Sunday, November 24, 2013

Innovation in Iiit

There are a thousand people staying in our Institute. They consume a lot of water. The tanks are filled twice a day. When the water is nearly full, the tank overflows. That is a messy sight. The water falling from hundred feet above makes a lot of noise, messes up the walls, the floor etc.

I was looking for a simple, robust and practical solution. I had sounded this to many people: our students, faculty, vendors etc. The suggestions came in large numbers. From very sophisticated to vey impractical.

Finally, prof. Khirod rout came with a solution that is amazingly simple, extremely low cost and very practical. A hooter will raise an alarm when the tank is about to overflow. The operator will stop the water supply. Too simple, yes.

The device contains a DC power supply, a transistor, a hooter. The most expensive part is the cable running from the tank to the ground floor. The cost of the device is about two hundred rupees. The prototype is operational in the I block.

India's strength is in low cost engineering. This little innovation is an demonstration of that ability.