From left: Umesh Persad (Assistant Professor), Yadav Hanooman and Professor Kishna Athre.

The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) has secured its first Industrial Design Patent (Registration Number: TT/D/2010/00007) which was granted on the 25th August 2010 under the Industrial Designs Act through the Certificate of Registration of Industrial Design dated 7th September 2010 for the industrial design of "Drafting Instruments". This industrial design patent protects the three-dimensional shape of the artifact. This is also the first patent of any kind for the UTT. The design was created by Mr. Yadav Hanooman, Assistant Professor Umesh Persad and Professor Krishna Athre. This is the culmination of the Final Year Project by Mr. Hanooman which was supervised by Assistant Professor Persad and Professor Athre, to fulfill the requirement for B.Sc. (Manufacturing) in the Design and Manufacturing Engineering programme at O'Meara Campus. Mr. Hanooman graduated from the UTT's first undergraduate cohort in Manufacturing Engineering and did the project work over a period of one academic year.

The key innovation in the multi-drafter design consolidates traditional drawing instruments into a simple, compact device that subsumes the functions of the T-square, set squares, protractor, drawing board and rulers. It can be used to perform drawing operations that would traditionally require a number of drawing instruments while also addressing difficulties involved in setting up, packing up and transporting technical drawing equipment. Additionally, key features include ease of assembly, the drawing of lines at any angle, the adjustment of the drawing board at various heights and tilt angles, and the use of magnetic fasteners to eliminate the need for scotch tape (to stick paper to the surface of the drawing board).

The drawing components include a Primary and Secondary rule. The Primary rule is able to not only perform all functions of a T- Square, but also draw angular lines by allowing for measured angular rotations (about the left edge). The Secondary rule attached to the Primary rule can be used to draw lines with measured angular relations to the Primary rule. In addition, the Secondary rule can rotate completely around the free edge (at right side end) of the Primary rule to run along its bottom edge. This feature allows for ease of drawing when the Primary rule is at the top of the drawing board.

A key factor in the success of this project was the use of a systematic design process that involved phases of need finding, conceptual design, evaluation, prototyping and testing. A user-centred design methodology was adopted where technical drawing students in secondary schools and engineering students at university were observed and interviewed to decide the important requirements. Based on the identification and prioritisation of problems encountered, together with a review of existing products and patents, various design concepts were generated. These concepts were further evaluated with multiple prototypes being produced. These prototypes were evaluated with intended users, and after a period of iteration to refine various functions, the final design emerged.

Given the UTT's mission to be an entrepreneurial university and to commercialise research and development, a necessary first step is the protection of novel ideas developed by students and staff. Further studies are being conducted to investigate the commercial feasibility of taking the multi-drafter into production. It is hoped that this landmark for the UTT will herald a proliferation of new ideas and intellectual property that will take us closer to being a highly innovative society.