Eight Teams of Social Impact Inventors Selected as Regional Finalists in India for Premier Global Competition, Held Virtually April 14-17

Medical Diagnostics, Food Safety, Pest Control, and Sanitation Among Causes Tackled by 2020 ASME ISHOW Regional Finalists

NEW YORK, April 6, 2020 – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has announced the regional finalists of the 2020 ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW), the premier international accelerator of hardware-led social innovation. Eight socially minded teams of inventors from throughout India will present their design prototypes in a virtual event held April 14-17.

The ISHOW India finalists, whose innovations address issues including medical diagnostics, food safety, pest control, and sanitation, will pitch their prototypes at 5:30 p.m. IST/8:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, April 14 via web conference. (Journalists who wish to participate can request login information by emailing media contacts below.) The finalists will vie for a share of $30,000 in seed grants and technical support to help bring their design innovations to market. An esteemed panel of judges will privately interview each finalist as part of an extensive design and engineering review and then will choose three hardware innovations as grand prize winners.

The regional finalists are:

• Aigret Innovations India Private Limited (Pune, India) for its “Electrostatic Spraying System” – The Electrostatic Spraying System for produce (e.g., grapes and pomegranates) is more effective and four times more efficient than conventional spraying systems. It provides a more uniform dispersion and coating of the target. It is easy to use, reduces application time, reaches hidden areas of the produce, and conserves the applied liquid.
• Autoyos Private Limited (Bengaluru, India) for “iRobo” – an autonomous system for comprehensive eye diagnostics. It is designed to be used anywhere, anytime, without requiring an operator. iRobo helps the end-users to get eye care at a tenth of the cost and it enables care providers to increase their reach by five times.
• Bioscan Research (Ahmedabad, India) for its “Cerebo” – a handy, non-invasive, fully computerized system for detecting intracranial hemorrhage in two minutes. It is portable and does not require special skills to operate. It is non-invasive and based on near- infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. When deployed in trauma centers, emergency departments, and ambulances, it can save the lives of millions of patients whose brain injuries go undiagnosed.
• Cherries Engineering Innovation India Pvt. Ltd. (Bengaluru, India) for “JALODBUST” – The settled and densified excreta sludge left behind in septic tanks is not properly removed by the vacuum trucks and dewatering pumps. This sludge is presently removed by humans known as “manual scavengers.” JALODBUST removes this sludge by scraping, agitating, and pumping it out while eliminating the need for human touch.
• Flexmotiv Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Delhi, India) for “FlexMo Crutch” – the first self- standing crutch. It is designed to be durable and slip-resistant in all terrains. It also provides forward propulsion leading to lower energy consumption and its shock absorption leads to less fatigue/pain resulting in a higher quality of life for users.
• Leowin Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Mangaluru, India) for “MozziQuit” – an affordable device that attracts, traps, and kills female mosquitoes every day in large numbers at a low operating cost without the use of any chemicals, consumables, or emissions of UV radiation. It is safe for use in every house, cowshed, aircraft, bus, car and at external mosquito breeding locations, which enables the elimination of mosquito populations in short periods to help eradicate all mosquito-borne diseases.
• StarQ Corporation (Chennai, India) for “Borean”– an electrically powered, phase change material-based reefer container for passive transit and storage of perishable products. Our modular thermal battery matrix technology enables us to provide customized cold chain solutions for a wide array of products ranging from meat, seafood, fruits & vegetables, dairy, confectioneries, and pharmaceuticals. Our chiller units could be customized to work on power from solar, biofuel and other non-grid supply as well. The technology would be instrumental in filling the voids in a country’s cold chain logistics infrastructure.
• Sunfox Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Dehradun, India) for “Spandan ECG”– the smallest medical-grade electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG) machine which weighs only 12 grams. It works with Spandan AI engine to identify and monitor 50+ abnormalities without any medical expertise and is ideal to use at the last mile connectivity by a layman. Spandan application also assists with the required actions and first-aid in case of an emergency. The device is just a matchbox size device which also helps to reduce the risk of having a cardiac attack up to 80%. Spandan also reduces the cost per test up to 80% as compared to traditional tests.

“We are proud to offer a forum for engineering problem-solving that truly improves lives,” said ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile. “We are continually impressed by the creative talent of ASME ISHOW participants and their passion for helping underserved communities around the world.”

ISHOW India winners will be announced via the ASME ISHOW website, social media, and news release by the end of April. Virtual ISHOWs will be held for finalists from Africa (ISHOW Kenya) and the Americas (ISHOW USA) this spring and summer.

In addition, the product with the most votes in social media for each regional event will be named the “Fan Favorite,’’ and those three regional finalists will receive $1,000 each. Follow us on Twitter @ASMEishow for more details.  The fan favorite prize is made possible and in memory of Byron G. Schieber Jr. M.S., PE, Professor Emeritus QCCNY, and Ruth L. Schieber.

ASME’s panel of judges includes a group of successful entrepreneurs, academics, engineers, designers, investors, and industry representatives from leading organizations in India, Kenya, and the United States such as Ankur Capital, Gearbox, Henkel Adhesive Technologies, Philips, Philips Foundation, Villgro,  Villgro Kenya, and Xylem Inc.

ASME is grateful to The Lemelson Foundation for its continued support of the ISHOW as the Impact Inventing sponsor and ISHOW implementation partners around the globe.

Follow the journeys of ISHOW alumni including PayGo, QuickSee, SignIO, and others here.

About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world.
For more information, visit www.asme.org.

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Media Contacts:

Monica Shovlin
MCShovlin Communications LLC (for ASME)
monica@mcshovlin.com
+1 541-554-3796

James Creel
Senior Program Manager - Engineering for Global Development, ASME
CreelJ@asme.org
+1 202-577-9891