A couple of days back, I read this really great news about Shimla - a hill station in the north of India: the popular tourist hub is aiming for smart sanitation by installing hundreds of E-toilets.
Now, what is E-toilet? Well, its an unmanned toilet which cleans itself, one that's based on a sensor-based technology.
Let me explain a little more. As you see in the photo below, the toilet has a locked door. Now, when you want to use it, you insert a coin to open the door. As the door opens, the toilet's sensor-based light system is automatically turns on - pretty much like the way your ATM teller machine turns on when you swipe your card.
And, just like the ATM machine, the toilet also will direct you with audio commands. This means, you will be directed on how to use the toilet.
To conserve water, the toilets are programmed to flush 1.5 liter of water after three minutes of usage and 4.5 liters if the usage is longer. This “smart” toilet also washes the platform by itself after every five or 10 persons use the toilet. An instructional note is pasted outside the toilet to make the user familiar with the functioning of this toilet. The auto flush goes off on its own and uses just the right amount of water that is needed - not less and not more.
But why is Shimla adopting e-toilet, instead of building more of the old-style conventional toilets?
Now, what is E-toilet? Well, its an unmanned toilet which cleans itself, one that's based on a sensor-based technology.
Let me explain a little more. As you see in the photo below, the toilet has a locked door. Now, when you want to use it, you insert a coin to open the door. As the door opens, the toilet's sensor-based light system is automatically turns on - pretty much like the way your ATM teller machine turns on when you swipe your card.
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| An E-toilet. Courtesy: Eram Scientific |
And, just like the ATM machine, the toilet also will direct you with audio commands. This means, you will be directed on how to use the toilet.
To conserve water, the toilets are programmed to flush 1.5 liter of water after three minutes of usage and 4.5 liters if the usage is longer. This “smart” toilet also washes the platform by itself after every five or 10 persons use the toilet. An instructional note is pasted outside the toilet to make the user familiar with the functioning of this toilet. The auto flush goes off on its own and uses just the right amount of water that is needed - not less and not more.
But why is Shimla adopting e-toilet, instead of building more of the old-style conventional toilets?
