Crop Harvester for Terrains
One of the major challenges in rural India is Crop (particularly wheat, paddy and barley) harvesting. The farmers of the state of Uttarakhand have to conquer even more challenges during harvesting of crops due to the hilly terrain. They prefer sickle harvesting which again includes labour cost and huge time and effort. The project aims to develop a human powered light, compact, comparatively cheaper machine.
Development of Green Furniture based on Forest Waste Materials
Uttarakhand being a hill state is rich in forest cover and the amount of forest waste produced is also huge. The forest waste in the form of dry leaves, fibres, pine needles may sometime act as triggering point for forest fires. The forest fires have destroyed many hectares of lush green jungles and has also lead to the death of wild animals. Therefore, there is an imminent need to develop strategies and processes can help engineer products from forest waste. The current project is focused on developing furniture from the forest waste materials.
Assistive devices for differently-abled Persons.
The crutches are a mobility aid that transfers weight from the feet to a different body part. It is often used by people who cannot use their lower legs to support weight. There exists conventional underarm supported and forearm supported designs for crutches. The current design focuses on the use of hands instead which aims at making the people “Specially-abled”.
High yield loom design for weavers
The textiles of India are as diverse as its culture. Nearly four million handlooms are engaged in weaving fabrics of nearly twenty-three different varieties. Providing direct and indirect employment to more than 30 lakh weavers, the handloom production is the largest economic activity second only to agriculture in India. The weaving device – the loom- has been subject to constant hostile threats of being extinguished by the highly mechanized machinery for over a century in recent decades. It is therefore proposed to redesign the conventional looms used by weavers to enhance the yield by using the principles of work system design.
Inclusive education Design Kit
Persons with disabilities, especially (visual and hearing impairments) remain largely excluded from the mainstream education and as a result confined to homes and charitable model of medical and individual centred approach. This proposal aims at developing a product design prototype of “Inclusive Education Design Kit”. This project focuses on accessibility needs of children with disabilities towards an overarching theme of inclusion in education.
