IIT Kanpur wins GE India Innovation Award

An innovative convertible manual, stair climbing wheelchair created by Shanu Sharma of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, has won her and her institute the GE India Innovation Award. Sharma was also presented with a cash prize of Rs 1, 00,000. The second annual GE India Innovation Award was presented by GE India at the CII’s(Confederation of Indian Industry) annual event, ‘Decade of Innovation: India @Year 2’.

Codenamed as 'Vardaan', the wheelchair is designed for climbing stairs with mechanical benefit via lever ratchets system and braking system. The frame incorporates a specially designed Y-shaped wheel for better grip and optimum braking for climbing up and down a flight of stairs. With a simple and effective mechanical concept, the wheelchair would be of great significance in countries where wheel access is not omnipresent.

The GE award is granted to individuals and corporate organisations across sectors who have contributed positively towards the development of the society through their designs and innovation.

Announced last year by GE, the award is an initiative to promote innovation in India.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Gopichand Katragadda, managing director, GE India Technology Centre said that the most important step forward now is for hospitals and wheelchair manufactures to help make this concept a commercial success. He added, “Such examples showcase how innovation results in localised cost-effective approaches to solve problems specific to the markets they address. We, at GE, are focused on building capacity to solve India’s toughest challenges across energy, health and home, transportation and finance sectors. These in-country products have the potential to eventually disrupt developed markets as well,” reported PharmaBiz.

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