MADURAI: In a bid to solve the problem of stinking public urinals, students
of the mechanical engineering department at Velammal College of
Engineering and Technology have come up with an innovative urinal with
automatic water flushing.

“Despite sensor-enabled automatic
water flushing urinals available in the market, they cannot be installed
in public toilets as they cost more. The starting price of such sensor
urinals would be Rs 5,000. Moreover, they need continuous monitoring and
battery maintenance. Whereas, the simple mechanical equipment which we
have developed at only Rs 440 can be attached to the ordinary urinals,”
claimed G R Malarmannan, a final year student, who developed the
mechanism along with two second year students, S Emmanuel Richards and R
M Pearlson.

“The urinal is designed for frugal water usage as
it allows only 350 ml of water for every flush. When the user gets down
off the urinal platform the water flush is automatically on. The spring
arrangement suspended, under the platform enables it to come down. As a
result, a 350ml container connected with the water source would be
filled due to a mechanical element attached to it. When the user gets
off the platform, the water is released from the container to flush the
urinal,” the students explained.

The simple mechanical urinal
has won several accolades both at national and international-level
technical contests. It was shortlisted in the International Mechanical
Engineering Congress
held in the USA last year. Understanding the feasibility of the urinal,
K Veera Raghava Rao, erstwhile corporation commissioner of Trichy city
approached the students for the installation of such urinals in public
places. However, before the project could commence, the commissioner was
transferred, the students said.

The students have also
developed another equipment, which can help rubber tappers. After seeing
a news report from Kerala last year about cash award to anyone who
comes up with a viable model and cost-effective mechanized rubber
tapping knife to solve the problem of employees in rubber milk tapping,
the final year students M Venkatesh and Malamannan along with Richards
decided to come up with one.

They developed a handheld
semi-automatic rubber-tapping machine using a motor, which can be used
with a battery. Using the machine, a labourer can tap milk from 300
trees in the morning hours, which is the apt time for the work. They can
collect milk from only 50 trees using their conventional knife, the
students claimed.

Similarly, the students have exhibited more
than 15 innovations including detection and signalling for trains at
unmanned level crossings, semi-automatic fish scaling machine, automatic
toilet cleaner, jasmine flower winding machine, automatic feeder button
riveting machine, high-efficiency domestic gas burner, stair climbing
trolley, remote-controlled floor cleaner and dust-free blackboard
duster.