SMART TOILET: Hygienic solution by a school goer to a pressing community issue

October 30, 2018

Cleanliness is next to Godliness! Hygienic toilets can prevent diseases which can be transmitted. Toilets must always be kept clean. However, we citizens somehow many times behave irresponsibly and do not flush human waste or urine in public places such as rail coaches. There must be an incentive to bring change in our social behavior, but what is that is the question asked by class 10th students studying in government school, Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidalaya (RPVV) Sector – 11, Rohini, Delhi.

Students of class 10-C Prashant, Tejaswani, Pyanshul applied the concepts of IoT, Robotics and Science to develop a novel system that can automatically open toilet door by sensing hand wave of a person and after the person has used the toilet, automatically re-opening the door when the user has flushed toilet by pressing a button. According to students, who call their innovation Smart Toilet, the incentive of pressing button to flush is that the toilet door automatically unlocks for the person to come out; and to enable this solution students used microcontroller, light dependent sensors, stepper motors, tact switch, computer programming language, etc.

Early stage prototype of Smart Toilet has so far appreciation at two prominent events. In August 2018, student demonstrated their prototype at Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) challenge organized by Department of Science and Technology; and the following month, in September 2018, student showcased their innovation at the State Level Science, Mathematics and Environment Exhibition/ 46thJawaharlal Nehru National Science, Mathematics and Environment Exhibition for Children.
Mentors of the student team, Sadaf Fatima (physics teacher of RPVV), and Vivek Kumar Singh (technical instructor from India STEM Foundation) say CSR engagement of Hitachi with RPVV, which is part of schools’ annual time table, has resulted in better student engagement, improved school attendance and free-flow of ideas from students to answer real-world societal issues. Students are excited than ever before, open towards learning Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) concepts and apply them to solve problems.

Supported by Hitachi, the training at Atal Tinkering Lab of RPVV is not just limited to school students but is also adding value in the community neighborhood, adds the mentor. People from all ages, can visit the centre throughout the year to develop their skills or seek advise. They can participate in active classes to learn how to test water quality using TDS meter, conduct soil testing, DNA fingerprinting, etc.

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