'No Nap' to wake up sleepy drivers

Technovision Systems introduces anti-drowsy gadget

It's been a long day at work and is a long drive back home. The last thing you want is a drooping eyes in a snail-paced traffic. But now help is at hand in the form of 'No Nap' developed by the Ankleshwar-based company, Technovision Systems.

No Nap is an anti-drowsy gadget that helps fatigued drivers overcome their drowsiness.

"The surveys on highway accidents have revealed that most accidents occur due to the driver being subjected to long hours of continuous driving. The exhausting and monotonous job often makes the driver dull and dozy, which is a very dangerous state, and can lead to fatal accidents," Azhar Pathan, one of the partners of Technovision Systems, told Business Standard.

"We started working on an anti-drowsy product, which would help the driver in breaking the thin sheet of drowsiness, and help him recover his concentration. We developed the product late last year, and launched it at an automobile show in Pune in October," he said.

"No Nap is worn on the left ear. It works on the principle of gravitational switch. When the driver's head nods forward due to drowsiness, the gadget senses the motion of the head, and activates the gravitational switch. The device gives a sound to alarm the driver, and helps him recover his presence of mind, and concentration," he said. Pathan said that the response to the device has been excellent.

"We have not yet launched the product in India, but we have exported a good quantity. In just around four months, we have exported over 10,000 pieces of No Nap to the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Sweden and Dubai. We have appointed distributors for this product in all these countries. We expect to export around 8 lakh pieces in the next two years," he said.

When asked why the product has not been launched in India, Pathan said, "There is not much awareness about this device in the Indian market. If we launch the product, we are sure there are many people, who would be willing to copy it, which could hurt our business. On account of these apprehensions, we have decided not to launch the product in the domestic market, until there is a good amount of awareness about it," he said.

"No Nap weighs just 13 gm, i.e. it is very light weight, and is operated with batteries. It is quite compact and ergonomically designed, has low maintenance cost, is easy to use and very effective, and is affordably priced at Rs 350," he said.

"This device can also be used by people working in risk prone sites like in construction, heavy industries and machinery. Students, security guards and defence personnel, can also use it during night vigilance".