ASME Selects Eight Entrepreneurs in India as Finalists for its Premier Social Innovation Accelerator, Set for April 1-2 in Bengaluru

Access to clean water, sanitation, affordable healthcare and agricultural technology, and clean energy solutions
among issues addressed by 2023 ASME ISHOW India finalists

 
                                                                                                                             
NEW YORK (March 20, 2023) – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has announced the regional finalists of the 2023 ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW), the prestigious international accelerator of hardware-led social innovation. Eight teams of social innovators in India will present their design prototypes and participate in an extensive design and engineering review April 1-2 at PES University in Bengaluru. Three regional winners will be announced in an awards ceremony on Sunday, April 2 at 5 p.m. India Standard Time as part of the closing reception of ASME Innovation Weekend India, which brings together ASME’s signature ISHOW, Mechanical Engineering Education (MEEd) Summit, Engineering for Change (E4C), and EFx student festival programs as a unique opportunity to engage with India’s academic, entrepreneur, and student communities.

The ISHOW India finalists, whose innovations address issues including access to clean water, sanitation, affordable healthcare and agricultural technologies, and clean energy solutions, will vie for a share of $30,000 in seed grants and technical support to help bring their design innovations to market for the benefit of underserved communities. Judges and facilitators include experts in research, mechanical engineering and product design, manufacturing, startup financing, supply chain, and business strategy, representing organizations including Stanley Black & Decker, Boeing, Sangam Ventures and more.   

The regional finalists are:

• AI-Genix International Pvt. Ltd. (Mumbai, India) for its “AI-enabled next generation insect communication” technology – that replaces chemicals with artificial intelligence (AI), electronics, and biology to phase out hazardous agrochemicals from ecosystems
• Ayur.AI (Chennai, India) for its “AiKiosk” innovation – a first of its kind kiosk integrated with conversational AI, computer vision and digital health sensors for deep ayurveda phenotyping and disease diagnosis, and an AI-driven therapeutic recommendation engine
• Illuminar Ventures Pvt. Ltd. (Nagpur, India) for its “Smart Retrofitting Kit” – an affordable kit that converts any existing motorcycle variant below 200cc to electric with new electric mobility features and the ability to travel up to 150km at Rs. 0.15 ($0.0018) per km on a single charge with zero emissions
• Nimble Vision Pvt. Ltd. (Bengaluru, India) for its “Ni-The Smart Manhole Monitor” – an IoT solution that monitors each manhole across a city, providing live status with sewage level, plus analytics on sewage flow for an entire day with geo location, quality, and warnings on possible overflow
• Prayogik Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Bhopal, India) for its “B-TMSG-DC (Biomass Gasifier Based Thermoelectric Module Static Generator)” – the latest technology from a team working towards thermoelectric technology, battery management systems, and waste to energy in heating and cooling applications including power management solutions often used off-grid and in agriculture
• Raytom Medical Systems Pvt. Ltd. (Bengaluru, India) for its “Low-cost CT-Scan for Head and Neck” – a durable solution that can produce scans for one-third the cost of conventional CT-Scan equipment and is forecast to last 30-40 years without major repairs
• Thermistance (Pune, India) for its “Passive cooled high-power LED” technology – a solution for horticulture applications that is light weight, energy efficient, sustainable, long lasting, and affordable
• Watsan Envirotech Pvt. Ltd. (Chennai, India) for its “Watsan Natural Water Purifiers” innovation – designed to provide affordable, zero-electricity, zero-waste natural water purifiers.  

 
 “We are proud to offer a forum for engineering problem-solving that truly improves lives,” says ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile. “And we are excited to meet in person in India once again, where ASME has been active for the past 15 years. We are continually impressed by the creative talent of ASME ISHOW participants, their focus on sustainable solutions, and their passion for helping underserved communities around the world.”
 
In addition to the three regional winners, the product with the most votes in social media for each regional event will be named the “Fan Favorite,’’ and those finalists will receive $1,000 each. Follow @ASMEishow on Twitter for more details. The fan favorite prize is made possible and in memory of Byron G. Schieber Jr. M.S., PE, Professor Emeritus QCCNY, and Ruth L. Schieber. 
 
ASME will host two more regional events in the coming months: ISHOW Kenya online in June; and ISHOW USA in July. 

The prestigious ASME ISHOW hardware accelerator is open to individuals and organizations taking physical products to market that will have a positive social and/or environmental impact and that improve the quality of life around the world. To date, ISHOW has enabled over 200 startups from more than 30 countries to solve critical quality-of-life challenges for vulnerable populations worldwide. ISHOW alumni have developed affordable devices to address issues including clean combustion, crop threshing, fetal health, food waste prevention, health diagnostics, safe drinking water, and many more that address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

ASME ISHOW annually matches 24 carefully selected innovators with appropriate experts to ensure that the proposed hardware solutions are technologically, environmentally, culturally, and financially sustainable. ASME’s panel of judges and experts includes successful entrepreneurs, academics, engineers, designers, investors, and industry representatives from leading organizations in India, Kenya, the United States, and beyond. These subject matter experts provide technical and strategic guidance based on ISHOW’s five key pillars: customer/user knowledge, hardware validation, manufacturing optimization, implementation strategy, and sustainability/impact.

ASME is grateful to The Lemelson Foundation for its continued support of the ISHOW with a three-year strategic investment and to ISHOW implementation partners around the globe. Learn more about ISHOW’s global impact in this dynamic dashboard.

Hear from the ISHOW 2022 cohort about their experiences. Follow the journeys of ISHOW alumni including PayGo Energy, PlenOptika, Himalayan Rocket Stove, SAYeTECH and others here.
 
      @ASMEISHOW  #ISHOW23  #ThisIsHardware
 
 
About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education, and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. In 2020, ASME formed the International Society of Interdisciplinary Engineers (ISIE) LLC, a new for-profit subsidiary to house business ventures that will bring new and innovative products, services, and technologies to the engineering community, and later established the holding company, Global Knowledge Solutions LLC. In 2021, ASME launched a second for-profit subsidiary, Metrix Connect LLC, an industry events and content platform to accelerate digital transformation in the engineering community. For more information, visit www.asme.org.
 
       @ASMEdotorg
 
About the ASME Foundation
The ASME Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, supporting an array of programs in three core pillars: engineering education, career engagement, and global development. With the goal of empowering tomorrow's technical workforce, the ASME Foundation advances equitable access both to professional opportunities and to engineering innovations that improve quality of life.  For more information, visit www.asmefoundation.org.
 

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