Inspiring Large-Scale Change With Innovations Driven by Empathy

[00:00:00] Inspiring Large-scale Change With Innovations Driven By Empathy As the head of centre for

[00:00:10] rehabilitation, engineering and assistive technology, Professor Anil Prabhakar says that a lot

[00:00:17] of his research is driven by a simple human quality we call empathy.

[00:00:23] You look around and see that we are always aiming for the stars but you don't want to leave

[00:00:28] people behind. You genuinely want to address the needs of everyone since every individual counts.

[00:00:35] You pick up a problem and aim to solve it in the best way possible.

[00:00:40] A faculty member at Indian Institute of Technology Madras, since 2002, Professor Prabhakar has

[00:00:48] spent the best part of two decades driving cutting-edge innovation and research in the field of

[00:00:55] assistive technology and quantum science and technology. His research has generated incredible

[00:01:02] results, from developing a non-contact switch for persons with cerebral palsy so that they can

[00:01:10] use a computer mouse to a wheelchair accessible electric vehicle and wearable devices for persons

[00:01:17] with hearing and motor disabilities. None of this research and innovation happens without the

[00:01:24] foundation set by empathy. In fact, one could argue that some of the best innovations in India

[00:01:31] are built on the same foundation. Take the example of Webhav Thitke, co-founder of S4S

[00:01:39] technologies, a Mumbai based startup best known for their globally renowned and patented solar

[00:01:46] conduction dryer or SCD. This device is essentially a solar-powered food dehydrator that reduces moisture

[00:01:56] content in agro-produce, preserving it for up to one year without using any chemicals and preservatives.

[00:02:05] As a child growing up in rural Maharashtra in a family of farmers, Webhav recalls how he often saw

[00:02:11] fresh farm produce go to waste due to the lack of proper storage options.

[00:02:17] Underlying the development of the solar conduction dryer or SCD was empathy for farmers struggling

[00:02:25] to sell their produce because they lacked proper storage options. Speaking to the better India,

[00:02:32] he recalls, we had a weekly bazaar near my house by evening the farmers would be forced to sell

[00:02:39] their vegetables at cheaper prices or let their produce go to waste. I realized that there were

[00:02:46] many issues that affected farmers. Studying engineering gave me the knowledge to understand those

[00:02:52] and device solutions. Meanwhile, like many Indians, Kedhar Kulkarni co-founder of Pune based venture

[00:03:00] Rutu biosystems was struck by the sickening stench emanating from public washrooms. Given how his

[00:03:08] father Mohan Kulkarni had developed a unique technology to neutralize odor in garbage dumping

[00:03:15] grounds, Kedhar thought about whether they could do the same for public urinals.

[00:03:21] So they developed a unique but simple solution that not only address the odor problem

[00:03:27] but also conserved water in a significant way. Kedhar says,

[00:03:32] the way the urinals are built is itself a problem. The euric salt in urine gets deposited

[00:03:39] in the drain line which then comes in contact with water. It reacts and releases ammonia gas.

[00:03:45] This can be treated using our products that not only cancel out odor but also conserved water.

[00:03:53] After all, it's ordinary Indians who largely use public urinals. What Kedhar saw was a public health

[00:04:00] and sanitation problem and developed a unique innovation to address it. Although empathy was the

[00:04:07] underlying emotion that inspired these innovations, each went on their own journey and battled

[00:04:13] different challenges in bringing them to life. Here's the story of how these three innovators did it.

[00:04:20] Part 1. Leave no person behind. Create or CRE-ATE?

[00:04:29] Short for Center for Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology is a multi-disciplinary

[00:04:36] translational research and educational initiative of IIT Madras. In December 2021,

[00:04:44] the developed two interesting devices for persons with hearing and motor disabilities.

[00:04:51] According to researchers at CRE-ATE, the two devices, Vib and IJEST, are embedded systems that

[00:04:59] are set to bring the latest developments from the Internet of Things and Machine Learning

[00:05:05] to wearable assistive devices. Such wearable devices will have rechargeable batteries

[00:05:12] and will communicate with a mobile phone over Bluetooth. More importantly, they believe that

[00:05:19] these wearable sensors will help individuals communicate independently and enhance their quality

[00:05:26] of life backed by the latest sensor technologies. Vib is a wearable device that vibrates for acoustic

[00:05:33] sounds around a person with hearing impairment. It features a multitude of sound patterns that are

[00:05:40] recognized using a microphone and voice recognition modules. It will alert the user about a specific

[00:05:47] sound, such as a doorbell and alarm or a crying child, and will be compact and wearable as a watch.

[00:05:55] It is a simple way of providing vibration input for the pre-identified surrounding sounds

[00:06:02] with each such sound corresponding to a specific vibration and blinking LEDs to alert the user.

[00:06:11] In a conversation with the better India, Professor Anil Prabhakar says,

[00:06:17] Vib uses a microphone and IJEST uses an IMU or inertial motion unit. The microphone picks up

[00:06:26] ambient sounds and matches the pattern to one of many known sounds, for example, a doorbell.

[00:06:33] This is then converted to a vibration pattern using a micromotor.

[00:06:38] IJEST meanwhile will function as an alternative and augmentative communication device

[00:06:45] for persons with cerebral palsy. It will recognize the gestures of those with limited motor skills

[00:06:52] and convert them into audio output through a smartphone. It aims to address issues of speech

[00:06:59] impairment and motor impairments faced by persons with cerebral palsy. IJEST works as a

[00:07:06] communication device, explains Professor Prabhakar. When the user makes a gesture of the hand,

[00:07:12] the output of the IMU is sent to machine learning algorithms that classify the gesture.

[00:07:19] This classification is matched to a previously identified sentence and communicated to a mobile

[00:07:26] that then speaks on behalf of the user. Vib and IJEST have sensors with microcontrollers

[00:07:33] and fall under the umbrella of wearable, assistive and rehabilitation devices.

[00:07:40] The project to develop both devices was conceived as researchers began interacting with

[00:07:46] nonprofit organizations and inclusive schools on the needs of their students.

[00:07:52] IJEST was started by students at IIT Madras in 2014 and that was before machine learning became popular.

[00:08:02] Core motivation behind Vib and IJEST switches before devices.

[00:08:09] IIT Madras is sandwiched between two schools for children with disabilities. On one side they

[00:08:16] have the nonprofit Vidya Sagar and on the other there is the Spastic Society of Tamil Nadu.

[00:08:23] In fact, when Professor Prabhakar joined IIT Madras as a faculty member in 2002, Vidya Sagar had

[00:08:30] their vocation training center on the institute campus. But how did Professor Prabhakar get into

[00:08:37] developing technology for persons with disabilities? When I started working in the disability space,

[00:08:43] I was in some sense guilted into doing it. I was basically told, what good are you as an IIT

[00:08:51] professor if you can't solve simple problems? This work was always on the fringe. I was doing it

[00:08:57] because I felt I needed to do it. I decided to devote 20% of my time doing work in this space

[00:09:04] of assistive technologies. It wasn't really mainstream. He recalls. Also starting out, Professor

[00:09:12] Prabhakar realized that a lot of challenges that persons with disabilities face can be solved

[00:09:19] by electrical engineers. Here is how he describes his early days working with Vidya Sagar.

[00:09:26] We were working with these kids with motor disabilities, cerebral palsy to be specific.

[00:09:32] Cerebral palsy means that many of them lack fine motor skills so they could not control a

[00:09:39] mouse. And if you look at what you need to do on a computer, 80% of the time you are pressing the

[00:09:46] left click of a mouse. So how does someone who cannot move their finger like this use a computer?

[00:09:54] One person Professor Prabhakar was working with had very severe motor impairments. She would use a

[00:10:00] bulb switch around her neck and lean her neck on it. As he describes it, that's a pain in the neck

[00:10:08] literally. So they wanted us to design something that was non-contact. And it was just a coincidence

[00:10:15] that I was discussing this with one of my colleagues and he said, there's this instrument called the

[00:10:22] Theremim Vox. An electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact

[00:10:29] invented by a Russian inventor called Leon Theremin. So we repurposed that musical instrument into

[00:10:37] a non-contact switch and it's called Aditya which stands for Analog Digital Theremin Interface.

[00:10:46] Aditya was their first creation and even today remains in demand. In fact, they are currently making

[00:10:54] about 30 units of them for an inclusive quiz. I don't really want to make 500 of them because

[00:11:01] I can't distribute them so easily. I make 10, 20 or 30 units and so on depending on the requirement.

[00:11:11] Similarly, IIT Kharagpur in partnership with West Bengal Electronics made a switch called the

[00:11:17] Button Switch. A large rigid red button that students could press with their entire arm if they had

[00:11:25] the strength. With Mind Tree Foundation, we made a smiley ball which was basically those yellow balls

[00:11:32] with a smiley face on that. Inside that ball we would put in a switch and then a user could press

[00:11:39] it in a way that is possible. Making these switches was very essential he says. And we are not talking

[00:11:47] of high research. At the time people weren't even talking about machine learning and AI. They were

[00:11:55] talking about making switches. Professor Prabhakar took a different approach when most people would ask

[00:12:02] what is the size of the market, how many devices let's plan big and change the world. His approach was

[00:12:10] let us solve the problem for one person and in that process you learn enough that you can solve it

[00:12:16] for 100 people maybe. Professor Prabhakar says, I don't want to forget that one person

[00:12:23] I found my approach more gratifying and it has helped me stay the course. This was the approach

[00:12:30] when developing vibe and i just too. However vibe has received more traction than i just.

[00:12:38] He explains we've gone to a couple of exhibitions with prototypes and people have been testing vibe

[00:12:45] for the world day of the deaf 2022. Sony Pictures Network put out a press release around our

[00:12:52] innovations and that has also gotten some attention. We have been fairly successful in building

[00:12:58] algorithms for use on the devices. We are now working on prototyping them with better batteries,

[00:13:05] form factors etc. Professor Prabhakar and his team at create had planned for vibe to recognize

[00:13:12] around 4 or 5 sounds initially. These include car honking, baby crying, milk cooker, doorbell

[00:13:21] and someone's name. But when you are entering the mass market you have to start thinking about

[00:13:28] the programming aspect of the technology. For example how does the person program it to recognize

[00:13:35] their name? In terms of getting the technology ready and taking it to the market

[00:13:41] what the team at create needs is a software interface. Delving into this further he says

[00:13:49] one of our engineers went and stood at the corner of a busy road and collected sounds of car

[00:13:55] honking. Now maybe those are not among the five categories of sound that a consumer may want.

[00:14:02] The device by itself once it's working could be something else completely

[00:14:07] and if we want that to happen then we must have a software interface that can help users

[00:14:14] train the device on their own without it coming back to the developers.

[00:14:19] That is the next stage where we try to understand how many people we can give it out to

[00:14:26] and what their use cases are. For vibe it's easier to collect data. Professor Prabhakar could send

[00:14:33] someone to the busy road and say collect the sound of car horns. But how do you collect data

[00:14:39] for persons with motor impairment from persons with motor impairment? That's a fundamental ethical

[00:14:47] challenge his team has faced in developing iJust as he says. I feel very guilty about sending people

[00:14:54] out to collect data from people with motor impairments when it's already hard for them

[00:15:00] and say please give me this data and in some time I'll give you this wonderful device. To that end

[00:15:07] I'm always literally hamstrung with iJust even though this device is closer to my heart

[00:15:12] and we had started working on it much before vibe it's harder for us to collect gesture data

[00:15:18] from persons with motor impairments so we are trying different things. For example they are trying

[00:15:24] to build a robotic arm that can wear iJust. Controlling the robotic arm on one side

[00:15:31] the create team can then use the variable device to collect data of how it's moving, match them up

[00:15:38] and see if they are training it correctly. Data collected using this method won't be as good

[00:15:45] as data collected from humans but at least in terms of not making a nuisance of ourselves before

[00:15:51] we have some maturity of the algorithms i'm sort of inclined to do that. Also the pandemic was

[00:15:58] really not a nice time to be collecting data from persons with cerebral palsy. So a lot of that

[00:16:04] has also hamstrung us and i'm hoping we solve that. Say his professor probhakar,

[00:16:11] affordability is also a key consideration. His first product for Vidya Sagar Aditi was sold for

[00:16:20] $10 nearly 750 rupees. Today it's a little more expensive but we still sell it for 750 rupees.

[00:16:29] Affordability is a key aspect of such innovations. Take a look at what we are doing with vibe and iJust.

[00:16:36] Important devices cannot be afforded by most people. The cost of the product is kept under 5000

[00:16:43] rupees. The advance of technology and the advent and availability of low cost micro controllers

[00:16:50] and sensors allows us to come up with this unique low cost device he explains.

[00:16:57] Innovation ecosystem for assistive technology. Professor Prabhakar believes that the

[00:17:03] innovation ecosystem for assistive technology is definitely scaling up if you look at the number

[00:17:10] of startups and ideas coming up in the space. For instance a typical advantage and new emotion

[00:17:18] that were featured in popular reality TV programs like Shark Tank India.

[00:17:24] Startups like these are getting us more visibility and more visibility means that more people are aware

[00:17:31] of them there is more interest and there is more funding. It's all building up in a good manner

[00:17:38] but i think there are still enough challenges like the ones that i've spoken of earlier.

[00:17:43] How do you collect data? What is consent? How do you manage these things a little better?

[00:17:50] He says. Recently there was a presentation at the speech and hearing conference where the department

[00:17:57] of science and technology spoke about many of their devices including vibe and iJust.

[00:18:04] This raises the general awareness surrounding such innovations and a rising tide floats all boats.

[00:18:11] Growing general awareness means that it helps in getting more people attuned to this idea

[00:18:17] of an inclusive society. When we talk of hearing impairment it's not necessarily someone with a

[00:18:24] disability it could be someone who is elderly right? My father for example has been hard of hearing

[00:18:31] for about 20 years he wants to cross the road but can't hear the horns. That problem also plagued

[00:18:38] my grandfather and it will plague every one of us. Says Professor Prabhakar. Talking of iJust

[00:18:46] the hope is that as Indians build more wearables for sports innovators like Professor Prabhakar

[00:18:53] will use that same technology also to make it work for iJust or the other way round where he will

[00:19:00] use the technology that he developed for iJust and help someone build a better wearable smartwatch.

[00:19:07] Things are processes like that i think help raise awareness and inclusion across the board.

[00:19:14] He adds, government policy driving innovation in the field. One element that Professor Prabhakar

[00:19:22] believes may facilitate the growth of assistive technologies in India is government policy

[00:19:28] particularly in the education sector. Take the example of the draft national education policy

[00:19:35] 2016 that has made schools inclusive which means these children with disabilities started coming into

[00:19:43] schools resulting in greater demand and that happened six seven years ago. Today they are enrolling

[00:19:50] into institutions of higher education and there's now demand for a lot of services there.

[00:19:56] Says the Professor. NEP 2020 also lays emphasis on socio economically disadvantaged groups

[00:20:05] a lot of the policies are in place to enable universities and schools to provide an inclusive

[00:20:11] classroom and educational experience. I think the starting point was the fact that we made our

[00:20:18] schools inclusive and the minute you make your schools inclusive you don't need rocket signs to

[00:20:23] predict what will happen. The aim is to make these classrooms more inclusive with that of course

[00:20:30] comes a whole ecosystem of more student projects startups coming out funding greater incubation

[00:20:38] and higher venture capital funding. I think there has been overall growth in the area he adds.

[00:20:46] In other words policy initiatives by the government results in a positive cascading effect.

[00:20:53] Institutional support for innovation. When Professor Prabhakar began this journey into assistive

[00:21:01] technologies he had interacted with Professor Anupambasu of IIT Kharagpur and Professor Bala

[00:21:08] Krishna of IIT Delhi. We had come together sometime around 2010 and began brainstorming about

[00:21:16] solve this problem for persons with disabilities. We had this problem of scattered demand very complex

[00:21:24] issues of multiple disabilities across geographies and there was no real funding. So each of us decided

[00:21:31] that we will try to do what we can individually recalls the Professor. In IIT Delhi they managed to

[00:21:39] get funds from Welcome Trust IIT Kharagpur partnered with West Bengal Electronics and Institute of

[00:21:46] Cerebral Policy. IIT Madras partnered with Vidya Sagar and Spastan. Professor Prabhakar wrote

[00:21:54] small time project proposals and raised money. That was the genesis of Center for Rehabilitation

[00:22:02] Engineering and Assistive Technology or Create. In my original dream all universities would have a

[00:22:11] create lab where the center looks to address two questions. How do you make your own environment

[00:22:17] inclusive? How do you act as a beacon to anybody else who wants to make society inclusive? He notes

[00:22:25] This is not a problem that can be solved by just one center sitting in one corner of India.

[00:22:32] It has to be a movement, a pan-India movement that addresses both these questions. How do you make

[00:22:39] your education system fully inclusive at all levels? How do you act as a beacon for people who

[00:22:47] want to come together and make an inclusive society? To that extent create has served its purpose

[00:22:55] to some extent. At least in our geography we have managed to do quite a bit. He notes

[00:23:02] Having said that this space of assistive devices is still at a very nascent stage. It's still a

[00:23:08] hard place for startups to survive because there is not enough money in there. And more importantly

[00:23:16] most startups will have a four or five year horizon before their investors expect rewards.

[00:23:23] Honestly I don't think it's easy in this space. If you start thinking about it you have to provide

[00:23:28] a place to nurture these pre-startup ideas, take them through the paths of trial and error

[00:23:33] and understanding disability. He continues. Nobody understands disability. Our education system

[00:23:41] doesn't train us to understand human physiology, let alone disability. The engineering curriculum

[00:23:47] does not even take us to physiology. We left biology in high school we need to have these

[00:23:53] centers to hand hold engineers. They need to understand what causes blindness or deafness,

[00:23:59] what autism is etc. The engineers need a space to learn these things and be guided through the

[00:24:06] process. These centers provide that nurturing space. He adds, one very good example of how

[00:24:14] centers like create have not only fostered innovation but also nurtured them towards commercialization

[00:24:21] is Yali Mobility and IITM Incubated Company founded by Professor Prabhakar Pradeep Tungupan

[00:24:30] Shivam Shaktiwal. The startup focuses on delivering affordable solutions for the person with

[00:24:37] local motor disabilities. Among other things it makes electric three wheelers for wheelchair users.

[00:24:44] If you look on the roads you will see these modified scooters with two wheels in the back and someone

[00:24:51] usually hanging onto a crutch. If you are a wheelchair user you can't even use that vehicle.

[00:24:57] You usually rely on someone to carry you into an autoric short car folding your wheelchair and

[00:25:03] putting it back etc. Now let's imagine that you want the person to be independent.

[00:25:10] What Yali does is to create a ramp on the backside of the electric vehicle. So wheelchair

[00:25:15] user can just roll their wheelchair into the vehicle, the ramp will close and then they can drive

[00:25:22] it on the road, says Professor Prabhakar. IIT Madras as a hub for innovation.

[00:25:30] There are many higher education institutions in India that are flexible and open to what

[00:25:35] the faculty members do and they encourage their students as well but there is something different

[00:25:42] about IIT Madras. It has a center for innovation which the students run and they do their own thing.

[00:25:49] Sometimes the projects they pick will overlap with create and sometimes they won't.

[00:25:56] They also have an incubation cell located at the IIT Madras Research Park which has spawned many

[00:26:02] startups. If we find that the projects overlap with create then somebody will reach out to us

[00:26:09] and ask for assistance. There is immense institutional support. We have been doing this for a long

[00:26:15] time but it's only when we established the IIT Madras Research Park in 2009 that it took on a

[00:26:22] different level because now we are working closely with industry, financiers and a large number

[00:26:28] of engineers. The research park hosts thousands of engineers, says the professor. He explains further.

[00:26:37] So we can call on these engineers in many ways and try to see if they can help us solve certain

[00:26:43] problems. Meanwhile in a formal academic setting the institute has encouraged us to set up a

[00:26:51] minor course in assistive technologies. If a student is interested in learning more about these

[00:26:56] things they can take a couple of courses and get a minor in them. If you do want to put on a number

[00:27:03] on IIT Madras' contribution to the innovation and startup ecosystem in India here is what you can say.

[00:27:11] The IIT Madras Incubation Cell which lies in a sprawling 11.5 acres IIT Madras Research Park

[00:27:20] has so far spawned 300 odd startups whose collective valuation is just a little under 40 000 crore

[00:27:28] rupees. These startups which include known names such as Ather Energy, Agnical Cosmos and the

[00:27:36] Unicorn Uniform have raised 9500 crore rupees of funds and generated 1,300 patents.

[00:27:45] The cell has 1% stake across the startups. It's imperative to remember that both the IIT Madras

[00:27:53] Research Park and IIT Madras Incubation Cell are section 8 companies which means that all the

[00:28:00] profits will be used to drive more research and innovation and will not be divided among shareholders.

[00:28:08] Institutional support is at an all-time high and I say this not just for IIT Madras

[00:28:14] many institutions of higher education have an incubation support system, Professor Prabhakar

[00:28:20] notes. However what is missing is the focus on assistive technologies. We've got requests for

[00:28:28] Mauritia but it's hard for us to support someone there. Assistive technology is an area where a large

[00:28:35] amount of individual support is required. To that extent I think we should focus on some fraction

[00:28:41] of our incubation attention on assistive devices. That's absolutely needed. I would really like

[00:28:49] if every institution would say we will bring out one product every three years. Imagine if we can

[00:28:56] build one assistive technology product every three years but this is being done across 100 institutions.

[00:29:04] You are getting 30 products a year right? That's immense and it will change our society for the better.

[00:29:12] Says Professor Prabhakar. Part 2 A solution for farmers that creates entrepreneurs.

[00:29:20] Studying engineering at the Institute of Chemical Technology Mumbai,

[00:29:25] Webhavk Deerke was part of a research group that taught him how engineering and science

[00:29:31] can be deployed for solving social problems. In 2008 he laid the foundation of an organization

[00:29:38] that would work to benefit society in particular farmers and the food industry. He was still in his

[00:29:45] final year at college. His organization formed with help from friends, peers and professors

[00:29:52] was Christian Science for Society or S4S technologies. My professor was working in the space of

[00:30:00] chemical engineering technology deployed at an industrial scale. That's when we started thinking

[00:30:06] about deploying such technology to help farmers. So it's a perfect combination of understanding

[00:30:12] engineering on one side and the problem society faces on the other. That's where our name

[00:30:18] Science for Society came from. Recalls Webhavk. That organization would soon become a startup

[00:30:25] developing solar conduction dryer or SCD, a solar powered food dehydrator that reduces moisture

[00:30:34] content in agro produce, preserving them for up to one year without using any chemicals and

[00:30:41] preservatives. The impact of this technology on farmers, farm laborers, come entrepreneurs

[00:30:48] and the food industry has been immense. Thanks to our patented technology farmers don't have

[00:30:55] to worry about their produce going bad. We have installed it in different parts of India

[00:31:02] and other countries like France, Jamaica, Nepal, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Bangladesh and India.

[00:31:11] Currently we create procurement centers at a village level where farmers can come and sell any

[00:31:17] grade of produce including leftover produce. Once the procurement is done we have a set of

[00:31:24] women farmers come entrepreneurs who convert this agri produce into processed food. He says

[00:31:32] to assist these women entrepreneurs S Forest technologies has developed and patented

[00:31:38] these solar dehydration systems. For farmers and entrepreneurs the benefits are as follows.

[00:31:45] Number one, it generates livelihood for women in rural settings they can earn somewhere between

[00:31:52] 50,000 rupees and 1 lakh rupees per year. How? Operating a machine like the SCD needs skill.

[00:32:00] So we train local women and help them become micro entrepreneurs. Next, we lease out a

[00:32:08] SCD to our micro entrepreneurs to dry out the food. Then we simply buy back the preserved food so

[00:32:14] that these women can make a profit. Says whereabouts. Number two, these women get access to technologies

[00:32:23] and businesses which they often cannot because they don't have the requisite finance technological

[00:32:28] assets or training. So we provide linkages to banks like state bank of India, Maharashtra,

[00:32:34] Grammin, Bank and Nabad for financing. We help them by providing the right hardware and training

[00:32:41] so that they become eligible to do these businesses. He adds. Number three,

[00:32:48] speaking about the impact of his technology on farmers whereabouts says

[00:32:53] The benefit is that they can sell all kinds of produce and even those that often end up as post-harvest

[00:33:00] loss. We process this produce at the farm gate and cut down on logistic cost and post-harvest

[00:33:08] losses are also saved. We have seen around 15% to 25% improvement in profits for farmers.

[00:33:15] How do solar dryers operate? If you look at food processing it's basically about increasing the

[00:33:24] shelf life of food. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can put it in a fridge or a freezer

[00:33:31] to extend its shelf life. The other way is to dehydrate it by drying under the sun. However,

[00:33:38] not all types of fruits or vegetables can be saved by this method of drying under open sun.

[00:33:45] You need dehydration equipment. The principle of our solar-powered food

[00:33:50] dehydrator is to take out water so that microorganisms cannot grow and if microorganisms cannot

[00:33:57] grow, food can be preserved. Says Webhobe. He adds. That's the simple principle but the challenge

[00:34:06] is you have to maintain nutrition, food safety and at the same time you have to increase the

[00:34:12] shelf life of food products. So, dehydration comes into the picture where fruits and vegetables

[00:34:19] can be washed, cut and dried under solar dehydration units. Once done the shelf life can be

[00:34:27] increased up to one year. Major challenges in developing technology. This is where the interesting

[00:34:35] matrix of university students and the startup world come into the picture. S4A started

[00:34:42] working on developing a solar dehydrator with the help of a state funded project.

[00:34:48] The idea was to look at designs that are available and how they can deploy them for Indian farms.

[00:34:55] Most of these technologies have been developed in Europe and the US over a long time

[00:35:01] and those were deployed in India without taking into account the local context.

[00:35:06] The Indian context is different. Most farmers have small land holdings and electricity is

[00:35:12] not regularly available. Another key insight we found once we started refining this technology

[00:35:19] was that it would be used by women while men are the decision makers who provide finance,

[00:35:25] women are the users. The question was how do we give more agency to women?

[00:35:31] Webho shares. Secondly the technology had to operate in areas when even single phase electricity

[00:35:40] was a problem. Thirdly the machine had to be simple enough so that if something went wrong

[00:35:47] it could be maintained at a farm level. The machine that we developed is a United Nations award

[00:35:54] winning technology patented and also one of the most efficient. It's still the cheapest.

[00:36:01] Just to give a context our technology costs three times less in terms of capital cost

[00:36:07] as compared to industrial dryers. We consume only 5% energy while having 100% effect as compared

[00:36:15] to traditional dryers. On top of this we can use the same machine for fruits, vegetables, spices,

[00:36:23] milk and wet grain processing claims Webho.

[00:36:28] Overcoming challenges. When we realized that our user is a rural woman,

[00:36:34] we interviewed almost 500 women farmers. We put our machine through an exhibition pilot demo

[00:36:41] and got feedback from them to see what their needs are. I also found that if I had to see

[00:36:46] women as a decision maker she should not depend on a man to make a decision. Says Webho,

[00:36:53] he adds, we created financial mechanisms with banks where women really don't have to put

[00:37:00] anything on a mortgage for a loan. We helped them set up their bank accounts and created systems

[00:37:07] where they can get these assets financed. On the design side it's a fundamental chemical

[00:37:14] engineering innovation that S4S developed combining three modes of heat transfer.

[00:37:21] On the maintenance side, S4S industrially designed a product so that it doesn't fail on the ground.

[00:37:29] Two key players with supported S4S particularly in the initial stages were the Institute of

[00:37:36] Chemical Technology and the Center for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship CIEE,

[00:37:44] a startup incubation center at the Indian Institute of Management Amdabad.

[00:37:50] In the early days, major organizations like Bayer, now Covestro, UZ and FIKI also provided

[00:37:58] direct funding to bring SCD from laboratory to field. Bayer, a German company helped in terms

[00:38:07] of funding exposure to various materials so that we can improve our abilities. Some of the investors

[00:38:15] like FactorEventures of the USA, Acumen Fund, Shiratee Ventures, Global Innovation Fund of the UK

[00:38:23] helped in terms of taking business from early stage to a much advanced stage.

[00:38:29] Each player has a different role. Says Webho. Early investors, funders and foundations help

[00:38:36] doesn't take that extra risk. For example, we worked with Shell Foundation, FIKI and Gates Foundation

[00:38:43] who took the early risk of piloting, creating data and support systems. Others like

[00:38:50] Mariko Innovation Foundation created support systems for us to see how this innovation can be scaled.

[00:38:58] Funders and venture capitalists assisted with early risk capital to pilot this technology.

[00:39:04] He adds, having said all that innovators often struggle to access a lot of these support systems.

[00:39:13] How did S4S get access? There are ample opportunities. You go to conferences, meet people,

[00:39:21] look up on different websites, do partnerships calls like customer calls. We found the entire

[00:39:28] process to be very organic. Says Webho. It may take a couple of meetings, but I think

[00:39:35] perseverance of the team, co-founders and management team is critical to frame these partnerships.

[00:39:42] Whether it's banks, investors or foundations, it's all about following up religiously

[00:39:48] and that takes perseverance. It's about constantly meeting and telling people to come and see

[00:39:55] what we are building. Of course, this process is difficult and takes a long time, but it can happen.

[00:40:03] He adds, major advancements in Indian AgriTech. The Indian AgriTech sector is a fast evolving space

[00:40:13] as Webho. Illustrates, we have a large market of about 500 billion dollars in terms of market size of

[00:40:21] food and over 200 million dollars market size of processed food. Hundreds of unicorns can

[00:40:28] survive this market. Market size is not a problem, and number of users is not a problem since we are

[00:40:34] talking about customer base of 150 million farmers. But the questions we need to ask is how do you

[00:40:42] crack these business models in a more sustainable and profitable way which will sustain for the

[00:40:48] long run of 5 to 7 years and can allow investors to exit while also helping your organization achieve

[00:40:56] long-term sustainable growth. Both dimensions are critically important. Cracking the right business

[00:41:03] model that creates a win-win situation for farmers and the company is a critical piece that most

[00:41:10] entrepreneurs are solving. He adds, from innovation to commercialization.

[00:41:18] If you look at market linkages, food processing equipment and farm services space, Webho still

[00:41:25] believes that there is a puzzle to be solved when addressing the science and technology

[00:41:30] requirements for small holder farmers. That's a critical space where universities,

[00:41:37] governments, foundations and charity money has to go in order to create those fundamental

[00:41:43] technologies and make them available for all, particularly farmers with small land holdings.

[00:41:49] Says Webho. For example, how do we develop a smarter harvester? How do we create a sound business

[00:41:57] model for small holder farmers? How can they have efficient food processing? How can we help

[00:42:05] them with better logistics and food storage capabilities?

[00:42:11] The objective is to integrate those technological innovations along with the

[00:42:17] right financial and digital solutions. You will also see emerging spaces in this industry,

[00:42:23] like alternate protein, milk-based products, food processing and biotechnology.

[00:42:30] These are all evolving spaces and the fundamental pieces of scientific knowledge which will

[00:42:37] give Indian startups a higher advantage so that they grow. He says,

[00:42:43] Part 3. Transforming public urinals

[00:42:48] When Mohan Kulkarni started Ruthu biosystems in 2007, his aim was simple

[00:42:54] to focus on order management and sanitation. He had developed a technology to neutralize

[00:43:01] order in garbage dumping grounds. When we realized that this technology is a success and

[00:43:08] order can be managed using such biological products, he started exploring other avenues where

[00:43:14] order is a problem. And that's how we encountered public urinals where even after flushing

[00:43:21] thousands of liters of water, the order still persisted and hygiene remained a problem.

[00:43:27] It was sometime around 2012 when we started working on this problem and we actually commercialized

[00:43:34] it around 2019-20. Says Mohan Sun, Kedar Kulkarni, a biotechnology graduate and co-founder.

[00:43:43] Our technology consists of three solutions that work together, a washroom cleaner,

[00:43:48] a urinal screen and bioblock and an order controller. The basic components of these products are

[00:43:56] bacteria and enzymes. These bacteria, typically belonging to the Bessilus family,

[00:44:02] are found everywhere in nature. We extract and use them in our products. Says Kedar.

[00:44:09] The bacteria and active enzymes present in the bioblock and cleaner react with the

[00:44:15] uric salts and produce nitrogen instead of ammonia, which causes no stench in the urinals.

[00:44:21] This not only helps to maintain cleanliness and sanitation but also saves water.

[00:44:29] Kedar ads. What makes our technology different is its ease of installation.

[00:44:36] Once the products are installed in a public place, we provide training to janitors to familiarize

[00:44:42] them with the technology. Apart from that, there is no need for extra assistance. The bioblocks

[00:44:49] are simply placed on the urinals which transform existing urinals into eco-friendly ones,

[00:44:55] just by replacing their products with our patented products. Our customers don't spend much to make

[00:45:02] this change. However, the process from inception of idea to commercialization took Kedar and his

[00:45:10] father Mohan a good seven years. A majority of the time went in identifying the problem,

[00:45:18] how it can be solved scientifically, developing products around that problem,

[00:45:24] testing them, taking user trials and validating the results. Why did it take seven years though?

[00:45:33] Convincing the masses. See for the entire waterless and oraless urinal program to materialize

[00:45:40] it took seven years, although we had already launched it in bits and pieces.

[00:45:45] For example, the washroom cleaner was the first product that we launched. We were already

[00:45:50] selling it to consumers as a green alternative to conventional cleaners, assets etc but to get

[00:45:56] the whole bundle of products together and to get people to accept them took time.

[00:46:02] Back in 2015-16 when we started talking to people about waterless urinals,

[00:46:09] people were not even ready to listen to such proposals. Say, Kedar,

[00:46:14] what makes the growth of Ruthu biosystems particularly interesting is the lack of any

[00:46:20] external institutional or infrastructural support for developing and commercializing this solution.

[00:46:28] We have remained a bootstrapped venture from day one. The crux of the situation is that when you are

[00:46:34] in a small scale startup, particularly working in a new industry trying to create a category of

[00:46:41] sorts, the main concern is getting to know or identifying people who can be potential users

[00:46:48] of the product, talking to them and convincing them to try the product. Explain, Kedar.

[00:46:55] Ruthu biosystems have taken the long and hard route of creating awareness among consumers,

[00:47:02] educating them as to what the problem actually is and how it can be solved.

[00:47:08] We have developed our own sales team where we collaborate with organizations at their

[00:47:14] environment, health and safety or EHS levels. Make them understand what kind of products

[00:47:21] can be used in their facilities, how they are going to help them solve their hygiene problems

[00:47:27] and save water, says Kedar. In the early days and even today, the major difficulty or road

[00:47:36] block they faced was the lack of awareness among consumers. For example, when we approach an EHS

[00:47:43] manager in a large organization to talk about waterless urinals, they often ask how urinals can

[00:47:50] work without water. Our first major road block is convincing the EHS manager that they can save

[00:47:57] water in their washrooms. Since it's a new concept we have to give demonstrations. The next

[00:48:05] challenge that comes is training the janitors who have been used to using some category of products

[00:48:12] for a number of years. Notes Kedar. Ruthu biosystems trains them, sensitizes them as to why

[00:48:20] they are using this method and how these products will positively impact their health

[00:48:26] and benefit them as well. Today, they are dealing with industries, corporations, public places like

[00:48:33] schools, colleges, airports, hospitals and basically anywhere where there are more than 50 to

[00:48:40] 100 urinals and more than 1000 people using them daily. That is their target group.

[00:48:47] We started this product line in Pune just before the first lockdown started in 2020.

[00:48:53] If you look at it today, most of our customers are in Maharashtra but now we are also expanding to

[00:48:59] Karnataka, Delhi and a few other metro cities this year. Kledar. No institutional support.

[00:49:09] As a bootstrapped company, Ruthu biosystems didn't have any access to any external

[00:49:15] funding. So how did they manage that cash flow? Like any good business, they built a line of

[00:49:24] other products that took off in the market before turning their attention to public urinals.

[00:49:30] With regards to the garbage order control solution, we have been working with multiple

[00:49:36] municipal corporations to supply the product back to garbage dumping grounds. That was a good

[00:49:43] source of income for us. Similarly we have launched other products as well in different categories.

[00:49:51] We have products for converting septic tanks to biodeigesters without any additional capital

[00:49:56] expenditure or the need for retrofitting. We also have products for oil and grease treatment

[00:50:03] and home care. Putting out diversified products gave us some freedom to engage in R&D

[00:50:11] to develop this solution that we are currently driving with 100% focus.

[00:50:17] Explain Skedar. Supporting innovators and entrepreneurs in the sanitation industry.

[00:50:25] As an entrepreneur and innovator who has gone through this entire process,

[00:50:31] what kind of support system does Skedar feel is required in India? A major hurdle that any

[00:50:37] innovator can face is access to funds. Fortunately today we have many incubation centers in the

[00:50:43] country. There are premier organizations like the IITs who are offering incubation to early

[00:50:50] stage startups with good ideas that can potentially create impact, he says. The second is access

[00:50:57] to mentorship. As an innovator or entrepreneur not everybody has the necessary vision to create a

[00:51:04] business. For example even my father and I are hardcore technocrats so it took us time to

[00:51:11] even get the business logic or the business part in place. That kind of mentorship is also required

[00:51:18] he adds. Today Ruthu biosystems has installed solutions in approximately 10,000 urinals

[00:51:26] and from April 2022 to January 2023 our technology has helped save approximately 8

[00:51:35] crore litres of water. claims Skedar. What more can India do to promote such innovations?

[00:51:45] The solution Skedar argues starts in school. We must give children the freedom to think freely,

[00:51:54] identify problems and find solutions. In my opinion today's education system lacks a basic problem

[00:52:01] solving attitude that any innovator will need throughout their entrepreneurial journey.

[00:52:07] Running a business is like solving one problem after the other and that problem can be technical,

[00:52:13] financial or something as simple as trying to retain a customer. People need to learn how to

[00:52:20] solve problems and for that you need some freedom of thought right from your childhood. He argues

[00:52:27] in terms of R&D support if a young innovator has identified a problem and they want to work

[00:52:34] a solution around it there are facilities available to build on that. Plus we need more funding which

[00:52:42] can be made available to early stage startups particularly those working in climate change green

[00:52:48] energy sanitation and water management. Today more or less all VCs are going for D2C startups

[00:52:56] the glamorous businesses, the not so glamorous ones which actually create impact must be identified

[00:53:03] and brought to set a stage. He adds meanwhile Kedar shares that their venture target is to convert

[00:53:11] 50,000 more urinals to waterless urinals by the end of 2023. We always aim to dig deeper into

[00:53:20] the problem and provide a solution instead of just masking it he says. Lessons learned

[00:53:28] Going through the remarkable journey of these entrepreneurs here are six things we learned

[00:53:34] 1. Empathy can drive innovation Empathy is the single most overlooked ingredient of innovation

[00:53:43] being able to accurately imagine what someone else is thinking and feeling allows innovators

[00:53:51] to better understand their target groups needs. We have seen this not only through the innovators

[00:53:57] described but in some of the most path-breaking innovations in history. 2. Institutional support

[00:54:05] to foster an ecosystem of innovation The example of IIT Madras should leave no doubt

[00:54:12] that institutional support is fundamental to fostering an ecosystem where innovation is not just

[00:54:20] encouraged but taken to a stage where it touches the lives of many. 3. Innovation must be affordable

[00:54:30] In all the examples cited here we can see the emphasis on affordability. After all, affordability

[00:54:38] creates accessibility. If you want your innovation to reach a large audience make sure it's affordable

[00:54:46] that is certain to create impact. 4. Smart business decisions can bring innovations to life

[00:54:55] In a scenario where access to funding is limited the RUTU biosystems clearly showed

[00:55:02] how they were able to commercialize their solution for odorless and waterless urinals because of

[00:55:08] smart business strategies. 5. Create incubation centers at schools

[00:55:16] Why leave them to institutions of higher education? Why not foster a spirit of innovation and problem

[00:55:23] solving by setting up incubation centers in schools? Besides the off-chance that students come

[00:55:31] up with a fantastic start-up idea, it will create a culture of innovation where children take

[00:55:37] pride in coming up with solutions for major problems. 6. Innovation is thriving in urban India

[00:55:47] The past decade has seen a spate of start-ups in urban India looking to solve some of the country's

[00:55:53] most pressing concerns. With better access to funding, mentorship and institutional support

[00:56:01] this has only improved. This can happen for rural India too but a lot more needs to happen

[00:56:08] from a government policy side to improve things. Igniting ideas for impact is an audiobook published

[00:56:16] by the Better India in association with Accenture India. Find out more about Accenture India's initiatives

[00:56:23] at www.accenture.com slash IN-EN. Author Rinchen Norbu Wangchuk

[00:56:33] edited by Divya Seetu and Tanya Singh