Arjuna de Alwis has had a flair for invention and creativity from childhood. From school, he would come home wanting to run to the Agalawatte Rubber Research Institute premises just to observe what was going on in their Biology and Chemistry laboratories.
“Something I noticed at these research labs was the process in which new things were developed out of something that already existed,” says Arjuna, who has now developed a unique TRIDEK multimedia system - a unit designed to keep the TV, DVD, VCR, Home Theatre, antenna, Booster and the cable TV Decoder in one unit.
Though Kalutara is Arjuna’s home town, he grew up in Agalawatte where he lived with his parents adjacent to the Research Institute where his father was employed as a Manager. He recalls the days when he teamed up with the other children of Research Institute staff families during school holidays to make toys and home appliances with the advice of elders.
The TRIDEK, according to Arjuna, probably would have stemmed from his childhood experiences. Elaborating on how it came about, he says he first made a basic model for his room to place entertainment equipment. Realising its advantages, Arjuna who has been in sales and marketing for 35 years, decided he should develop the unit professionally to benefit others.
Conducting extensive research to see if there is a need for such a unit, he did a house to house survey and found that the electrical appliances that people buy spending huge amounts are often kept in unsafe places resulting in damage to these items. Part of his survey was based on electrical show rooms and service centres to find out as to what causes repairs in electrical items. “I found out that 75% -80 % of repairs are due to mishaps like power fluctuations etc. I went to I-E Technic in Panadura, one of the biggest electrical manufacturing companies, spoke to their Chairman about my idea and they developed an electronic power unit to be attached to the system to safeguard the appliances from such mishaps,” Arjuna explains.
Made out of MDF wood from Malaysia, the TRIDEK is manufactured and marketed by ATLI Furnitures Pvt. Ltd. under the supervision of JAT Holdings Pvt. Ltd. In October 2009, the TRIDEK received the Industrial Design Certificate Licence while in March 2010, the Patent was granted. The product was selected by the Kelaniya University Finance and Commerce Department to be included in their National Inventor’s Survey, Arjuna says.
TRIDEK saves space for the house, Arjuna adds. “I invented a triangular rack to be kept in a corner in the room so as to save space and enable users to watch TV/DVDS etc from all sides. Another problem people had was that the equipment was heavy and not moveable. Therefore I made the unit with four strong rubber wheels. Also the power unit attached to the system is lockable-if you turn off all switches in the power unit and lock it, no one will have access to any of the appliances.
That way you can have control over the misuse of these electrical items by children and domestics.” Arjuna says all these aspects were developed to cater to public ideas and requirements that stemmed from his research.
Not forgetting the aesthetic requirements, it also comes in three models – TRIDEK Gold, Silver and Original, in black, antique brown, rosewood, mahogany, teak and chestnut colours with a two year warranty. For more, contact tridektv@gmail.com |
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