Hexpressions

The goal of this project is to provide low-cost, eco-friendly, and quality products that can be used in combating the pandemic. The first product is an isolation bed to isolate COVID-19 positive patients and prevent massive transmission. It can be arranged to save space in small quarantine facilities and maximum social distancing. The other product is envisioned to provide a means to quickly transfer dead bodies and conduct a dignified funeral for those who lost their lives. 

Usual hospital beds and coffins are heavy and hard to clean. The products make use of recycled paper to produce paper honeycomb material that is lightweight and durable. They are also made from materials that harm the environment. Our products are made of recycled paper with silver nano-coating to ensure that proper sanitation can be done and the further spread of the virus is prevented. 

COVID-19 is a global crisis, the infectious nature of the COVID-19 has put a tremendous burden on the world's healthcare system; be it a rural primary healthcare centre or the biggest urban hospital. The struggle for isolation wards is rising along with the daily surge of COVID-19 cases across the country. On the other hand, worldwide dead bodies are being stockpiled in temporary morgues and funerals delayed, causing further misery for relatives of those who have lost their lives to the virus. This desperate shortage of isolation beds & coffins has prompted us to design simple ready to assemble isolation cabins & coffin boxes to meet the demand of coronavirus victims across the world. 

Hexpressions has designed a product-service innovation providing eco-friendly, fast, modular, and ready to assemble Isolation cabins & coffin boxes for COVID-19 patients by using paper honeycomb panels and cardboard. The COVID-19 virus can stay on Paper honeycomb and cardboards only for 24 hours, making it ideal for use. Paper honeycomb is water-resistant and coated with disinfectant silver nano-coating which makes it safe for hospital usage. These knockdown products can be assembled within 5 mins without any additional hardware or tools required. 

The goal of this project is to provide low-cost, eco-friendly, and quality products that can be used in combating the pandemic. The first product is an isolation bed to isolate COVID-19 positive patients and prevent massive transmission. It can be arranged. to save space in small quarantine facilities and maximum social distancing. The other product is envisioned to provide a means to quickly transfer dead bodies and conduct a dignified funeral for those who lost their lives. 

We expect to be able to produce and distribute ready-to-assemble flatpack paper honeycomb hospital bed and coffin that many hospitals and funeral parlours can easily assemble to accommodate COVID-19 patients. Hospital personnel, Funeral parlours and government units or agencies strategising on their COVID-19 response can all benefit from this project. For one, the products are lightweight and easy to assemble, it will only take 5-10 minutes to assemble the products for immediate use, and prevent contact of healthcare workers to positive individuals by quick isolation. There have been reports that dead bodies are piling up in hospitals and funeral parlours for a lack of supply of body bags. Dead bodies may be placed in the ready to assemble coffin in minutes, easing that problem. It also gives dignity to the dead and the loved ones left. The recycled paper industry can also benefit from this by adding more products in the line of recycled materials and prevent the use of plastics. Many skilled workers can also be employed to aid in the manufacture of the products easing out the negative economic impact brought about by the pandemic. While we find solutions to combat the pandemic, we also find a cure to nature, by using recycled materials and contributing to the creation of a circular economy.

The COVID19 pandemic has pushed the healthcare sector in search of quick, affordable, and sustainable solutions. The use of our products goes beyond the current crisis. It can be used by hospitals to house patients with other infectious or contagious diseases, rent them for temporary use to health camps or meet the need for hospital beds in rural or densely-populated urban areas. Rural geographies and undeveloped regions that need affordable healthcare infrastructure can leverage ‘Hexpressions’ designs to build the much-needed medical facilities at a low cost. The possibilities are endless. 

We have already deployed this solution to various covid care facilities in the city and outside. We have already installed over 100 beds in pan India. We are also in the process of finalizing over 500 beds in some new geographies. Export enquiries are also flowing in from the southeast Asian market.

Paper Honeycomb core is widely used in the packaging, furniture industry. Its properties like shock absorption, lightweight, eco-friendly, stackability, termite-proof make it a truly unique product. Hexpressions is using the advantage of its properties & giving it a new dimension of a unique material as “Composite paper honeycomb panels”. This material has the highest weight to strength as compare to other traditional materials. These are fast, modular, affordable, eco-friendly & customized panels, designed to snug-fit products, providing complete protection from outside weathering conditions.

We have already served over 1000 people in distress during this pandemic. We are planning to serve 10000 people in a year. Over the next five years, we want to save over 1 million lives globally.

Progress metric

1. Number of lives saved through our innovation

2. Number of collaborations with various stakeholders.

3. How much carbon footprint reduced via our products.

4. Customer & end consumer feedback.

5. Align our progress with SDGs.

Total: 5

Full time: 4

Part-time: 1

Hexpressions Team:

1. Abhimanyu Singh, CEO, 

Architect & Retail designer 

Politecnico di Milano, Italy (Master of Science), 2017 National Institute of Design, Bangalore (PGDPD), 2011, B.Arch, Rajasthan university, 2008

Linkedin Profile: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/ab... ) 

2. Shilpi Dua, CTO, 

Architect & Industrial designer 

Politecnico di Milano, Italy (Master of Science), 2017 School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi, 2011, B.Arch, Rajasthan university, 2008

Linkedin Profile: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sh... ) 

We both have over 10 years of working experience in the design and construction industry which help us to evaluate the market very well in terms of design requirements & opportunities. We know each other since our college days back in 2003 and since then we are together. We have previously founded 2 startups in the field of Design and Design education. Our like-mindedness to innovate in the field of sustainable design brought us together for this new startup.

We value diversity, equitability and inclusiveness in our team. Our founding team is also a good combination of equal participation of gender and experience. We also try to maintain the same diversity in our extended team so that we can get multidisciplinary interactions within our team.

We are always ready to explore and grab new opportunities. Getting selected to be a Solver will be an important milestone for our startup as it will give us an initial thrust to take innovation to another level. At this early stage of our startup, the right mix of mentorship, leadership skills and networking will help us achieve our project milestones in future. It will give us a new platform to showcase our product to various stakeholders, users and mentors. It will be a unique opportunity for us to know the innovations of fellow entrepreneurs exchange thoughts, ideas and innovations.

We need more people in our team with diverse background who can help us in taking our idea forward.

We are also looking for market access in various geographies to introduce our solution.

IKEA foundation

MIT faculties

Rock feller foundation

Melinda Gates foundation 

Our team will use the funds to fuel our innovation and reach the last mile to build a resilient infrastructure in the US.

Our innovation goes beyond the pandemic and we will clearly use our innovation to serve refugees and homeless people who can afford not only beds but shelters too. 

We expect to be able to produce and distribute ready-to-assemble flatpack paper honeycomb hospital bed and coffin that many hospitals and funeral parlours can easily assemble to accommodate COVID-19 patients. Hospital personnel, Funeral parlours and government units or agencies strategising on their COVID-19 response can all benefit from this project. For one, the products are lightweight and easy to assemble, it will only take 5-10 minutes to assemble the products for immediate use, and prevent contact of healthcare workers to positive individuals by quick isolation. There have been reports that dead bodies are piling up in hospitals and funeral parlours for a lack of supply of body bags. Dead bodies may be placed in the ready to assemble coffin in minutes, easing that problem. It also give dignity to the dead and the loved ones left. The recycled paper industry can also benefit from this by adding more products in the line of recycled materials and the prevention of the use of plastics. Many skilled workers can also be employed to aid in the manufacture of the products easing out the negative economic impact brought about by the pandemic.