Students of Erode Sengunthar Engineering College develop low-cost palm jaggery production machine

Students at Erode Sengunthar Engineering College create low-cost IoT palm jaggery machine to empower rural women.

Four students of Erode Sengunthar Engineering College at Thudupathi in Perundurai taluk have developed a low-cost IoT based automated palm jaggery production machine, which is intended to empower rural women.

Under the guidance of E.L. Devipriya, Associate Professor, Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering, the students — S. Kavimalar, S. Pushpalatha, C. Sivanadhini and S. Gowtham — designed the machine at a cost of ₹65,000 in the IoT Lab of the Department of Information Technology.

“The machine comprises ultrasonic sensors, Arduino boards and servo motors and it incorporates features such as controlled heating and precise setting of flame levels to achieve the desired consistency,” a student said. She added that a cooling unit was integrated to ensure the mixture reached the optimal state before transferring it to moulds. Automating these essential steps will streamline the entire production process while maintaining consistent quality, the student added.

The primary objective is to uplift women in rural areas by alleviating the challenges they face in palm jaggery production. The manual process demands long hours, physical strain, exposure to heat, and significant effort. As a result, women often find themselves limited in their ability to pursue alternative economic activities and improve their overall well-being. “The machine will help reduce the labour burden and physical demands on women,” another student added. This, in turn, will create opportunities for them to engage in other income-generating activities, ultimately leading to the upliftment of their families and the local economy, she said.

Funding has been sought from the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology, for the development of the prototype. Principal V. Venkatachalam, Head of the Department Thiruvenkatasuresh appreciated the students.