Meet Dr. Eshan Wettimuny, a surgeon who has abandoned his medical career and taken up robotics. Pursuing his passion, he has built a high tech machine that can shape out furniture with incredible precision providing a flawless finish, as well as other electronic inventions that are helpful in the home.
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| Dr. Eshan’s Wonder Kitchen |
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| Furniture on display at ‘Moods’ (above) and (below) Dr. Eshan points to a Robotic Water Leak Detection Sensor (RWLD) placed in the kitchen sink. |
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| Computer Numerical Controlling Robot (CNCR) at work. |
Dr. Eshan’s first in-house built robot, is referred to as a Computer Numerical Controlling Robot (CNCR), and can cut through wood and melanin with precision that is beyond human capabilities. The robot consists of drills and routers that can be changed according to what the design of the furniture requires.
As for the process of how the piece of furniture is cut- the design, be it one of sharp or curved edges, is first fed into the computer and the robot sears through the wood or melanin perfectly to the programmed coordinates.
Dr. Eshan together with his wife Rushira, has set up their store ‘Moods’ at Sri Dharma Mawatha, Punchi Borella, where homebuilders can view their displays and discuss custom designs.
Producing furniture with this technology, ‘Wonder Kitchens’ is a new product launched by ‘Moods’ and has proven to be a boon to home builders, not only because of the quality of the furniture but the price at which it comes.
By having built the machines here in Sri Lanka, Dr. Eshan has eliminated the tax cost that would have been added to the items had the machines been brought down to the island. A similar piece of imported furniture will cost about 40 to 50 percent more, than what can be manufactured here by the CNCR while meeting its standard or going beyond that.
“We try to give a good quality product of the luxury range that is affordable, since the materials we work with are woods such as mahogany and teak, melanin and medium density fibre board,” says Dr. Eshan.
Not limiting Wonder Kitchens to furniture, Dr. Eshan has invented other devices that are highly useful around the kitchen. The Robotic Water Leak Detection Sensor (RWLD), is placed at the kitchen sink- around the faucet, and buzzes at the slightest detection of water.
This is a warning system that alerts the homeowner of any leaks so that they can have it repaired before the dripping water can lead to the damaging of woodwork. The RWLD is currently being sent in for a patent and comes as a complementary device with each pantry set. Presently, Dr. Eshan is working on a device that can ward off cockroaches while not being the least harmful to people.
It is no surprise that being the mechanical genius he is, Dr. Eshan was able to assemble the first CNCR in just nine months. “Bringing back books I could use as reference to help me build the machine I’ve collected quite a library.
The machine took six months of thinking up, three months of drawing plans and two months building. Once the principles were established the second machine took only two months to build,” he explains.
Speaking about his highly skilled work force of technicians and masons, he says “They have skills that have gone untapped. The problem at the moment is finding people who are knowledgeable in carpentry and computer literate as well. Right now, we’re training some of the people and bridging that gap.
While Dr. Eshan is known in jest as the ‘doctor who became a mason’, his interest in robotics will however reunite him with the field of surgery as his next endeavour is to build surgical robots - introducing technology that will eliminate human error in the operating theatres of Sri Lanka and making it available at an affordable cost. |
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