Vinisha Umashankar, a student innovator turned environmentalist from Tiruvannamalai district of
Tamil Nadu, has been selected as a “Changemaker” and Baton Bearer for the ongoing 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay (12-15 January 2022) in India.
The 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay started at the Buckingham Palace in London on 7th October 2021 and is scheduled to conclude on 28th July 2022 at the Opening Ceremony of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games after traveling 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth for 294 days.
Vinisha Umashankar received the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards instituted by National Innovation Foundation (NIF) – India, an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, for designing a mobile ironing cart, which uses solar panels to power a steam iron box.
Besides conferring the award, NIF had helped her develop a prototype of her invention and get Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection for it. NIF is also working to help improve its technology readiness level (TRL) in partnership with the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE).
A key benefit of the innovation is that it eliminates the need for coal for ironing bringing about a shift towards clean energy. In addition, the `Istriwala’ can now move around more freely and offer services at the doorsteps of the customers and thus increase their daily earnings. The ironing cart can also be fitted with a coin-operated GSM PCO, USB charging points, and mobile recharging, which can fetch extra income. The device can also be powered by pre-charged batteries, electricity, or diesel-powered generators in the absence of sunlight. (India Science Wire)
