Foldable Helmet, Electric Three-wheeler Showcased at India Skills Kerala

KOZHIKODE:
Ever heard of a ‘folding helmet’? It will certainly be welcomed by riders, who find it a bit hard to tuck those heavy headgears onto their two-wheelers.

The idea may sound vague, but such a life-saver is now a ready-to-market product, conceived and developed by a group of students with the state-run Kerala State Institute of Design (KSID) in downstate Kollam.

This is one of the innovative products got showcased at the finale of India Skills Kerala 2020, which concluded at Swapna Nagari here on Monday. The innovative helmet can be folded into three, and easily carried around by the two-wheeler riders.

The foldable headgear can come handy for thousands in Kerala. The state has made wearing helmet compulsory for pillion riders as well, making it necessary for every member of a family to have a helmet suiting one’s head.

The tri-folding has been designed by students of Lifestyle Products Design department of KSID, functioning under Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE), which organised the February 22-24 India Skills Kerala 2020 along with Industrial Training Department (both under the Labour and Skills Development Department).

The idea of designing such a helmet was first mooted by young Favas Kaliani of Malappuram. He was soon joined by his colleagues in perfecting and giving shape to the concept. The institute has already initiated procedures to gain patent for the helmet.

The KSID students have also made a ‘mask helmet’ for the traffic police personnel. This has been designed by Nikhil Dinesh, also from Malappuram. The filters embedded in it will insulate the personnel on traffic duty from dust blowing off the road. It also has small chambers to keep such essential traffic control tools like walkie-talkie and internet connector.

A resourceful lot, other innovations of KSID students include a time-saving device for the patients waiting for their turn to meet doctors in hospitals and clinics. Avoiding wastage of time, the patient can step on the machine and get several essential tests like measuring height and weight besides reading pulse. The result will be shown on the monitor of the machine.

Further, Jithin Jyoth, a student of the institute, has come out with the model of an electric three-wheeler called Trike.

KSID, located at Chandanathopu in Kollam, receives financial grant from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and follows its syllabus and curriculum. KSID is now planning to conduct a four-day event called Vitash 2020, to provide a platform for young innovators from across the country.