Ideas that make life easy, on show at IIT-Bombay

From a portable, foldable boat to low-cost toilets, an array of interesting ideas and designs by students of the Industrial Design Centre of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, have been showcased at the Design Degree Show on the campus.

The five-day show, which began on Saturday, showcases 190 degree projects by 56 students of the centre across the broad themes of Craft and Culture; Access and Transportation; Health and Well- Being; Society and Analysis; Communication and Learning; and Working and Living India.

The portable boat by Tonmoy Phukan, 24, a second year student of Mobility and Vehicle Design, can ferry 16 people to safety during floods. “I was strongly motivated by the catastrophic effect of the floods in Assam in 2014. There are very limited ways to rescue victims, and there is no boat specially designed for flood rescue,” Mr. Phukan says.

He designed a stackable inflatable boat,

Erawan , which can house a collapsible roof, lifejackets, pedals and first-aid kits. Passengers are protected from floating debris and side impact. A ladder on the boat will help reach people on the higher floors, he says.

Trivikram Annamalai, 24, Industrial Design student, has come up with a device to detect veins easily for injections. “The thought of getting injected traumatises many, and when you have to undergo multiple attempts of needle insertions, it’s nightmarish.” Mr. Annamalai says.

The low-cost vein detector helps nurses visualise a vein and puncture it with ease. A prototype has been developed, and pilot-testing is in progress, he says.

Keerti Chowdhry, 25, an Animation and Film Design student, designed an animated dictionary for dyslexic children. “Spellings and comprehension have always been arch-enemies of children who have learning disabilities. My project aims to help them with spellings, reading and comprehension by combining sight words and phonic system and creating new ways to learn,” she says.

The designs on show include an interactive kiosk, which employs face detection and delivers personalised advertisement, a light-weight foldable electric bike, and a water-fetching aid, which can hold vessels of multiple sizes.

Amita Sharma, Senior Consultant in Educational Consultants India Ltd., Union Human Resource Development Ministry, inaugurated the show.