As part of contributions to the preventive measures against Covid-19 pandemic in the country, The Lagos State University (LASU) Faculty of Engineering COVID-19 Response Team has produced an Automated Hand Washing Station Machine powered by solar energy.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, commended the LASU team, headed by Dr Nurudeen Raji, for the innovation, during the presentation and demonstration of the hand washing machine.
The VC also lauded the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, Victoria Island branch, under the leadership of Engr. John Audu, for its willingness to partner the Faculty of Engineering in sponsoring the production of the machine. He further charged the Faculty of Engineering team to leverage the support of the NSE to come up with many other laudable research works that would stand the test of time and would equally benefit mankind.
“We must sustain the collaboration which is already in existence between the two bodies, we need to link up and leverage on the Nigerian Society of Engineers to achieve our dreams. We need to have Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian Society of Engineers for a robust relationship and continuity.” Raji said.
The Chairman, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Victoria Island Branch, Engr. John Audu, who led the body’s team to the demonstration, said his branch decided to adopt Faculty of Engineering, LASU in order to carry out research that would provide solutions to problems in our society. He noted that such collaborations in the past with other institutions did not yield any positive results but LASU’s case had been a huge success and he was highly impressed with the Faculty of Engineering, and willing to do more.
He appreciated Professor Olumuyiwa Odusanya, the Director, Directorate of Research Management and Innovations, for his contributions towards making the project a reality. The Dean Faculty of Engineering, Professor Elkanah Oyetunji, while giving his welcome speech, said the project was successful because a lot of challenges were thrown at the Faculty of Engineering to come up with innovations on the coronavirus pandemic just like other institutions are doing.
Professor Oyetunji said the research team was able to come up with the automated solar-powered hand washing station machine, which enables three persons to wash their hands at the same time taking into consideration the social distancing regulations of the government. He said the machine would no doubt be very useful where there is a large number of people.
The leader of the Faculty of Engineering COVID-19 Research Team, Dr Nurudeen Raji, explained that the machine does not require any touch from the user. Dr Raji further said, that the supply of water to the machine is done through a transparent hose and could be connected to either side of the machine while another hose drains wastewater (which may contain coronavirus) to a nearby ground for proper disposal.
The machine has LED indicators to visually indicate when is charging and when it is working. The LASU hand washing machine has soap dispensers which can serve 1000 users at each refill. Dr Raji gave a summary of how one can use the machine thus, “Stretch your hand to the dispenser for soap, move hands to the infrared tap for water, keep hands close to the sensor for continuous supply of water, when done, remove hands and the water stops running. The station will successfully accommodate three users at a time with 1 metre distance in between them.”
