College kids design solutions to end city’s commuting woes
From building sensors to gauging traffic congestion in an area to magnetically levitated pods providing public transport, college students came up with innovative design-based solutions for transport-related problems in the city.
The solutions were presented at Mumbai By Design, a festival organised by Pearl Academy — an education institute from Andheri — last week to celebrate the diversity and distinct cultural influences in the city.
One of the competitions titled ‘Design Intervention’ invited design-led innovations to solve daily issues such as traffic management and rail efficiency. Students from 15 institutes present innovative measures and futuristic ideas to address these problems.
Rajat Kushwaha, a student of the Industrial Design Centre at Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) suggested installing electromagnetic induced charging for electric cars on roads.
“We are using fossil fuels, even though the future belongs to electric vehicles. However, there are no charging stations available electric vehicles. It is possible to charge such vehicles wirelessly through a magnetic field on the city roads. The vehicles won’t even need to stop to recharge,” he said.
Experts welcomed the initiative and said the ideas were very much doable.
“We need new ideas, which may not necessarily come from experts. Even offbeat ideas can solve some of the pressing transport problems in the city. The ideas presented by the students are doable. In fact, they can be implemented in as less than 10 years,” said Ashutosh Atre, a transport expert
Chandrakant Naik, a student from VIVA School of Architecture, Virar, suggested creating multi-storied railway stations to make commute comfortable and efficient. “The city’s population will swell in the coming years. This design will accommodate more people,” he said.
Similarly, Naba Usmani, a student at Pearl Academy, suggested basic modifications to the existing infrastructure and monitoring systems such as digital speed limit boards and thermal and pressure recognition belts for managing pedestrians and traffic.
“The sensors will calculate traffic congestion and send information to a control unit. This information will be used to alter speed limit on certain sections of the road to ensure a smoother flow of traffic,” she said.
Nidhip Mehta, dean of the School of Design, Pearl Academy, said, “A good design has the potential to bring a sense of order to the lives of Mumbaikars while still keeping true to the city’s passion and energy. Mumbai By Design can offer a glimpse of a city that can be systematic, efficient, and full of life and energy.”

Varavara Rao goes home on bail after release from hospital
- The 82-year-old activist, who was granted interim bail for six months on medical grounds by the Bombay high court on February 22, was discharged from the private hospital late Saturday night, they said.

Hiren Mansukh death: ATS registers case of murder

International women’s day: The women in Maharashtra’s politics

One year of Covid-19: Online mode - a big lesson for education system

Maharashtra: MVA govt all set to present its second budget today

Aviation sector awaits successful vaccination drive; crawls towards normalcy

Maharashtra: Topic of emergency should be buried once and for all, says Shiv Sena

Mumbai: Over 11,000 railway passengers fined for not wearing mask

U-turn by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena: Raj says revive Nanar to get jobs for locals

Maharashtra: Professional course institutes grapple with time crunch to finish syllabus

Mumbai crosses 1,300 new Covid cases mark after October

Mumbai: Lab operator arrested over false Covid -19 report

Shakti bill delayed further as govt seeks time for deliberation

TRP manipulation case: Republic TV not termed accused, says Mumbai Police
