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People at the newly constructed Madison Square Garden were dumbfounded and did not know how to react. Their natural tendencies prompted them to make a dash for the nearest exit, but the cool demeanor of the Nicola Tesla put them at ease. The object of wonder was a small tublike craft that propelled itself in an artificially created pond. Tesla, the inventor, dubbed this radio-controlled boat as the "teleautomaton".

The year was 1898 and this was, in a sense, the first robot to be created. Ironically, the word robot itself was first used some two decades later by a Czech playwright Karel Čapek in his work RUR (Rossum's Universal Robots).

Even after a century or so, robots never fail to amaze or shock us. Honda's Asimo or iRobot's Roomba (a vacuum cleaner bot) always generate sighs at any public display. Even science fiction films have displayed robots as something truly extraordinary, R2-D2 or C-3PO from Star Wars have a following that could well compete with Yoda or even Obi-Wan. Yet, they are steadily becoming a part of our lives. From assembling cars in a factory to performing surgeries, any thing that falls under the ambit of the three Ds (Dull, Dirty and Dangerous) is readily tackled by robots.

Yet, Japan is the country that instantly comes to mind when one thinks of robots. Be it Aiko, the dog or Asimo, the humanoid; Japan is way ahead in the usage of robotic technology. For us Indians, robotics is more of a fantastic mystery than a technology stream.

India's Own iRobots
All that could change in the foreseeable future. A company based out of IIT-Bombay intends to increase awareness by selling small robotic kits to school and college children. The Robotics Institute, or TRI, came into being in the year 2004, founded by three IIT-Bombay alumni: Gagan Goyal, Gaurav Chaturvedi and Nitin Saluja. Subsequently, in 2005, SINE Business Incubator at IIT-Bombay picked up TRI. Much has changed since then.

"The space that we chose for ourselves was in educational robotics. As there was much less information on robots among the student community, we decided to spread the word on robotics by distributing a special 'make yourself' robot kit," says Chaturvedi. TRI sells basically three types of kits, Mechanical, Automated and Micro Mouse kits, ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. To reach the student community, the company conducts 2-day workshops on robotics in schools and colleges across the country.

"Till date we have conducted over 30 workshops in over 20 cities across 10 states in India," says a more statistically inclined Chaturvedi. "In these workshops we teach students the theory of robotics, kinematics, transmission, etc before they actually start making the robots," he adds.

While workshops are one way to reach the audience, TRI is also using the Internet as a means for robotic community development through its website www.triindia.co.in. The site provides comprehensive information on the products, and also has a forum where all the enthusiasts can interact with each other. Going a step ahead, the company will be organizing a national level competition titled TRICKS in association with Honeywell.

So what are the TRI robots capable of? The basic ones can be designed to excavate, dig and pick objects. While the more advanced ones, can follow a line with the sensors, or even follow a face. The advanced ones use 8051 based controller board with features like serial communication, LCD, system programming, etc. There is also a micro mouse bot, which is designed to find a shortest possible route in a maze. The guys at TRI are currently working on a prototype of a robotic arm.

All the three entrepreneurs have special interest in the field of robotics and are mechanical engineers from IIT-Bombay. It needs to be mentioned that of the three, Goyal has taken part in a host of robotic competitions in India and abroad. They also have on board Prof C Amarnath (ex-head Robotics Lab, IIT-Bombay), a recognized name in the field of robotics and the brain behind Yantriki, the annual robotic competition at IIT-Bombay. Going ahead, TRI intends to venture into the field of service robotics. "In a few years time, we expect to make headway in the field of service robotics for everyday consumer, like iRobots has done," mentions Chaturvedi.

For now, over a dozen people are glazing over different circuit boards in the relatively sparse KRESIT building office of TRI in Mumbai. The smell of soldering is very pervasive and one can find at least a hundred or so styrofoam teacups in the dustbin, the guys at TRI seem to be tugging real hard on some robotic issue.

Hopefully in the days to come as the students buying these kits age and turn out to be inventors like Tesla, we will know where the credit is truly due. But, the charm will always remain. Surely, even in the future, robots will never fail to amaze us even though a Robocop might patrol the streets or a T-800 cyborg might mumble "Hasta la vista, baby". They amazed people at Madison Square in 1898 and continue to do even today and hopefully in the years to come.

Shashwat Chaturvedi
maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in

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