KOCHI:
Toddy-tapping has every potential to go high-tech with robotics and artificial intelligence, yet retaining the simplicity of the whole operation in tune with its traditional rustic nature, going by an ongoing international conference here.
Hardtech ’19, being organised by Maker Village, Kochi, is featuring an expo where two-and-a-half-year-old startup has put on display a device that would make toddy-tapping easy, but without the risk of replacing man with machine.
The product, invented by NAVA Design & Innovation, was formally launched at the April 5-6 event at Kinfra Hi-Tech Park in Kalamassery, on Friday. Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Telecom, Government of India, unveiled the product at the inaugural session of the second edition of the National Deeptech Startup Conclave convened by Maker Village, India’s biggest electronic hardware incubator.
The product improves the efficiency of toddy-tapping by 72 times, according to NAVA founder CEO Charles Vijay Varghese. “Tapping toddy from coconut trees is a three-month cycle that requires manual climbing of the palm three times a day. That is a total of 270 times!” he noted. This electromechanical device for toddy extraction bases its technology that facilitates cutting, beating and collection of the beverage.”
Supported by Kerala StartUp Mission and Bharat Petroleum, the product is out in the market, the CEO informed. The expo showcases 64 live products out of which 40 are incubated by Maker Village.
The items include Smartmotive, which is a standing wheelchair that helps paraplegic patients stand and help muscle development. It features inbuilt high-quality imported actuators, manual/electric movement facility and a provision to lie down. Then there is I Rex Duo, which helps infants cure pneumonia and jaundice with the help of 24 LED lamps. It is the world’s first rotatable 360-degree LED phototherapy equipment, according to its manufacturers.
