We are here to make some changes to our century old methods: Mohammad Adil & Ankit Soni

May 11 is celebrated as National Technology Day, but why stop the celebration especially when you have tech startups and innovative projects lighting up every now and then across various hamlets, towns and metros across India. This National Technology Day, Zarafshan Shiraz talks to Delhi boys Mohammad Adil, COO and Ankit Soni, CEO, Wake Up Technology before they leave for the final round of the Carbon Footprint Challenge 2018 in Zurich, Switzerland. With their latest product almost market ready and slated to launch next month, both point out what makes their startup the most sought after by the Indian Army and various hospitals and what all does their team have in store for the central and state government of India.

When and how was the idea behind this incepted?
With the numbers of inequality skyrocketing and city growth stalely thriving on a centuries-old model, we’re sunk deep in a situation wherein the political, economic and social environment is fractured as the administration is seemingly unable to provide efficient and effective services and the position holders are often labelled with distrust since they fail to act on the behalf of the citizens. We saw this as an opportunity for a major reform to plug in all the loop holes and that is where we step in with our innovative idea of forming a SMART CITY using SMART LIGHTING as the first step of the much needed reform.

While there are people aiding the growth of cities and clans working on cutting down on distances and easing commutes, we need a set of people who though, are in sync with this rapid development, should also have the welfare of the environment on top priority. We should become people who are net contributors in lessening the adverse effects on the environment lest it hampers the process of development in the long run. Keeping this in mind we at Wake Up Technology, propose building bigger roads and providing services that aid an environmentally safe lifestyle.

This is a global challenge as we saw the examples in China, Pakistan, Africa, Australia and here in India that vividly illustrate the need for smarter solutions to deal with massive population growth, rural to urban migration and resource depletion. We saw the need to transform our cities considering the good for all spheres and not just one. Keeping all this in mind we came up with the solution of street lights with IoT which will help us to reduce the energy comsumption and enhance the security of commuters pan India.

Through what innovative services are you entering the tech market?
Basically we have developed an IoT based product, which will be installed inside the street lights. The USP of this product is "weather based lighting control system". Every night, the intensity will be dimmed upto 30% which will save upto 45% of carbon emissions and also reduce the electricity consumption upto 35%. To maintain proper lighting on the roads, we'll install motion sensors on every pole such that the lamp brightens up on the next 5 poles only when it'll senses any approaching pedestrian, vehicle or cyclist.

What is the price range of your services?
Our revenue model includes hardware cost of the product plus software i.e. services. While our per product cost is Rs.7000/-, our one year subscription charge for services is Rs.700/-. For each product the life time value is Rs. 41,300 and sales and distribution is planned through franchise model (only hardware).

Where all have you introduced this product internationally and what has been the outcome of such international participation?
We have reached the second round of the ongoing Carbon Footprint Challenge 2018 in Zurich, Switzerland. Out of 250 teams that entered this competition, 10 teams have been selected including us. We will be moving to Zurich next month with our proposal and model where we will be mentored by an industry expert. This looks promising for our startup which has also been recognized by our government here in India and we are already in talks with IIT Kanpur to get incubated over there.

How do you stand apart from your competitors?
We have big competitors pitted against us but while others are completely changing the existing infrastructure which involves a huge cost, our distinctive feature is saving tremendous amount of carbon emission without changing the existing infrastructure while simultaneously supporting almost every 3rd party lighting hardware.

We are differentiated for providing a sensor based street light monitoring system that gives an accurate traffic analysis on the google map. We would be even more accurate than the google MAP traffic sensing because we would have a device on each pole.

Also, an analysis of the amount of carbon saved or the number of total burning hours or status of traffic and total energy saved etc. would appear on your the dashboard.

What are your expectations from Wake Up Technologies?
We are here to make some changes to our century old methods. We have an experience of delivering more than 2000 projects where we have successfully provided solutions to the Indian Army, various hospitals and in the ecommerce sector alike. Few of our patented products have already been deployed, our forte being IoT, Machine Learning and AI which have an important role in shaping up the future of the world. We have a team of extraordinary engineers who works 24/7 to provide one of the best services in the industry. Our expectation from wakeup technology is to develop most efficient and environment friendly solutions for the all, not just in India but beyond.

What kind of support and recognition have you received so far from the state/central government?
As of now, we haven’t got any support from the government but we are looking forward to work with them at state and centre level both, in deploying our IoT based smart street lighting system throughout the country and help in reducing the carbon footprint and electricity wastage.

Why do you think franchising is a viable model of expansion?
We have zeroed down on a franchising model as its really viable and cost effective. Most importantly the reach in limited time is really good if we go with the franchise model.

How are you planning to scale up in the next 5 years?
Since the government is my target customer we are directly contacting the government agencies for promotion. It is already in demonstration phase with the Agra Development Authority. Our plan is to spread in majority of the 100 cities selected under smart city program in next 5 years.