For a better world

If you are a fan of Iron Man, you must have heard of his personal assistant and a highly advanced computerised A.I. Jarvis (Stands for Just A Rather Very Intelligent System). However, have you heard of Jarsh (Just a Rather Safe Helmet)? Three 22 year olds and Mechanical Engineering graduates from Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management (VJIM) in the city — Kausthub Kaundinya, Srikanth Kommula and Anand Kumar — are the ones behind this unique air-conditioned helmet. 

Talking about how the idea came about, Kausthub says, “We were working on several projects at V-Hub at our college. As engineering students, we wanted to do something for people,” he says, adding, “The summer of 2015, I travelled 30 kms to and fro to my college every day. That’s when I realised that I should develop an air-conditioned helmet not just for myself but for many others who were suffering too. Soon, I happened to read about how industrial workers have a harder time working at extreme temperatures and develop heat-related illnesses. So we  started working on this project. We also plan to develop such helmets for riders and the traffic police in the future.”

However, it was quite a challenge for them to get the technicalities right. “Our design is completely unique. The cooling system runs on a thermoelectric process and the helmet is just 250 gms heavier than a normal helmet. So it’s small and light,” says Anand.

The trio have already sold samples to three industries; Suvarna Cements in Hyderabad, Jayem Automotives in Coimbatore and DS group in Noida. “Each helmet is priced at nearly Rs 7,500. Right now, we have one employee working with us. After we sell 50 more helmets in a month, we will be getting into mass production once we receive inputs from industries,” says Kausthub.

While Srikanth looks after the technical and design aspects of the project, Kausthub manages the marketing and investments and Anand takes care of production and procurement of materials. So, how did the three of them meet? “Back when we were in college, we took part in a national-level competition called Go-Kart Challenge. We had fabricated a vehicle together and have been together since then,” reveals Srikanth.