Though advancements have been made in the field of technology, maintenance has always been a plaguing issue and the least addressed.

Thiruvananthapuram :

 Though advancements have been made in the field of technology, maintenance has always been a plaguing issue and the least addressed. This is where the US-based Caltech and Thiruvananthapuram-based Eram Scientifc Solutions,  come in. The companies have collaborated with each other to bring out Seva, e-toilets which are able to self-clean and are self-reparable. The aim is to address the issue of water scarcity which is prevalent in many cities.

Clement Cid, the Senior Research Engineer in Environmental Science and Engineering at Caltech won the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Reinvent the Toilet Challenge in 2012. He was in the city as part of the project. According to him,  the biggest challenge was to create a cheap, safe and clean toilet for over 2 billion people across the globe.

He brought out a technology that uses electrochemical mechanisms to treat disinfected water. But his collaboration with Eram in 2013 paved the way for a revolution. “We met with Eram in a sanitation conference and with the support of Gates Foundation, we were able to make a prototype and were able to run it for a year. The result was positive,” he said.

 Clement believes the new e-toilet system will help in bringing a change in the Indian sanitation system. 

“Maintaining toilets is a big issue in cities where sewerage systems are haywire.  The self-sufficient toilets will help municipalities and cities which are facing these issues,” he said.

‘Toilet of the future’

The ‘Toilet of the future’ concept was introduced by Gates Foundation and the Caltech group led by Michael Hoffmann. Clement was among the team members. Using sophisticated solar-powered treatment units, the team thought of working on a sensor system that would help in minimising the use of skilled repairs. 

The same concept is used in Seva e-toilets. “The toilets will be equipped with sensors which can monitor leaks. Once the issue is detected, an operator is alerted who can easily come and fix it,” he said.        Clement also added the idea is to install the toilets in public places. Later this technology can be introduced in household units and e-toilets. Caltech has started trials of its system in different places in Kerala. The trial run of the Seva prototype will be tested in Coimbatore. “Once the trial is completed, it will be installed in several cities where there are no proper sewer lines,” Clement said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Steni Simon / Express News Service / January 12th, 2019