Proving the adage that necessity is the mother of invention, three engineering students of National Institute of Technology-Rourkela (NIT-R) have come up with an ultra small detachable washing machine, probably the world’s smallest of its kind.
The students claimed that the difficulties faced by bachelors, especially students, made them invent the machine. It is likely to hit the market soon.
Final year engineering students, Kirti Sai Shukla of Electronic and Communication wing, Mrityunjay Sharma of Electronic and Instrumentation, along with pre-final year student Anurag Mishra of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering wing and faculty members developed the machine.
The machine has been named Vortex. “As India largely imports electrical appliances, we thought of inventing this machine,” Kirti said.
Mrityunjay said their washing machine will come in handy for students who face immense difficulties in washing clothes manually everyday.
Anurag claimed Vortex is arguably the world’s smallest and lightest washing machine with a high load bearing capacity of up to 3.5 kg, capable of washing a bed-sheet, a jeans pant and one shirt at a single go as per ISI standards.
He said it can be easily disassembled, packed into a specially designed bag of 22 cm in length and 17 cm in height. It can easily fit into any standard size bucket and is easy to carry during travel.
“In fact, the available small washing machines are no match to Vortex as far as portability is concerned. The machine is light-weight and consumes less water. A definite power saver, Vortex needs hardly 80 Watts to run, is remote operated and packed with other features like hard, soft, and delicate wash with soaking techniques,” he claimed.
NIT-R Director, Prof Sunil Kumar Sarangi is buoyed with the achievement of the students. He said, “India is lagging behind other countries in terms of research and innovation and converting academic research into useful products and services for the society. Such innovative works would go a long way in reducing the country’s technological dependence.”
Prof SS Mahapatra, HoD of Mechanical Engineering, Assistant Professors AK Swain and Rajiv Panda of Electronics and Communication and Institute’s School of Management respectively guided the students in design stability test, mathematical analysis, technology and also filing for patent rights. Patent rights application for Vortex has been accepted by Kolkata-based head office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM).
Funded by the Institute under TEQIP-II scheme, Vortex has been developed indigenously at the laboratory of NIT-R.
On commercial scale, it would cost between Rs 3000 to Rs 4000.
Source: New indian express