Ahmedabad robotics company looks for innovation-driven investor for its robots

Apparently,it was this business vision that prompted the Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at IIM-Ahmedabad to “incubate” the venture,according to Pranay Gupta,the joint CEO of CIIE.

Gupta said: “Indian robotics companies usually end up either remaining dormant or start building industrial robots. CIIE thought that Gridbots was an innovative venture that could build robots which can benefit normal consumers and small and medium businesses,so we took them on board,” explaining how CIIE had spotted the venture at an online contest for start-ups.

Gridbots started with an educational do-it-yourself robot called Turtle,which came with instructions for assembly as well as program that allowed the owner to line up instructions,making the customer,in effect,a robot programmer.

“The idea behind Turtle was to make people comfortable with having robots around. It also made us enough money so we could concentrate researching on bigger robots,” said Gaur.

Post-turtle,Gridbots came up with machines such as SAUSR (Smart Autonomous Underwater Service Robot) which can clean sludge from tank-bottoms,an underwater surveillance robot called Hydra which the company has offered to the Indian Navy to keep watch over the coastlines,and an “autogrid” robot equipped with broom and mop – “to satisfy the mental block Indians have about how to clean floors” – and a mapping device; an android housemaid.

“You program it and switch it on before going to bed and when you wake up,all the floors will be clean and shiny and autogrid will recharge itself at its docking station,” said Gaur.

Gaur is also in touch with the Union Home Ministry for the application of robotics.

But as he says,investors are still shying away because of long-term business visions.

Apart from earlier funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology and what CIIE has been doling out as part of its incubation (besides providing legal and networking support) Gaur hasn’t been able to find an investor he completely approves of.

“It is sad. In this country,we haven’t fully appreciated research and development. Maybe that’s why most of our biggest companies are still servicing bigger companies abroad,” he said.