IIT students develop design solution to help people navigate to destinations faster.
Maharashtra's largest public health facility, JJ Hospital, attends close to 3,500 patients everyday, including emergency and accident cases.
The biggest challenge to patients and their relatives here is how to locate emergency and casualty wards. The 125-year-old hospital complex is spread over 40 acres, with several buildings far away from each other, and with no clear directions. Things become more difficult during the night.
That's all changing. Disha (direction) is on the way. A few first-year bachelor of design students from IIT Bombay have come up with a simple and cost-effective design solution.
"Besides putting up signboards, we would be marking the walls from the hospital entrance to the casualty and emergency wards with orange-coloured arrows. At the registration counter, patients would be given a colour-coded band through which they can follow the marks easily," said Rohan Jhunja, one the 15 students associated with the project.
Another group of students from his class are ready with a project for the Gateway of India. This project, ikde tikde (here and there), is aimed at helping tourists and local passengers navigate easily to the jetties and boats faster. The twin projects were developed in a five days.
"We have designed a 10-ft-high tower with five different colours, each denoting different destinations: Elephanta, Alibaug, Mandva, JNPT and a half-an-hour sea ride. Tourists can see from afar whether their boat has arrived. The tower would also guide them on which direction to proceed," said Samarth Bhardwaj, who is associated with the project. At present, jetty staff calls people by shouting and tourists often struggle to find the right jetty.
The students have already sought permission from JNPT, BMC and the Colaba police for the pilot test. They were guided by Prof Peer Sarthik, Prof Jayesh Pillai and Prof BK Chakravarthy.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Gateway of India")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}