Innovation Description
Profile
Young Usman, an IGNITE winner earlier for his idea to run a ceiling fan through a rooftop windmill, saw a street vendor struggling with his hand cart while negotiating a turn on an incline, which led to this idea. Drawing is one of his favourite hobbies though it has little to do with his ambition to become a fighter pilot and serve the country. Usman was selected for National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement and was awarded on Children's Day by the Hon'ble President in 2013. Usman is studying in class sixth now and is a regular participant in various science exhibition organised in the city. Nidhi dropped out of school after passing class 8 to return to her village, though she wished to continue her studies for a few more years.
Trained Bharatanatyam dancer, Pavithra, aspires to become a doctor and serve society. She likes to keep abreast of all the happenings around her. She thus reads newspapers a lot, collects coins and even writes in a local daily. She has won a number of awards in essay writing and speeches and plans to make a library of her own with more than 1000 books. Along with her younger sister Elakkiya, Pavithra also designed a looms for lower limb physically challenged. In their loom, they have replaced the pedal-operated system with a motor and a gearbox attached to a pulley mechanism so that it can be operated by hands only. Pavithra, who is currently studying in class 11, has been recognised by many Government and Non-Government institutions and schools for her work in the field of innovations. The two sisters have come up with a loom for lower limbed physically challenged. In their loom they have replaced the pedal-operated system with a motor and a gearbox attached to a pulley mechanism Vidya suggested incorporating gears and bicycle styled steering mechanism in hand-carts. She likes reading books, engaging herself in outdoor activities and is still looking for a challenging ambition to chase. Another of her idea is a hilly terrain cart.
Abdul Gani Hajam (45), a barber by profession, is a resident of central Kashmir’s Budgam district. He has good knowledge of herbal practices and gives medications for skin ailments, piles and other diseases. His practice on obesity has been found to be novel and taken up for validation, where the results have been encouraging.Though he has been running a barber’s shop his customers also know him for his knowledge about herbal medications. He learnt most practices from his father who had learnt it from his father, who was a herbal healer. Gani could not study due to poverty and worked as a mason when he grew up. However, due to an accident, he had to undergo a long duration treatment. His eldest son had to discontinue studies to support his family- three siblings and his parents. Now Gani and Adil both work to earn a decent livelihood for the family, which still remains insufficient. Gani laments the situation he finds himself and his family and hopes for a better future for his family.In the validation tests at Anand Pharmacy College, Anand, the herbal medication
Purpose
The students have suggested incorporating an easy steering mechanism and brakes to make turning hand carts easy and arrest slide on inclines respectively.
Technical
Specification
Nidhi's father moves around from place to place selling petha (a kind of sweet made of ash gourd) on his hand cart. He often faced problem turning it, especially at acute turns. To do this, the loaded cart has to be lifted and rotated resting on the front wheels, which is quite cumbersome. She saw her father having trouble doing this and thought of a steering kind of a mechanism, which could solve his problem. Usman also thought of adding a folding seat to the cart.
Suggested reading(s):National Innovation Foundation, (2013). Modified hand-cart with steering mechanism and brakes. Retrieved on February 23, 2021, from
https://nif.org.in/innovation/modified_hand-cart-with-steering-mechanism-and_brakes/681QuickCompany, (n.d.). Improved hand cart. Retrieved on February 23, 2021, from
https://www.quickcompany.in/patents/improved-hand-cart-haath-thela
