Humanoid robot grabs eyeballs

A group of five BITS Pilani students showcase a machine capable of semi-artificial intelligence at the two-day DRDO exhibition in city

Humanoid robot grabs eyeballs

A group of five BITS Pilani students showcase a machine capable of semi-artificial intelligence at the two-day DRDO exhibition in city

A 'humanoid' robot developed by a group of five BITs Pilani students grabbed eyeballs at the inaugural day of a two-day DRDO exhibition. Symposium of Robotics and Unmanned Vehicles, which aims to promote homegrown technologies, facilitate better interaction between private sector, defense organisations and academic institutions, seems to have achieve at least one target on the very first day.

Masterpiece: BITS Pilani students pose with the robot at the
DRDO exhibition yesterday.

Akash Gupta (21) and Apoorv Shrivastav (18), engineering students from BITS Pilani showcased Acyut, a 'humanoid' robot having semi-artificial intelligence. It is capable of performing basic tasks such as tracking an object or navigating its way without human control.

The project, which took three years to complete, started with a small 50cm humanoid robot as a prototype.
"Eventually we were able to develop the technology further and create Acyut, weighing 7.2kg. A team of five people worked on the project," said Akash. The robot is one of the most complex pieces of engineering, with a perplexing blend of mechanical and computer sciences and artificial intelligence.

According to Apoorv, Acyut has as many as 28 motors, which are connected to its different moving parts. "Moreover, all the metal parts and wiring have been manufactured in our own laboratory at the institute. The metal parts required specialised designing was done by us. Only the motors were imported from South Korea," added Shrivastav.

Acyut can perform simple tasks such as tracking and following a moving object, catching a ball or negotiating minor obstacles. However, it requires remote control commands for performing complex tasks.

Funds for uvas
W Selvamurthy, chief controller research and development said that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) RUSTOM-I will soon be weaponised as a later part of development of the project. "Rs 1,500 crore has been allotted by Parliament's Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for development of UAVs," he added. The Agni-V ballistic missile will again be test fired by March 2012. The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) has received the Initial Operational Clearance and is now awaiting Final Operational Clearance to be inducted in the Air Force. The Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun's Mk. II version will have missile firing capability and Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA).