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The Problem

Chalk dust from the blackboard spreads throughout the class room when cleaned with a regular duster, causing skin and throat allergy, irritation of the eyes, and poses health hazards for students and teachers

Our research has indicated that chalk dust contains toxic materials and could be harmful to allergic persons. It may also cause lacrimation and breathing troubles in the long run. Substances that come into contact with the skin are absorbed and eventually find their way into the bloodstream. Toxins and other harmful products accumulate in the vital organs over a period of time causing many problems with our bodies. Lecturer's chalk is a native hydrous magnesium silicate sometimes containing a small portion of aluminum silicate or calcium carbonate. Chalk dust can and does accumulate in the human respiratory system, which means it can create long-term health problems due to over exposure.

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The Need

Current methods of clearing chalk dust are ineffective

Students, teachers, cleaning staff, and parents need a way to minimize or eliminate chalk dust in the classroom because chalk-dust causes short-term allergies and poses long-term health hazards"

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The Solution

The Smart Duster uses vacuum suction principle to suck most of the dust from the surface of the blackboard and stores the collected chalk-dust in a bin. The bin can be emptied safely later by opening a lid.

The Smart Duster uses 220 volts AC mains power supply to operate.

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Prototype

We built three prototypes of the Smart Duster, identified limitations of the prototype and improved our design successively

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Technologies used in the prototype variants

We used a DC Motor for the first prototype to make the duster rotate. However, the working was not effective. The motor would stop running when we pressed the duster against the blackboard due to friction.

We used a DC Motor for the second & third prototypes to suck the chalk dust through vacuum suction. This method proved more effective than using a rotating duster with Motor.

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Benefits of the Smart Duster solution

It eliminates dust and keeps the class room clean
It minimizes health hazard from chalk dust for teachers and students
It avoids frequent washing of uniforms by parents
It reduces the classroom cleaning frequency

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Our Commercialization Plan

We plan to have the Smart Dusters 3D printed with the help of 3D Printing companies.

We intend to sell the Smart Duster to schools in rural and semi-urban areas that use blackboards and chalk in classrooms.

We intend to promote our product through popular social-media sites as well as through WhatsApp forwards and reach our target customers.

We plan to sell Smart Duster for Rs. 500 on eCommerce platforms such as Amazon and FlipKart.

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Key Highlights

We showcased our prototype at the Innovation Festival @ Vishweshwaraiah Industrial & Technological Museum, Bangalore between 1st and 3rd Feb 2019. Our Smart Duster innovation won an award of Rs. 50,000 from Parikrma Humanities Foundation

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