Agriculture is
the basic foundation of Human civilization.A primarily agrarian society necessitated
invention of various devices that could till large portions of land with minimal
efforts. From Henry Blair to Henry ford, many have created super-efficient
harvesting machines but the flip side is that all these machines consume huge
amount of power. These machines are extremely energy inefficient and hence
expensive and not eco-friendly. Thumswamy Joseph David (TJ David)worked on
overcoming these inefficiencies and developed a solar powered robotic harvester
by redefining the application of Physics and Mechanics.

In an attempt to
satiate the never ending zest for finding answers and solutions, David landed at
the IIT Delhi campus with Prof. S Swaminathan who not only taught him
fundamentals of Mechanical engineering but also played the pivotal role of a
mentor. David’s interest in various
forms of energy motivated him to study and understand how the Sun’s energy can
be tapped and harnessed.
Not being a
conventional student also allowed David to focus on projects that addressed
prevalent problems and the break-through outcome of this approach was a unique Robotic
Solar Power Harvester that he developed along with his team.In addition to
solar power the harvester can be run using grid power and can even be operated remotely
using a mobile phone. David says “When we initially presented our solar power
harvester concept, people were smug enough to decline the plausible usage but when
we actually demonstrated a working model they had to retract their own words
and take notice of our work”. David further adds, “Heavy machine like Tractors
and harvesters need more power to run themselves than the work they do.All
harvesters presently available globally are diesel engine based and are extremely
energy inefficient with efficiency levels as low as 15%.Moreover, in case of
conventional harvesters, the vehicle engine provides drive to all the attachments
which results in power loss, as the engine is continuously running to power one
or more components. Hence we decided to completely restructure the basic
assembly to achieve energy efficiency. After extensively studying‘Traction
Rolling Friction’ principle,we have now developed a highly efficient motor and
power transmission system which has successfully help ed reduce energy
consumption by 20-30 times as compared to conventional engine. As a result our
harvester consumes only 3.0 KW power per acre and harvesting can be completed in
just 2 hours. Moreover, as this harvester can completely work on solar energy, the
dependency on fossil fuel is completely eliminated”.
After working as
a consultant for over 40 companies and travelling across the country handling
heavy machinery, David can claim to be a “self-taught” mechanical engineer. He is
also the winner of the prestigious ‘Ashoka Fellowship’and ‘Lockheed-Martin India
Innovation award’.
Presently, David
is working with The Engineering Technology and Innovation Centre (ENTICE) of
the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad and is
in-charge of developing necessity-based mass impact technologies.He has more
than 20 low-cost inventions to his credit which include an animal-powered
transmission system, a poultry care system, a pump less cooler, etc. With
support from IIT Hyderabad’s ENTICE,Davidhas patented his innovations in over
40 countries.
Recently, David
has also received an offer to collaborate with Lockheed-Martin Inc. “They have
the best technology for cold-storage and photo voltaic cells while we have the
most efficient solar-powered engines. If the two get combined, I am confident
that we can develop five to six-seater solar energy based passenger planes
against the one-seater presently developed by them” says David.
For some time,
David has been busy tackling another social problem in AndraPradesh. He says “The
stone tile processing industry in Tandur is suffering from acute grid power
shortage. It results in low productivity, loss of business and affects livelihoods
for over three lakh people. Now, we have collaborated with Green Urja firm; and
are able to save around 8.5 megawatt of power and Rs 22 crore per annum.”
David’s ultimate
dream however is to start a research institute for “Innovative minds” where the
focus will not be on academic excellence but on innovations that solve real
life basic problems through technology. His journey from being a monk to a
scientist and then an innovator is surely inspirational.
excellent....
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