Innovating Safety Solutions to Confront COVID-19
Published on : Saturday 02-05-2020
The Automatic Sanitising Apparatus could play a very vital role in gaining the confidence of people while using public personal transport.
As the government has allowed select industries to open offices from 20th April, there are many areas that need attention and solutions to combat the risks of infection and the need to maintain a sanitised environment. Taking a cue from China, many Indian citizens are experimenting with technology to create solutions for hands-free sanitisation devices. One such example is the Automatic Sanitising Apparatus invented by Mr Baljit Singh, VP and Operations Head, Brookfield Properties, which is currently undergoing testing. This apparatus is expected to play a very vital role in gaining the confidence of people while using public/personal transport. Now that people are preparing to get back to work, mobility is going to become unavoidable. However, it will be very tough for operators/owners to manually keep vehicle all the seats, surfaces, touch points, interior surfaces, etc., disinfected efficiently and quickly. Sanitising of such areas manually will not only be tedious but also hazardous, inefficient, time-consuming and expensive. Also, there will be a high risk of those engaged in the task getting infected. Keeping this in mind, Baljit Singh has invented a technology that enables sanitisation of passenger vehicles, elevators, etc.
Background of the invention
“Humans of today are the most advanced species that the Earth has ever seen. There is very little that scares us. Many great men have come and gone, all of whom have taught us to overcome every single fear with great strength. However, some fears are tough to be fought with. One such fear that has become the face of Earth today is Covid-19. With more than a million cases and more than 200 infected countries, Covid-19 has turned out to be the most dangerous and lethal pandemic to have set foot on planet Earth. Following the rapid increase in the infected cases and death due to Covid-19 virus people have started to feel insecure and unsafe. Moreover, as there is no vaccine available to cure infected people, the only option left is the prevention by raising our hygiene standards very high,” says Baljit Singh.
Summary of the invention
This apparatus is designed to sanitise the seats of cars, taxies, ambulances, vans, buses, trains, and even can be utilised to sanitise elevators interiors walls, etc. The automatic sanitising apparatus mainly comprises of high pressure positive displacement pump, micro controller, small nozzle sprayers sets. The high pressure positive displacement pump is provided to pump the disinfectant through pipes to the sprayers – a set of fine sprayers which is helpful to break the liquid disinfectant into fine particles and spread it on to the surrounding surfaces and areas as directed (the angle of sprayer can be set in the desired direction).
The automatic sanitising apparatus is also equipped with a micro controller to control the operations of this apparatus and can be set as per the required conditions and demand. It is further equipped with IoT and AI technology to ensure safety of passengers. The apparatus can be programed for the following safety purposes:
1. If unsafe and unapproved disinfectant/liquid is used this apparatus will not work.
2. Will operate only when vehicle/elevator or any other transport is at rest (not moving).
3. Will operate only for the limited recommended/desired set duration (second/minutes).
4. Will not operate if the sprayer pressure is high/low plus minus 10% or as recommended.
5. Can be linked to IR temperature recorder if temperature of passenger siting on any seat records higher than the recommended and set, this apparatus will not function and notification will be sent to driver/operators helpdesk for necessary directions.
6. It can also be linked with large operator network/app for tracking monitoring of the set SOPs followed by the drivers or not.
7. Will send signals if disinfectant level is critically low.
8. It will be powered by vehicle battery or self-powered with chargeable batteries as the case may be.
Baljit Singh, who was helped by his son Adarsh Raghav, a student at Bennett University in this endeavour, is confident that this apparatus is going to play a very vital role in gaining confidence of people while using public/personal transport.
