Background of the Problem Statement
Several vocational trades - plumbing and gas-fitting, electrical maintenance, and welding/gas-cutting among them, require workers to detect hazards (gas or water leaks,unsafe heat/electrical exposure) using largely manual, experience-based judgement. Novice and newly certified workers often lack access to instrumented tools during training, which slows skill acquisition and increases on-the-job risk once deployed. Off-the-shelf industrial diagnostic instruments exist but are expensive, bulky, and not designed for trainee use in an ITI or training-centre setting. There is a need for low-cost, wearable or handheld sensing tools that can be integrated into vocational training curricula to give trainees real-time diagnostic feedback (e.g., leak detection in water/gas lines, safe-distance cues for gas-cutting and welding) while they are still building competence, so that safe diagnostic practice becomes part of the certification pathway rather than something learned only after an incident on the job.
Description of the Problem Statement
The challenge is to design a low-cost, trainee-usable diagnostic sensing device/wearable that can:
Detect and localise gas or water leakage in pipe networks using acoustic, pressure, or gas-concentration sensors. Provide real-time proximity and exposure alerts for welding/gas-cutting tasks (heat, UV exposure, gas concentration). Give trainees interpretable, real-time feedback (visual/audio/haptic) rather than raw sensor data. Log diagnostic sessions for trainer review and skill assessment purposes. Be manufacturable at a cost point suitable for deployment across training centres at scale.
Expected Solutions / Outcomes
A working prototype wearable/handheld device tested on at least one-use case (leak detection or welding hazard sensing). A trainer-facing companion app or dashboard for reviewing trainee diagnostic sessions. A bill of materials and cost estimate suitable for centre-scale procurement. Safety validation against relevant occupational safety thresholds. A pathway for integrating device use into NSQF assessment criteria for the relevant trade.