Archive · 21 Sep 2026
Coimbatore Graduate’s Patrol Trike Named Dyson Award National Runner-Up
S Shakeel Akthar designed a small electric vehicle called Trike 2π.
It has three wheels and is made for moving through crowded places.
Police personnel can use it to patrol areas such as railway platforms.
The vehicle can turn all the way around in a small five-foot space.
Akthar got the idea while thinking about security workers walking across his college campus.
College security staff tested the vehicle and suggested improvements.
Ten vehicles are now being used at Chennai Central Railway Station.
The design became a national runner-up in the James Dyson Award and may advance to the global Top 20.
S Shakeel Akthar’s Trike 2π was named a national runner-up at the James Dyson Award 2026.
The three-wheeled electric vehicle is designed for quick patrols in crowded pedestrian areas.
Its architecture supports balance and 360-degree turns within a five-foot radius.
Ten vehicles have been deployed at Chennai Central Railway Station, with trials also conducted by Coimbatore police.
Trike 2π will be considered for the global Top 20 shortlist, whose winner receives $30,000.
- Who
- S Shakeel Akthar, a mechanical engineering graduate from Kumaraguru College of Technology, developed Trike 2π.
- What
- Trike 2π was named a national runner-up in the James Dyson Award 2026.
- When
- The report was published on September 21, 2026; the vehicle was registered as a company the previous year, according to Akthar.
- Where
- The vehicle has been deployed at Chennai Central Railway Station and tested by Coimbatore police.
- Why
- It was designed to help security and police personnel patrol pedestrian areas more quickly and efficiently.
- Inventor
- S Shakeel Akthar
- Vehicle
- Trike 2π, a three-wheeled electric patrol vehicle
- Award result
- National runner-up at the James Dyson Award 2026
- Deployment
- Ten vehicles deployed at Chennai Central Railway Station
- Turning radius
- 360-degree turns within a five-foot radius
- Additional testing
- Trials conducted by Kumaraguru College of Technology security staff and Coimbatore police
- Potential prize
- The global James Dyson Award winner receives $30,000