Rail Mate ( IoT Tray Design for Hawkers )

Votes: 1
Views: 1655

Railway hawkers are people who carry snacks on trains. They carry the snacks in trays which they hold in hands. Being heavy it’s most likely that their hands will ache at some point in time and it's not even comfortable to carry the tray in a crowded train. To overcome this some of them use self-originated techniques like using a hand towel. Tying the tray with the cloth around the neck. As the problems might look small but could impact more on the human body. The weight of the tray and holding it inappropriately can lead to physical health issues body disorders and many more things. As this business is carried out in crowded trains the hawkers need to carry the tray in it, cross the bridges and sometimes even catch the running train. But still, I found that the user group is facing a problem and it can be solved by designing a smart solution for them. As this business is done by them twenty-four hours and throughout the years they can invest in a product at once which can be used lifetime. This product can be bought by the user group as a one-time investment and most importantly can reduce their medical problems and medical expenses.

Railmate is a tray designed for the hawkers by following user research methods. The problem has been noted down and tried to solve it. The problem faced by them was to hold the tray which is solved by adding a cushioned strap. This lets the users use their hands-free as the tray is held by the straps. Being able to use both hands gives the user freedom and allows him to do his tasks quickly and efficiently. The other features added in the Railmate tray are having a calculator, for quick and accurate calculations. A speaker is connected to a smartphone through an application. As the hawker has to continuously scream their products to sell it can become a throat problem, screaming the whole day. So a speaker has been attached which does the work more efficiently and smartly. Other small improvements are having a QR code in the front for easy online payments. The tray is designed in such a way that when it’s not in need it can be folded and used as a bag on the back. This tray will help the hawkers to improve their efficiency and have less impact on their bodies. The selection of materials is also made according to the usage and user group making it efficient and comparatively less expensive.

After all this, an IoT device is connected to a smartphone. It shows tasks like how much business you had in an entire day, user’s targets, and much more. This keeps the user updated about the progress and motivates them to work more. The application also has a reminder and to-do list menu. In research, it was also found that people with low-income groups are still using a feature phone. Taking this consideration application.

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  • ABOUT THE ENTRANT

  • Name:
    Chaitanya Thanekar
  • Type of entry:
    individual
  • Profession:
    Student
  • Software used for this entry:
    Sketchup, Adobe xd, Adobe photoshop, Adobe illustrator, V-Ray
  • Patent status:
    none