By Dominick Rodrigues
Mumbai : While Robots are taking over the world in various capacities, India may soon be witnessing robots involved in election campaigning throughout the country.
Elections mean vibrant interaction and mass mobilization on large scale, that often result in ignoring Covid norms like social distancing, wearing a mask properly, frequent sanitization etc..
Bearing this in mind, Onestand India Pvt. Ltd. has developed in India, DOOT (a humanoid robot) which can communicate and deliver the impression of a human being with clear voice recognition, face recognition and gestures.
The robots have been completely developed in India and are the true portrayal of Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” Kumar Kanhaiya Singh, Director, One Stand India Pvt Ltd, said noting that the robots will enable ‘star promoters’ of election campaigns to conduct more rallies and gatherings in the pandemic scenario, as the robot’s rover has a large wheelbase, with an all-wheel-drive gearbox, which enables it to move easily even on rough surfaces.
The introduction of robots during elections may possibly take the excitement and the novelty factor to the next level in poll campaigning, Singh said, adding that the AI-enabled voice recognition enables the humanoid to speak like the politician hiring it and questions and interactions will be reviewed periodically by a team that will have an answer to common questions updated after every review.
“Apart from giving recognition to Indian Innovation and manufacturing prowess, these robots campaigning for the candidates will also be time-saving as multiple humanoids could go multiple places at the same time.”
“The humanoid robot has 10 axes (joints), which will enable it to shake hands or wave at people, move its neck similar to a human being, bend forward and backward with 90 degrees of freedom making it the only life-size humanoid robot in India with this capability. This capability will enable the robot to greet people with a wide range of heights and pick/place objects from a lower height.”
“The humanoid robot is equipped with a massive custom-made 900 kg per centimeter (Torque) servo motor, which enables the full upper body to bend and raise with ease. It can also twist itself with 140 degrees of freedom, again making it the only humanoid in India. It has been equipped with a custom-made 600 kg per centimeter (Torque) servo motor, to enable the full upper body to twist with ease and at a real-time speed.”
“The robot can lift objects weighing up to 1 kg, besides HD cameras located in the robot’s head enable the operator to look at the audience and record the attendees in case of gatherings. The robot is equipped with 4th generation servo motors, which are indigenously manufactured, make barely any noise following testing to work in hot Indian conditions for long hours without any breakdown or need for servicing. The humanoids are built on an aluminum frame with industrial-grade components.”
While the company had earlier rented out drones to various municipal corporations in the state of Bihar for sanitization in the Covid-19 pandemic first wave, the core team of the company is keenly involved in introducing new technologies and partnering with young innovators. The humanoids have been developed by Mumbai-based innovator Santosh Haulawale, who has partnered with Onestand India Pvt Ltd. Santosh has earlier created robots for treating Covid-19 patients and assisting healthcare workers.
Singh said the robots have come at a time when the EC noted “with anguish” that many political parties and candidates were still not adhering to the prescribed safety norms during the public gatherings.
“Humanoids can be an answer to these situations, besides being a major indicator of the country’s technical prowess and also creating a lot of buzz for the hiring political party. Through a digital tablet mounted on the humanoid, the candidate can come live and deliver the talk and answer the questions of the voters, from anywhere in the country,” Singh added.
