Devices to support persons with physical and mental disabilities and innovations to tackle issues of energy and water are among the nine ‘Socially Relevant Projects' conceptualised and developed by the faculty of Indian Institute of Technology–Madras.
The alumni association funded these projects with the objective of engaging with the community and maintaining a social equilibrium, said R. Nagarajan, Advisor, Office of Alumni Affairs, at a press meet here on Friday. “Details regarding the design and development of all these products would be made available on a website that would be launched soon, and anyone can take advantage of these products,” said B.S. Murty, coordinator for the ‘Socially Relevant Projects'.
The easy-to-use water quality test kit, developed by Ligy Philip from the Department of Civil Engineering, along with her students, enables the monitoring of the quality of drinking water. The other projects are a reactor that produces biogas from non-edible oil-seed cakes; cableway for post-harvest resource allocation; facilitating cognitive development in infants with motor impairments; adjustable braces for children affected by polio; and non-invasive bio-mechanics-based computer-user interface for children affected by cerebral palsy. A software to help the visually challenged access the internet has also been developed.
The major sponsors for these projects are the IIT-M alumni from the 1967 and 1981 batches. The 1967 batch initiated a programme in memory of one of their batchmates, with an initial funding of Rs.17 lakh, and the 1981 batch allocated Rs. 30 lakh.
