A student of Malnad Engineering College in Hassan has made automatic sanitiser dispensers, which can be placed at the entrance of public buildings.
H.P. Shashank, a final year student in the automobile branch, has designed the dispenser using sensors so that a person can sanitise his/her hands without touching the dispenser. Two models, one with the capacity to hold five litres of liquid and another of one litre, are ready to use. He has also handed over 15 units to the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS), where COVID hospital is located.
Shashank initially designed a face shield and had plans to take up its mass production. He shared his design and idea with the district administration. By then, the administration had taken steps to procure the shields.
During the interaction with officers, he learnt that automatic sanitiser dispensers were needed. “I aimed at designing the model with minimum expenses. I reduced the cost by avoiding the micro-controller as well. Motors have been put to pump the liquid. I have spent up to ₹2,000 per unit as of now. If it is taken up for mass production, we have to procure machinery. Then the unit cost will come down. Even then, the cost will be lesser than that of similar products available in the market,” he said.
Apart from the district administration, college faculty and friends, and family members have encouraged him to take up this project. Naveen Bhat, Assistant Commissioner of Hassan sub-division, gave him motivation. Senior officials at HIMS have been supporting him. Shashank, who is about to complete his studies, has two job offers.
Along with his friends, he launched a startup ‘Tech Kids’ two years ago. Through this, he and his friends conducted classes for students on various aspects of engineering, including micro-controller programming and robotics. “All these activities influenced me to do something during the time of this pandemic. I’m happy with the response my efforts are getting,” he said.