Gadgets & Apps

New tech on the block: EdTech, equipment maintenance, virtual production, low code/no code, EV, FinTech

The Tech Panda takes a look at recent business launches.

EdTech: Innovation lab to offer STEAM, robotics, AI, coding, and 21st-century skills to the schools virtually

Noida based EdTech startup STEMROBO Technologies has established Tinker Studio, a virtual innovation lab at its own headquarters in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Knowing no boundaries, this innovative lab is designed in a way that students would get the same ambiance as they get in school just by sitting at home and via live broadcasting, they will get trained in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, and all the digital age skills theoretically & practically.

Anurag Gupta, Co-Founder of STEMROBO Technologies said, “The goal of this lab is to provide students with hands-on experience and to help them develop skills such as cognitive thinking and decision-making. Tinker Studio would be able to reach students, schools, and stakeholders all around the world through live broadcasting interactive and engaging learning sessions.”

We greatly believe in hands-on experience since it provides a clearer image of students’ concepts, allowing them to tackle real-life challenges and become future-ready. We have over 1800+ Schools associated with us, and we are recently conducting live sessions from the lab on different topics, technologies & doubt sessions for students, educators & parents”, he further said.

The Why

Establishing an in-house virtual lab is an avant-garde project where it aims to solve the challenges faced by millions of students. In the Covid19 pandemic, the schools were closed and so were Tinkering labs, therefore, the students were not being able to foster out-of-the-box thinking and enhance their skills in Coding, AI, etc.

Through this innovation lab, STEMROBO is merging its physical outreach and last-mile delivery to reach even the remotest part of the country where schools are not on par with that of urban cities, contributing their efforts in changing the landscape of the traditional ecosystem of education in India.

Features

  • Schools in remote areas would also be able to avail the benefits of innovative learning online
  • Will stream and deliver innovative content, projects, and will further spur knowledge sharing through unique kits and hardware infrastructure

Equipment maintenance: Mobile calibration van for door-step service

WIKA Instruments India Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WIKA Alexander Wiegand SE & Co. KG, Germany, a global market leader in pressure and temperature measurement technology, has recently launched Mobile Calibration Van for maintenance and repair at the doorstep of clients. An initiative, born out of need to maintain equipment during COVID lockdown has been transformed into a value-added service by WIKA India to provide services at the customer doorstep, delivering convenience for service.

Gaurav Bawa, Sr Vice President, WIKA India, said, “It has been always an endeavour of WIKA to offer the best products and services to the customers. As quality is the most important differentiator to lead the market, we decided to continue the best practice of reaching out to the consumer for service, rather than them shipping the goods to us. The initial foray in the service was borne out of necessity, when transportation was difficult during COVID lockdown. We plan to expand the service of mobile calibration van, based on positive feedback of the customers.”

The Why

Maintaining equipment in industrial units is essential for effective production which reduces the risks. Every industry needs to maintain the calibration of types of equipment for accurate and reliable measurements. Delay in transportation is always an issue. Moreover, displacement may sometimes lead to further errors and damage to the equipment. Hence, the company has launched this service in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Features

  • Customers can book appointments through various channel like toll free number, email IDs & WebApp from the comfort of their office and home
  • These mobile laboratories can travel to facilities to calibrate equipment that needs to be available continuously (24/7), thus optimising costs and shipping time.
  • At the end of the calibration, a report is provided which shows a measurement error. It measures the value before and after calibration which helps the clients to determine the functionality of the device.
  • Suitable for large, multi-site companies with lots of measuring equipment that needs to be continuously available 24 hours a day

Virtual production: A real-time camera tracking solution for simple & accessible virtual production across film industry

Holocraft, a Chennai based company which primarily focuses on real-time animation and virtual production technologies – has launched a new product- Holotrack. Holotrack is a plug and plays real-time camera tracking system which is primarily developed to work within Unreal Engine.

Tested in various production environments and designed from the ground up to be incredibly intuitive and highly accessible with a robust tracking system capable of markerless tracking, Holotrack provides accurate real-time camera tracking data to the unreal engine for Hybrid green screen and LED in-camera VFX virtual production.

Holotrack’s real-time tracking solution facilitates the tracking and transfer of physical camera coordinates to the virtual engine.

The Why

“Procuring and setting up camera tracking systems can be an expensive, time-consuming and technically challenging affair. Due to this many production houses and technicians shy away from adopting and implementing virtual production technology in our industry. Holotrack intends to provide a simplified and cost-effective camera tracking system that is tailored to enable first time users to quickly adapt to virtual production”, said Praveen Jayachandran, Co-founder of Holocraft.

The company first ventured into virtual production back in 2019, and the major hurdles that the company had to face were sourcing an efficient and cost-effective camera tracking system. This pushed the company to come up with our own in-house tracking system which ultimately led to the development of Holotrack.

Features

  • Dedicated support to filmmakers for any queries regarding the product and Virtual Production.
  • Plug and play solution which can be installed in any location, saving rental and permanent setup costs involved in other products.
  • Indigenously produced product that saves clients import duty and other related costs

Low code/no code: A super app for the hospitality industry

Entrepreneur Anil Kumar Prasanna, co-founder & ex-CEO AxisRooms, launched Tiniva, a low code/no code platform and a super app for the hospitality services industry. Tiniva, a hotel super app, will empower hospitality service providers to delight digital consumers through a host of ready-to-use experiential applications and services during their stay.

Anil Kumar Prasanna, Founder & Director Tiniva said, “The emerging digital consumer is driven by convenience, choice, and instant gratification. Tiniva Hotel Super App is built based on our own experience, and this super app is a connected marketplace of hotels with all its services. It has the potential to do upsells, cross sells and digitises guest touch points.

“With the imminent and immediate need for contactless technology, crunch in hospitality talent, and need for efficiency, this is a perfect solution in the current times to fuel the growth of hotels. Super App from Tiniva enables this capability for hospitality partners through a plug-and-play model. This is part of our continued thrust to provide platforms and products to help the Hotel Industry quickly recover from a slump and rapidly capitalize on evolving business opportunities.”

The Why

Today, hotels have a plethora of capabilities and services to drive commerce but there is no single app that can help maximum the same to its full potential. Tiniva Hotel Super App helps precisely in that.

Today, when the times have shifted towards the adoption of on-demand apps like quick commerce – (Blinkit, Zepto), people expect to have an on-demand app for the travel and hospitality industry. That’s precisely what Tiniva Super app does—assisting guests in bookings, registrations, services, front desk management, etc.

Features

  • Ready to launch application platform for hospitality and travel partners
  • Enables hotel partners to offer a bouquet of services, including the third-party ones, to their guests with a rich and engaging customer experience
  • Easily integrated into hotels’ current technology environment and plug-and-play with their existing on-deck applications
  • Can also work individually well for vacation rentals, restaurants, convention centers, tourism boards, DMCs and other travel related service providers
  • Offers in-room dining, curated local experiences, and poolside ordering

EV: Automotive safe batteries through technology breakthrough in Lithium Iron Phosphate

Natural Battery Technologies, an Indian battery manufacturer located out of Rajasthan announced launch of automotive safe batteries through technology breakthrough in Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), Advanced Cell Chemistry Carbon based battery for electric vehicles and Inverter Lithium Batteries for home and commercial use.

Puneet Jain, CEO of Natural Battery Technologies said, “Technology has been a differentiator for Natural Batteries, and this announcement for triple breakthrough comes after constant endeavours of our research team. We are actively working on marketing the new products and it will soon be available for retail customers.”

The Why

Natural Battery Technologies have developed specialized LFP Batteries that can replace lead acid batteries, that are being currently used to start engines in scooter and motorcycles. The current lead batteries usually lasts 2-5 years when used as a starter battery. Lead acid batteries have 300-400 cycles while LFP batteries have 1800-2000 cycles.

As Jain added, “the advantage of using LFP Batteries is that it is leak proof, and it lasts up to 5 times longer than a standard lead acid battery. This will not only be more environment safe but also customer friendly, who will not need to replace battery as frequently.”

Responding to the current controversy on scooters and bikes bursting into fires, Natural Battery Technologies has come up with Advanced Cell Chemistry Carbon based battery for electric vehicles, that can replace the highly flammable lithium batteries. While launching the product, Jain said, “It is the need of the hour to replace highly flammable lithium batteries with a more advanced, clean and safer technology. When it comes to energy storage, lithium isn’t the only option available for users of Electric Vehicles or Energy Storage Systems. The carbon-based batteries offer excellent safety with very high performance.”

Features

  • Can be fast charged in up to 15-20 minutes
  • Boast of long life – up to 10-15 years
  • Is temperature resilient
  • Suitable option for changing Indian climate
  • Good option to be used in leasing, swapping or fleet solutions where high performance and safety is required

FinTech: A micro-investing platform to change the way young adults perceive investing

Deciml, a micro-investing platform, has launched with the aim to fundamentally change the way young adults perceive investing and make their initiation into the investing ecosystem simpler. Founded by CFA Level 2 and experienced entrepreneur Satyajeet Kunjeer, this Pune-based fintech firm enables users to start their investing journey with as little as INR1 through Mutual Funds and Fixed Return Funds.

Satyajeet Kunjeer, Founder and CEO, Deciml says, “Everyone wants to be rich by the age of 40, but no one wants to stop living from 20-40. With growing aspirations and consumption, we wanted to create a super convenient way to get more young adults into the investment habit, without compromising on their aspirational lifestyles. We’re deeply passionate about solving this problem and uplifting India’s investment penetration from the current low of 3.5%.”

Features

  • Option of setting daily investments
  • Option to make one-time lump-sum investments
Navanwita Bora Sachdev

Navanwita is the editor of The Tech Panda who also frequently publishes stories in news outlets such as The Indian Express, Entrepreneur India, and The Business Standard

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