This Delhi-based startup has developed UV sterilisation box to disinfect daily use objects within 3 minutes
The UV sterilisation box is an automated disinfectant chamber which sanitises small-sized objects like mobile phones, watches, rings, currency notes, masks, and key rings, providing protection against germs, bacteria, and viruses breeding on the surface of the objects.
As the country continues to grapple with the lockdown and the term ‘unlock 1’ coming into the picture, it looks like India is gearing up to restart its operations, though with precautions. With an aim to help people protect themselves from getting infected by coronavirus during these changing times, Green Grapes Devices, a Delhi-based digital display solutions startup has developed a product called UV Sterilisation Box for sterilising small-sized objects such as mobile phones, watches, rings, currency, masks, key rings, etc.
The UV sterilisation box is a 9-watt compact chamber with Ultraviolet-C light arranged in a specific manner which helps disinfect and sanitise small-sized objects within three minutes of use.
Aditi Talwar and Piyush Sahni, co-founders of Green Grapes Devices
“During these unprecedented times, as we prepare to step outside for work and restore normalcy around us, daily use objects continue to pose the threat of transmitting the virus. While regular washing of hands and maintaining social distancing are some of the effective measures to avoid catching the virus, disinfecting and sanitising our daily use objects have become even more essential,” says Piyush Sahni, Co-founder, Green Grapes Devices.
Application of UVC light in an appropriate wavelength of 260nm-280nm helps disinfect objects against various bacteria and viruses. According to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the virus can live up to three days on surfaces like plastic and steel.
Based on these scientific findings, “we at Green Grapes Devices are using the application of UVC light to disinfect objects against the virus breeding on surfaces. We are offering this product in different sizes and models to suit diverse needs and interests,” says Piyush.
How does the box work?
The object can be placed inside the UV sterilisation box by gently opening and closing the lid. Once it fits into the chamber, the disinfection key in the front end of the box begins to disinfect once pressed. The UVC light inside the box penetrates through the viruses and bacteria on the surface of the object. Within three minutes of use, the indicator light stops flashing which means the object has been sanitised from all sides.
The startup
Aditi Talwar and Piyush Sahni co-founded Green Grapes Devices after five years into their marriage in New Delhi. The couple decided to launch their startup in November 2018 after turning their weekend project into a full-time business. Initially, the duo started with offerings such as immersive LED posters and digital slingshots to cater to the digital display needs of leading businesses.
Green Grapes Devices is a startup which runs on a B2B business model where it helps businesses across India access some of the most commercial digital display solutions.
“We manufacture, design (even customise), and supply digital LED display solutions according to the needs of customers with our advanced software and computing technology. The core offerings include, photo gulel (digital slingshot), immersive LED poster, 3D Hologram fans, etc,” says Piyush.
Since the coronavirus pandemic spelt out new needs for the people, the startup decided to introduce ‘Covid-19 exclusive devices’ to fight the spread of the virus and set up a separate arm called ‘no touch devices’.
“Before launching the UV sterilisation box, we had introduced two products - the face recognition temperature detector and an automated sensor-based sanitisation tunnel,” says Piyush. Other products in this category include sanitisation gun and nano-spray.
Without sharing the prices of the products and units sold so far, Piyush says that UV sterilisation boxes along with other COVID-19 products have been sold to more than 270 clients so far.
Funding and business
Green Grapes Devices is a bootstrapped startup, which started its operations with a seed capital of Rs 85,000 from the duo’s savings and its revenue crossed Rs 1 crore-mark last year.
“The journey from then to now has been thrilling. We have worked with more than 350 clients and finished more than 570 projects. As the world becomes more connected and networks continue to evolve, we have adapted to customers’ changing needs over time by developing new technology products and solutions,” says Aditi.
The co-founder says that as a startup, Green Grapes Devices is now focussed on introducing new and unique digital solutions to fight coronavirus. Aditi says the startup has been able to get through these years because of its top line margins and profits but is now looking for external funding to scale its production and use part of the funds for marketing, communications, and even in going digital.
Edited by Javed Gaihlot