A drone to douse fire in high-rise buildings. A web application to simplify the process of obtaining a patent. A machine for the hygienic disposal of menstrual waste.
Innovations to solve everyday problems took centre stage at a programme to foster entrepreneurship at a college in New Town.
IncubES 2025, a Techno International New Town (TINT) initiative, features startup pitch sessions, investor panels, networking opportunities, workshops and a boot camp.
Thirty-two start-ups are participating in the three-day event, which began on Thursday.
One of the prototypes that turned heads was a fire-fighting drone designed to lift a hose pipe from a fire truck and douse “high-altitude” fire. Bebeto Ally, 29, a computer science engineer, designed the drone and has patented the technology. The project has been incubated at IIT Kharagpur.
A 2017 fire in the heart of Calcutta, witnessed by Ally, sowed in him the seeds of this design. On October 19, 2007, a fire gutted the top three floors of the 19-floor Jeevan Sudha building in Chowringhee.
A catastrophe was averted because the building, owned by the LIC, was nearly empty for Diwali holidays.
The fire and emergency services department had dispatched two sophisticated hydraulic ladders, but they could not be used because of the structural challenges of the building.
“I was passing by when I saw the flames. I stopped and spent the next couple of hours standing on the road, watching the firefighting operation,” said Bebeto, named after the Brazilian forward, who was on the team that won the 1994 Fifa World Cup.
“The drone can significantly reduce the firefighting response time in high-rises. It has improved maneuverability over the ladders used by the firefighters,” he said.
Bebeto is already in touch with the fire services department to take his design to the market.
Sharmi Das Mishra, designed a web application called Patent Lab. “It is billed as: “AI-based one-stop intellectual property (IP) solution”.
“Having a unique idea is one thing. Getting a patent is another. It is a long-drawn and complicated process. My web application is designed to make it easier,” said Sharmi, mother of a nine-year-old boy.
From patentability test to paperwork guidance, the app is designed to provide holistic support to patent seekers, she said.
Principal of the college, Ayan Chakraborty, said the event “would help young entrepreneurs who often struggle to find guidance and funding”.
Siddhartha Das, professor at IIT Kharagpur and a mentor at Techno International New Town, said the workshops and bootcamp will help the start-ups with the transition from the lab to the market.
“Compliance is a vital part. The start-ups must be aware of and abide by the government regulations. This event will help them with that aspect too,” he said.
Sukla Mistry, chief operations officer, Haldia Petrochemicals, was among the veteran representatives from the corporate world who attended the event.
Another prototype on display was a menstrual waste disposal unit. A lid opens and a used napkin is placed in a bin. A heater then burns it to ash. The ash can be used for landfill.
“We want to reach out to schools and colleges to scale up,” said Swastika Akuli, a student of computer science engineering at TINT.
A panel will selected the top three ideas and they will be awarded.
