Accenture pushes for rural digitisation

 

Four BITS Pilani students have come up with an SMS-based biometric authentication system, which can be used in rural areas where internet connectivity is usually patchy. We have developed an app-based user registration and authentication system which will serve as on-the-go, always-ready, highly secure method of user authentication for microfinance institutions which work in rural areas.

The application can be installed on any simple Android phone,says Saurabh Shukla, a student, whose team won Innovation Jockey, an idea-based contest for college students in India.

Another group of engineering students from Bengaluru and Kochi came up with a smart earphone that can read the brainwaves of a person. The earphone developed by Athul B Raj and his friends George Mathew, Nitin Masant and Fausya Amlah; can detect fear or distress and alert those who need the information. The earphone costs Rs 2,500 and can work on any smart phone.

We thought an earphone is something that can be on a person's ear whenever they are travelling. Our brains give out various frequency of waves that are associated with each emotion of the human being. We are using these waves to determine crisis and help them reach out to the near and dear ones, said Raj, a student from the Cochin University of Science and technology.

Both the teams are in the final 18 contestants at the Accenture Innovation Jockey. They have the option of joining Accenture after completion of their engineering, subject to interview and background check. They also have the facility to use the Accenture campus and platforms to develop their product to the next level.

The team says the earphone can be used for detection of strokes or heart attacks and immediately intimate near and dear ones. While all these services are free, to make the product commercially viable the team plans to charge customers for other services.

Continuous monitoring helps gather a lot of data that can be used for sleep monitoring and predictive healthcare and behavioural patterns. We would be working with clinics and doctors for whom accessing such data is important, said Amlah, a student at Model Engineering College, Kochi.

With cases of attacks on women on the rise, there has been a lot of focus on wearables and applications that can provide safety for women. These include Leaf Wearable, which can be worn like a necklace and pressing it will send out SOS alerts; Safelet, which sends location details to pre-defined numbers by pressing the buttons on the bracelet.

Innovation Jockey received 3,600 ideas from 800 colleges. Students this year were given three focus areas detecting fraud and business malpractices; empowering women; and digital India. Students came up with ideas for smart farming, biometric-based bank transaction, and women safety.

Most innovations we got this year are ones with a prototype ready and with an idea to commercialising the product as well. Students have used the latest technology but picked up simple everyday issues such as women safety or corruption in departments and digitisation for rural areas as well, says Mohan Sekhar, senior managing director and lead delivery centres for technology in India at Accenture.