Burst of creative energy
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While the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a lot of misery, uncertainty and a troubled future for the world’s population with increasing signs that the deadly disease will remain in our midst for another year or two, some positives have emerged with a burst of creative energy being part of it.
For example, from face masks to ventilators to robots, Sri Lanka’s inventors have been on a roll developing prototypes for new products to help the authorities tackle the pandemic. According to the Commissioner of the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission (SLIC) Prof. Rangika Halwatura, there are 80 COVID-19-related products which have sought support from the SLIC.
My interest in these developments came during a conversation with Kalabala Silva, the often agitated academic, when he called on Thursday morning. At that time, the trio – Kussi Amma Sera, Serapina and Mabel Rasthiyadu – was seated under the margosa tree in earnest conversation, sipping tea.
“I say… I heard there are many products that have been developed by Sri Lankans towards managing the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kalabala.
“Oh yes, I heard this too. I think many are coming from the universities and research institutions,” I said, adding that the pandemic has spawned a new ecosystem of COVID-19-related products.
“I hope these products can be transformed into commercial products so that they are available to the public,” he said and after a long conversation on this topic and the crisis at the Colombo Port’s ECT terminal, we said our goodbyes.
According to Prof. Halwatura, whom I spoke to subsequently, the SLIC has funded some of the inventions, helped develop prototypes from the design stage and has been involved in investing, like venture capitalists, for some products.
Among the many product designs presented to the SLIC for consideration are a face mask made with natural herbal medicine; a microorganism killing and filtering air-conditioner; remote controlled robots to disinfect public spaces; an open source ventilator; a hand wearable sanitising liquid container; a machine to avoid the spread of viruses by ATM machines, key pads, touch pads; a foot-operated door handle; an isolation pod; a patient inspection chamber with remote monitoring; a self-quarantine people monitoring system; a remote control sanitiser machine; a sensor tap; a video-assisted ward communication system to minimise exposure of doctors; soap petals; a PCR machine; and a jerk-free trolley.
Prof. Halwatura said that since 2019, the SLIC has been helping develop prototypes of the designs presented and where necessary connected the designer to the relevant industry.
Meanwhile according to Prof. Ruwan Gopura from the University of Moratuwa who has been driving the invention of robots for day-to-day use and in the medical field, three robots were developed by his university for COVID-19 related use to help in COVID management. There were also robots developed by the Ruhunu University, the Kotelawala Defence University and the University of Vocational Technology. Most of them are for transporting medicines and other stuff to wards. One robot was also built by Atlas, the stationery products company.
His department also received 10 designs which included spraying hospital wards, sanitising currency notes and coins, delivering food and disposal of COVID- related waste.
As I dwelled on these developments, my attention was drawn by the conversation under the margosa tree. “Muhunu awarana andina eka hari amarui. Kochchara kal meya karanna weida danne ne (It is difficult to keep wearing this face mask. I don’t know for how long we have to do this),” I heard Kussi Amma Sera saying, adjusting her face mask to sip tea from her mug.
“Mama hithanawa me thathvaya thava maasa keepayak-ma thiyevi kiyala. Apita ekata purudu wenna one, kochchara amaru wunath (I think this situation will continue for many more months. We have to get used to it even though it is a problem),” noted Serapina, adding: “Pravesham vena eka hondai-ne (It’s better to be safe).”
“Ow, Colomba godak asaneepa kattiya innawa. Ennatha kochchara durata apiwa aaraksha karaida danne-ne (Yes, there are many cases in Colombo and I don’t know whether the vaccines will protect us enough),” said Mabel Rasthiyadu.
According to a notice posted on the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC) website, a team from the institute has developed a transparent anti-microbial coating that can be applied to several types of surfaces without tarnishing their aesthetic appearance. “Most importantly, this technology eradicates pathogens on the coating-applied surface as well as in the surrounding air. The SLINTEC proprietary technology is now available to be licensed at IPI Singapore – a global tech-transfer platform. Disinfectant coatings are rapidly emerging as a primary component of the global mitigation strategy of pathogens. Most importantly, this technology eradicates pathogens on the coating-applied surface as well as in the surrounding air,” it said.
The pandemic has also spawned a new generation of investors across the world. In a recent article, Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), says that from a foot-operated hand-washing machine invented by a nine-year-old boy in Kenya, to a new ‘sky park’ opened in Bangkok on a disused railway line that could serve as a model for greening abandoned spaces, to the roll-out of robots in health centres in Rwanda, the pandemic has launched an unprecedented wave of home-grown innovation. “Communities are adapting, improvising and looking beyond this unparalleled challenge. The question now is how we can support this momentum to foster the conditions to create much-needed jobs and new opportunities as the recovery begins,” he wrote.
He says, in Uganda, the UNDP teamed up with the online shopping business Jumia Food to launch a new e-commerce platform to keep SMEs in the informal trade sector afloat as the country went into lockdown. In Bangladesh, the UNDP supported the rapid roll-out of an online marketplace to allow over 1,000 SMEs to sell their products online, free of charge.
These developments came as the country received its first round of vaccines from India on Thursday which is essentially for frontline workers like medical staff and others like military and police personnel.
As I prepared to end my column, Kussi Amma Sera walked into the office room with my second mug of tea, motioning me to keep my face mask on which had been tucked below the chin. Yes, like the trio says, we would have to live with face masks, sanitisers and social distancing for many more months.