A Robotics start-up incubated at the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad is now on a road show. Robots Alive,as the set-up is called,is visiting campuses across the country in the hope of pitching its robotic arm as a learning tool for students to learn how to make robots. Most institutional robotics labs located mainly in the IITs (most universities do not have them yet) use imported industrial equipment as learning tools. But their inherent use as industrial machines impedes any detailed examination of the same. This particular robotic arm incorporates certain features of artificial intelligence in that it recognises squares and colours. One of its main USPs is that it is hardy enough to be toyed around by students without getting damaged. Robots Alive founder Abheek Bose,who is yet to christen the robot,said: If somebody splashes water on an industrial robot by accident,it will be damaged and youll have to fix it up and pay money. How do we protect the sensitive parts and the electronics? Thats where design comes in. Darsharha Sevak,a toy design student at NID,teamed up with Boses five-member team of engineers as part of his two-month industrial training programme,working first with thermocol to design the casing of the robot,before finally creating it with Polyvinyl chloride a plastic. The material does help with matters relating to its weight the nameless robot weighs about 10 kilograms light enough to drive around in your car and take it around and showcase it in campus fests and teaching sessions, as Bose says. As it is made of plastic,the casing can be easily removed so that students can peek in and look at the inner hardware. Besides,the plastic body also reduces any impact. Sevak says he also changed the software used for designing the robot; the engineers were earlier using Microsofts Solid Works software. When I started designing the case,I used 3D Max to generate the design. I was working on the aesthetics part of the robot. I needed to get the look and feel of it, he said. As Bose said,besides the hardware,the software also required to be written in a way that students could understand it,like a storyline. Begin with the simple part,and then slowly get into the more complex equations, Bose added. The robotic arm can be controlled through a normal playstation console,but as it has not been tested with water,it is not yet certified waterproof.
