Miniature Movement Sensor Switch announced in EBAZAAR magazine, Jun-2012 Issue.

Our newly launched Miniature Movement Sensor Switch (mMS/MS501 series) was announced in EBAZAAR Magazine, Jun-2012 Issue.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Ideas Unlimited works with CFTRI for development of Portable, Bioluminescence meter using Silicon Photo Diode

Ideas Unlimited is collaborating with CFTRI (http://www.cftri.com/ - Central Food and Technological Research Institute, Mysore), to develop a low cost silicon photo-diode based Luminometer, which can detect very low intensity of Bio-Luminescence emitted by biological reactions.

CFTRI is working on Bio-luminescence based applications for detection of food contamination and other applications. In this initiative, as a first step, Ideas Unlimited has conceptualized and designed some prototype setups for experimenting with a silicon photo-diode to sense different bio-luminescence reactions and comparing results generated with lab grade equipment which use more expensive Photo-multiplier tubes. 

Picture 1: Experimental setup with Silicon photo diode and slot to insert sample in a test tube.

Picture 2: Experimental setup optically sealed by the lid before measurements.

Picture 3: 3D-Model showing internals of of the test setup

Picture 4: Screenshot of the data logging software developed by Ideas Unlimited for the experimental setup

The Luminometer experiments are conducted at CFTRI using enzymes synthesized by CFTRI in their labs. 

A low cost, portable Luminometer, if developed will have tremendous applications in the fields of Agriculture, Food Inspection and Quality Control, Contamination detection, Clinical Pathology and Medical fields.

 
What is Bio-luminescence?
[Source: Wikipedia]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioluminescence

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical reaction in the form of light emission.

Fireflies, anglerfish, and other creatures produce the chemicals luciferin (a pigment) and luciferase (an enzyme).The luciferin reacts with oxygen to create light. The luciferase acts as a catalyst to speed up the reaction, which is sometimes mediated by cofactors such as calcium ions or ATP (Adenosine triphosphate). The chemical reaction can occur either inside or outside the cell. In bacteria, the expression of genes related to bioluminescence is controlled by an operon called the Lux operon.

How Bioluminescence works?
The link below graphically explains how bio-luminescence works.

[Source: howstuffworks.com]
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/all-about-animals/bioluminescence3.htm

Challenges in measuring Bio-luminescence using Silicon Photo-diode
A normal silicon photo diode requires luminance to the tune of micro-watts per centimeter square. However most of the bioluminescence produced is in the order of nano-watts or pico-watts per centimeter square. At these levels a silicon photo diode's junction will not even trigger. A workaround had to be devised to detect such low bioluminescence.

Ideas Unlimited launches Low Cost, Miniature Movement Sensor Switches

01-Jun-2012:  In these days of high inflation rates and increasing power tariffs saving on wasted energy is no longer a luxury, but is becoming a necessity.  With the introduction of peak hour tariff rates, businesses and industries are increasingly looking for means to save energy usage and save on electricity bills every month.

Ideas Unlimited has been making Energy saving Movement Sensor Switches since April 2010. Today we have just launched mMS series (MS-501, Low Cost and Miniature Movement Sensor Switches) for use in domestic, commercial and industrial applications for saving on energy wastage when nobody is using a certain place or room. These can be used in homes, offices, shopping malls, showrooms and virtually anywhere where we can find that energy can be saved.

MS-501 - Low Cost Miniature Movement Sensor Switch next to a pen.

The unit can be directly connected to 230V AC and integrates seamlessly without requiring any change to your existing electrical wiring.

These switches are very compact in size (80 X 68 X 32 mm), aesthetically appealing and designed for high reliability. The product miniaturization is a result of our learning from earlier products.  We have also taken end user feedback to design these products and other accessories.  The MS-501 Series (or mMS) Miniature Movement Sensor Switch is designed for adaption and use in every place possible and designed to be a low cost product to handle small loads up to 220W. With the usage of contactors, heavy loads can also be driven by the same sensor. 

MSBR-501 2-Axis Swivel Mounting bracket for MS-501 Series Sensors

We also offer an optional accessory ‘MSBR-501: 2-Axis Swivel Mounting bracket for MS-501 Series Movement sensors.  This bracket can be used to mount the sensor on ceiling or wall, and allows fine adjustments of sensing zones even after the installation of sensor.

For full details, visit our website: http://www.ideas-unlimited.in 

For specific information on this new product line, visit our product page: http://www.ideas-unlimited.in/ms501.html

Power Tarrif Hike? Day Tariff burden? Reduce Energy Wastage using Movement Sensors

With increasing power tariff and inflation, saving power is assuming increasing importance. Considering the demand for energy saving products which SAVE MONEY month on month, we have been constantly developing different models of Movement Sensor Switches.

Movement Sensors (Also sometimes known as Occupancy detectors) provide the highest Return on Investment in terms of amount of energy (and money saved!) in your electricity bills.

The articles below in leading newspapers provide details about the Power Tariff hike in Karnataka effective 01-May-2012.

A new concept of 'Day Tariff' has also been introduced where in using digital meters, based on peak hours charges at higher tariff than compared to lean hours at night.

Financial Express: Karnataka increases power tariff by average 13 paise/unit
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/karnataka-increases-power-tariff-by-average-13-paise-unit/943869/0

Times of India: Industries oppose day tariff hikehttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/12945786.cms

This is the key feature of the the Karnataka Energy Regulatory Commission's Time of Day (TOD) metering scheme which has been run on a pilot basis for three years with 50 industries.

"This will give all industrial consumers an option to come to a consensus on shifting their peak loads to night. Most have digitized meters which indicate consumption levels every hour," said MR Sreenivasa Murthy, chairman, KERC.

However, industry bodies feel they're being burdened doubly. "Firstly, the tariff order is untimely ; it is the third time there has been a hike in the past two financial years. The tariff hike for HT2A consumers is Rs 1.10 per KWH, about 27% increase. For LT industrial consumers , it is 90 paise per KWH, about 25% increase. This makes industrial operations unviable," said JR Bangera, president, Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FKCCI).

In a long term view, Energy costs will further go up, as consumption only increases due to increased dependence on all kind of electrical and electronic equipment which are becoming part of our daily lives.

To understand how you can save on Electricity wastage in your organization and to save money month on month, e-mail us with you query at info@ideas-unlimited.in

New Dealers/Retailers for our products in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh Region

We are pleased to announce new dealers/retailers for our products in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh region. Suguna Engineers are primarily into Engineering products and providing technical consultancy for R&D companies. We are glad to work with Suguna on our products for Hyderabad/Andhra Pradesh region.

 

Suguna Engineers

Contact Person: Mr. Prashanth Arra
Company Website: www.suguna.net
Contact e-mail: p_arra@yahoo.com
Contact Telephone:+91-90002-99981
Address:
Registered Office: # 1-1-380/10/A,
Sri Nilayam, Ashok Nagar Ext,
Hyderbad-500 020

Sneak Peek of New Product: Miniature and Low cost Movement Sensor Switch product

About a month and a half ago, an article on our Movement Sensor Switches and their utility for energy saving in today's times appeared in a leading Kannada daily newspaper 'Praja Vani'. The response for that article about our products was very good. In fact, we were overwhelmed by the response to the product and public interest in 'Energy Saving' from the hundreds of telephone calls we received after the Praja vani article on our Movement Sensor product lines.

Until the article in Prajavani and the subsequent phone calls, we did not have insight about the potential of this product with domestic market.

Prototype of the Sub-miniature Movement Sensor Switch next to a commonly available pen for size comparison

The response from the calls were very encouraging about the concept and the product lines, though some of the people wanted a lower priced model for domestic use. Encouraged by the response, we started thinking of developing a product that can be used both for domestic and commercial use with a low cost, (yet high reliability).

We started designing a product concept and specifications suitable for domestic use, yet cost effective to be affordable and should earn back the money invested on the product in a few months from your electricity bill. 

Last few months, we have been working on designing a Miniature and low cost Movement Sensor Switch product for domestic and commercial use. With this product we want to spread the domain of our product use to the 'Aam-Admi' as well.

After several man months of effort,  we finally are proud to put up photos of the first Beta prototype - now undergoing field trials. The product has been designed and manufactured in India, and designed for use in Indian market and to work reliably in our condition. (Including rural areas with erratic power situations)

Beta Prototype of the Miniature and Low Cost Movement Sensor Switch

Product has Shock-proof Screw-less connectors for easy installation

Product has a 2/6 minute selectable Off timer, and many more features

The product design has been exciting with the challenges of making the product as small as possible, yet have all the high reliability (defect free) aspects we have designed in the other high capacity models like (MS 102, MS 201, MS 101, MS 301 series). Miniaturizing and also adding a new feature proved extremely challenging, but in the end, the effort has really been worth it when we saw the final shape of the product emerging.

Making high reliability product in such a small form factor that operates at 230V Mains supply voltage directly was a challenge, and the prototype went through several iterations of revision of design to attain the current state which is now ready for field trials.

Pricing: To be finalized. 
Availability: End of April 2012 or Early May 2012.

We would like to know your feedback on the product. We are also looking for a catchy name for this new sub-miniature product line. Please do e-mail use at:

info@ideas-unlimited.in 

to let us know your feedback on the product and also suggestions on pricing, or naming of the product lines as well.

Brief technical specification of the Miniature Movement Sensor Switch product:

Safety Features:

Connectors: Screw Less type, Shock proof connectors
Fuse: Fuse for added electrical safety
Body: Rugged Plastic

Reliability:

Endurance: Designed for 24X7X365 days operation
High Voltage Survival: Designed to withstand at least 300+ volts and works even in erratic power situations
Ultra-High Voltage Protection: Unit has a protection circuit that opens the circuit if very high voltage is experience.

Technical Specifications:(Beta Version):

Dimensions: 80mm X 68mm X 32 mm approx.  
Fuse holder: Intutive easy to use fuse holder
Weight: Light weight (Will publish exact weight later) Load Capacity: (Low compared to all other models we have) 200W - subject to change without prior notice, by the time product is launched.
Sensor coverage area: 20'X20' Maximum for standard ceiling heights.

Usability and Utility features:

Built in flanges for easy mounting
Full isolation between loading and control circuit
Multiple units can be connected in parallel for wide area coverage.
BYPASS feature to completely disable sensor and rolling back to normal if required.


Do e-mail us your feedback at: info@ideas-unlimited.in

New Dealers/Retailers for our products in Bengaluru, Bijapur and Mysore, Karnataka region

We are pleased to announce new dealers/retailers in Bengaluru, Bijapur and Mysore regions.

Bengaluru, Karnataka Region

	G R Controls Contact Person: Mr. Ananda Contact e-mail: grcontrols12@googlemail.com Contact Telephone: 90084-62504 Alternate Telephone: 96118-42302 Address: # 6, KTG College Road, Srigandanagar Hegganahalli, Viswaneedam Post Bengaluru - 560 091
	V S Electricals Contact Person: Mr. Veeresh Holal Contact e-mail: veereshholal@gmai l.com Contact Telephone: 97412-97889 Address: No.115/32, 5th Main Road, Poorna Pragna Layout, Katriguppe, BSK III Stage Bengaluru - 560 085

Bijapur, Karnataka Region

Ashu Gouda Electricals Contact Person: Er. Rajendra Patil Contact e-mail: ashugouda@redif fmail.com Contact Telephone: 90084-62504 Address: "Satyashray" Akkamahadevi Cross Road, Behind Ananda Hospital Bijapur - 586 101

Mysore, Karnataka Region

	GREPI Energy and Power (India) Private Limited Contact Person: Mr. Soma Shekar Contact e-mail: soma.shekar@grepinc.com Company Website: http://www.grepinc.com Contact Telephone: 0821-2512333 Contact Telephone: 88803-03003 Address: Spl Plot No. 5, HIEMA Convention Center Road Hebbal Industrial Area Mysore - 570 016
	Vybhav Electronics Contact Person: Mr. Ravishankar R Contact e-mail: vybhavmysore@gmai l.com Contact Telephone: 0821-4252579 Contact Telephone: 93421-82084 Address: 1975, Kothwal Ramaiah Street D R Mohalla, (Near Hong Kong Bazaar) Mysore - 570 001

Electronics Bazaar features our company, announces Hawkeye product launch

Electronics Bazaar Magazine, March 2012 issue features our company under 'South Special' section. Also they announce the launch of our 'Hawkeye - Industrial/Farm Security and Intrusion Detection System' under 'New Products' section.

Click to Enlarge Image

Click to Enlarge Image

Off-track: Student projects at Ideas Unlimited

At Ideas Unlimited, we provide hands on training and mentoring (apprenticeship) to a few students every year (based on our spare bandwidth). In this post, we want to showcase some innovative storage concepts developed by a Diploma student in our lab.

Magazine Rack made with MDF board, using hand tools!

Step 1	Step2
Step 3	Step 4
Step 5	Step 6
Final product, the magazine rack in use!

The entire fabrication was done by just using hand tools below.

All the hand tools used to make both the projects by Sunaag

Small book shelf designed with available material!

Design Drawing of the shelf

The book shelf below was made with available raw material, design adjusted to size and then made into a usable shelf!

Step 1	Step 2
Step 3
Step 4	Step 5
Step 6	Done!

The above storage concepts were designed at Ideas Unlimited. The concepts were fabricated by Sunaag A R, studying at Government CPC Polytechnic, Mysore (Studying 2nd Semester - Machine Tools and Technology branch). Sunaag is also working on developing some test jigs and fixtures for testing electronic modules.  Sunaag can be contacted at: sunaag.arveti@gmail.com

EFY Magazine Feb 2012 Issue writes about the launch of our Movement Sensor to handle Air Conditioner

EFY, Feb 2012 publishes about our Movement Sensor Switch which can handle Air conditioners on detecting no occupancy in the room. Click on the image below to read...

Product display rack that illuminates itself as customers pass by it!

In this novel concept, we have combined a Movement Sensor Switch from Ideas Unlimited to control an LED Lights Illuminated Product display rack from Meraaki Design, Mysore. We are looking to make use of the Movement Sensor Switch in applications beyond energy saving, for various other useful utility and smart applications.

Display rack illuminates itself on sensing people!

The product showcase has concealed LED lighting in each rack to illuminate the products/books kept in each rack.



Video of the illuminated display rack that senses people nearby and illuminates itself.
The demo video  shows how the rack on detecting a customer passing by it, automatically illuminates itself!



In the above video:

LED Illuminated Display Rack designed by:
MERAAKI DESIGN, Mysore
Contact:  Karthik Mani
Tel: 98800-19312
e-mail: kartikmani_2004@yahoo.co.in


The Movement Sensor Switches used in this video are from  Ideas Unlimited, Mysore.
Contact e-mail: info@ideas-unlimited.in