Four students of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) have developed a Multi-Purpose Emergency Detection System, called Orasave, which has the ability to detect gas leakage, smoke and fire.
It also comes with automatic SMS and phone notifications.
Frederick Kwame Minta, who is one of the four student-innovators, that were crowned winners of the 6th UMaT Innovation and Career Fair competition told Citi News their Orasave technology has what it takes to replace fire detectors, therefore called for investment in the technology.
“The Orasave detects gas leakage, smoke, and fire, and it’s also able to communicate to the user through SMS and phone call. With the SMS, it comes with the exact location where the fire is, and the device again comes with an App that is the Orasave app. It’s able to control the main meter and also all electrical appliances present in the home.”
“We are still working on the Orasave device. It’s still in the developing stage, and we are going to replace the ordinary fire detectors that we have on the market because this one is going to be portable, and you will be able to test whether the device is working or not so as to be sure that the device in your home is for protection. So we are still developing currently at this stage, we will appeal to investors to come because we need to purchase some of the components to make the device very effective and smarter so as to meet the standard of the market“, he said.
The Vice Chancellor of UMaT while commending the students for their innovation said the university has scaled up its objective to create a business out of students’ innovations every year.
“Let me mention that for those who were selected and those who were not selected, the reason we developed our incubation hub is to incubate ideas of students. So anybody who has an idea and can be scaled up, please talk to the institutional advancement officer who is also the head of the incubation hub so that the ideas can be incubated over a period.”
“We are going to give room for any group of people who have ideas to come back and do their National Service here for a year and these ideas will be incubated for one year, and I’m hoping that by the end of this year, those that are scalable possibly we can create businesses out of them. We are in talks with some SME groups, and we believe that this year we can create one company out of the ideas that are being represented. I believe that we can impact society with the ideas that you have presented today”, he added.
Professor Amankwah also hinted of a project funding scheme for participants next year.
“I also heard that some student groups opted out because they didn’t have seed money to put their ideas together for presentation. I want to assure you that next year we are going to give seed money to every group that wants to present an idea so that we will not have students backing out just because they don’t have money to implement their ideas. So for the judges and those who are at the forefront of this innovation, once you listen to a student group idea, and you think that it is worth presenting and can be scaled up, let us know and we will make money available for all such students“, he noted.
Abraham Osei Bonsu, who is the Acting Managing Director of Anglogold Ashanti Iduaprim Mines which sponsored the innovation competition, emphasized the importance of innovation goals of UMaT.
“Indeed, UMaT has come far, and on behalf of AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine, I extend heartfelt congratulations to the management, faculty members, past and present students and everyone involved in the running of this great university for this significant milestone. Innovation plays a critical role in every aspect of life and any business.”
“It is also an important tool that improves the efficiency of business processes, reduces costs, and increases output. Aside from these, innovation also leads to improved well-being, communication, educational accessibility and environmental sustainability. It is, therefore, refreshing to see the
university use its platform to shed the spotlight on this important subject by settling on the theme: Think Smart; Be Innovative 2022”, he said.
The four innovators of the Orasave fire, and gas Multi-Purpose Emergency Detection System, are Albert Essilfie, Fredrerick Kwame Minta, Cornelius Addai Owusu and Jessica Emefa Torgbenu-Banini.