KOCHI:A smart safety jacket for personnel of the Border Security Force has won first prize at a two-day hackathon for product startups, which concluded here on Tuesday.
The jacket senses imminent attacks and identifies the enemy’s location in real time.
Hack2help, the two-day hackathon for startups developing ‘smart solutions for everyday problems, was jointly hosted by the US Consulate General-Chennai and the Learning Links Foundation in association with the Kerala Start up Mission, Maker Village and the Science Society of India. At the event, which was held at the Kerala Technology Innovation Zone, 30 teams comprising 120 students from colleges across the state participated.
The prototype of the jacket was developed by Ajay Sangwan, Rohit T and Vivek Jose of Kochi-based electronics incubator Maker Village, under its project titled ‘Quick Response Eco-systems for Border Security Force.’
The team also developed an IT-enabled device that can be installed along the borders to detect human presence and alert the control room. According to the developers, the device has passive infrared sensors to distinguish between humans and objects by measuring thermal radiation.
At the event, a group of students from School of Engineering under the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) won the second prize for a technology solution to maintain hygiene in public toilets. The team comprised Samir Dayal Singh, Mayank Raj, Abhinav Gautam and Shantanu Garg.
Jithin M S, Govindan Nampoothiri, Jobin Joseph and Clinz Stephen of Saintgits College of Engineering won the third prize for their web portal designed to help farmers sell their produces directly to customers.