Eight Entrepreneurs in India won finalist standing in Innovation Showcase, India, 2023, the startup accelerator and competition from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME ISHOW). ASME ISHOW India finalists are building technologies that meet basic needs in underserved communities. This year, their products solve challenges in clean water access, sanitation, affordable healthcare, agriculture, and clean energy.
Next steps: The eight teams in India will present their design prototypes and undergo a design review at PES University in Bengaluru. Three regional winners will be announced in an awards ceremony on Sunday, April 2 at 5pm (IST). Then the competition moves to Kenya in June with a new set of social entrepreneurs and products. And finally, the third arm of ISHOW 2023 will take place in July in the United States.
The ISHOW India finalists are competing for a share of (USD) $30,000 in seed grants and technical support to help bring their products to market. Between the judges and facilitators, the startups will undergo scrutiny on most aspects of product design and social entrepreneurship. The leadership’s areas of expertise include research, mechanical engineering and product design, manufacturing, startup financing, supply chain, and business strategy. And experts have day jobs in companies such as Stanley Black & Decker, Boeing, Sangam Ventures and more.
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.
Introducing the finalists of ISHOW India 2023
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.
Join us online and in person
Announcement of ISHOW winners is a public event. This year the awards ceremony takes place as part of the closing reception of ASME Innovation Weekend India. The weekend will convene ISHOW with members of Engineering for Change (us), ASME’s Mechanical Engineering Education (MEEd) Summit, and EFx student festival programs as an opportunity to engage with India’s academic, entrepreneur, and student communities.
“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.”
ASME ISHOW explained
ASME ISHOW is an accelerator program for “hardware,” which they define as any innovation in development that is a tangible product and not a purely software technology. ISHOW seeks innovations that will have a positive social or environmental impact, and that improve the quality of life, particularly in vulnerable communities that can go overlooked.
To date, ISHOW has supported over 200 startups from more than 30 countries. 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.
Each year, ISHOW has matched 24 innovators with experts to ensure that the proposed solutions are sustainable. They rate sustainability on technological, environmental, cultural, and financial criteria. ASME’s panel of judges and experts includes entrepreneurs, academics, engineers, designers, investors, and industry representatives from leading organizations in India, Kenya, the United States, and elsewhere. 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.
ISHOW’s supporters include The Lemelson Foundation and implementation partners worldwide. Learn more 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.
This article is adapted from a press release issued by ASME ISHOW. For more please see thisishardware.org/press.
