topped it off with pursuing online courses leading up to the summer of 2015.
But it is usually when pain hits home that you really put your power into play. And that’s what happened with Zain. “A distant uncle of mine was paralysed and what upset me was that there was hardly any technological help that could be rendered to help him move around. In a quest to help my uncle, I decided to create ExoHeal,” says the youngster.
Zain with Sundar Pichai
Started in May 2016, this start-up offers a modular robotic device based on the concept of neuroplasticity. There are two gloves — one that is sensory and one that is robotic. The sensory one goes on the good hand and the robotic on the other. When you move the good hand, the paralysed hand is almost forced to mimic the action which actually tricks the brain into believing that the paralysed hand is actually okay, forming new neural connections. With consistent usage, movement may gradually be restored in the paralysed hand.
In 2016, his working prototype helped his uncle and since then, the Ashoka Young Changemaker has been trying to perfect the device. He has been adding little touches and enhancements like going wireless, with the help of Bluetooth and radio waves, and the latest, launching an app. “Because of the lockdowns, patients are unable to travel to their physiotherapists and hence, the app helps the doctor track the progress of their patients in real-time,” he explains. The app has a list of exercises the patient can choose from. With the team of five and machine learning, they are trying to adjust the level of assistance offered with the involvement of the doctors so that the latter puts only that much effort as is required from him.
Selected as a Global Teen Leader by We Are Family Foundation in New York, USA in March 2019
Dr KV Rao Scientific Society in Hyderabad has also been of mighty help to this entrepreneur who is pursuing his Higher Secondary Course from the National Institute of Open Schooling due to medical reasons.
The Society started supporting his project in November last year. Currently, the 3D printed model is ready and they hope to conduct clinical trials for further validation. By the way, this innovation has been to the Google Science Fair twice (2016 and 2019) and both times, Zain was the Global Finalist. Even Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai has tried them out too. Now, how’s that for some validation?
www.zainsamdani.org
source: http://www.edexlive.com / edexlive, The New Indian Express / Home> Start-Up / by Seema Rajpal, EdexLive / June 09th, 2021
Breaking the notion that only the elite can have luxurious rides, Bilal Ahmad, a mathematics teacher as well as an innovator from Srinagar has made a solar car which is not only luxurious but is also affordable for the common people.
Hailing from Sanat Nagar area of Srinagar, Bilal has been working on this project for over 11 years and today he drives his solar car with confidence. The innovative car made by him works on solar energy and has solar panels all over the surface.
He watched and studied about various luxurious cars which were made since 1950. He also studied about an engineer and innovator named Delorian who started a company DMC which helped him and motivated him to make a car which is luxurious and simultaneously affordable for the common people.
“Cars like Mercedes, Ferrari, BMW are just a dream for a common person. Only few people are able to afford it while it remains a dream for others to drive such cars and roam in it. I thought of something to give a luxurious feel to the people as well,” he said.
He started working on the car and modified it by watching the various videos and started adding the features in it.
Initially he wanted to make a car for disabled people but due to his financial conditions, he couldn’t conceive the idea which made him put his idea on hold. “Government didn’t help me at that time. I was not financially sound so I couldn’t take the cost of the innovation,” he said.
Keeping in view the rising price of the fuel, he thought of using solar energy to run the car. In 2019, he went to Chennai to get in touch with the solar panel making company. Furthermore he researched and brainstormed with a number of experts of the field.
“In Kashmir, most of the time, the weather is gloomy. I used solar panels which can give higher efficiency even in low sunlight days. I went to many solar companies to check the efficiency of solar panels,” he said.
The challenge of how the solar panels can be used over the car and how much efficiency it can give on the less surface area was overcome by him with the use of monocrystalline solar panels.
“The surface area of a car is less as compared to the surface area of the roof of the house. I got the solar panels which take less space but give high efficiency,” he said.
Pertinent to mention here that there are two types of solar panels – monocrystalline and polycrystalline. Bilal used monocrystalline solar panels which occupied less space and gave more efficiency.
Further he worked on the weaknesses of the solar innovative car. At times, the doors of the car when parked at the place received light sunlight, to overcome this problem, he made a Gullwing door which opens upwards like the ones in a Ferrari. Making and balancing the gullwing doors was a challenge as well as a difficult task for him. “With gullwing doors, the solar panels attached to the doors will also raise up and the sunlight will directly fall on them,” he said.
Further, the solar panels automatically can change their direction with the changing directions of the sun. For this he has made a remote control which works within the range of 1.5 kilometers which can control the direction of panels so that more light can be absorbed by them.
Also he has increased the seating capacity of the car. “The sports car only has seating capacity of two people but here 4 people can sit conveniently. Also the braking system will regenerate the power to its batteries to save energy. It is eco-friendly and works on free energy resources. It has a huge potential to revolutionize the market,” he said.
“The car is not a prototype, it is a fully luxurious car. The other luxurious cars available in the market have huge costs in crores. I want affordable inventions to reach common people. I want people to make use of advanced technology at affordable prices,” he further said.
He has driven the car on the roads and has received good response from the passers-by.
He said he has used a Lead Acid battery in the car. “We can also use a lithium battery in it but we have to use a protection circuit with it additional protection can be added,” he said.
Talking about his difficulties, he said that the unavailability of the equipment and gadgets is a major difficulty which innovators face here. “Lack of exposure among the local mechanics is another problem. The knowledge they possess is limited which makes it really difficult to explain them,” he said.
He further said that the youth of Kashmir have more talent but lack exposure and platform to showcase it.
He is of the opinion that a place like Kashmir should have attractive things to attract the tourists as well as locals. “The electric vehicles plying on roads don’t have that luxurious look. Kashmir is a tourist place and we should have attractive things like in any other foreign place like Switzerland.”
He wishes to soon start his company for its mass production which can also generate employment for the youth of Kashmir. “I will name the company as YMC after the names of my children- Yosha and Maisha. The company will be making luxurious cars for the common people,” he added.
Bilal is an innovator associated with IIED center NIT, Srinagar. The center will provide him assistance for this innovation. Saad Parvez, head, IIED center said, “The IIED center will help him to develop his innovation and will connect him with the industries or forum that can help him. Our local innovators need motivation and a marketplace. The challenge is to market the innovation.”
Despite having a B.Tech degree in civil engineering, he has a good interest in electronics. He has an experience of 14 years in teaching as he has worked in various colleges and schools as assistant professor. In the past, in 2009, he has made a LPG gas controlling safety device. The device which can automatically turn off the LPG cylinder from anywhere via a mobile app.
source: http://www.risingkashmir.com / Rising Kashmir / Home / by Insha Latief Khan / June 20th, 2022
