Kuka Robotics (India) Private Ltd, after having tested the waters in the automobile sector, has now set its eyes on the burgeoning entertainment sector. The 100% subsidiary of Kuka Roboter GmbH is in talks with production houses and real estate groups engaged in construction of amusement parks and malls to place its robots in their premises.

“We are looking at the entertainment sector in a big way,” said Pradeep Shoran, marketing manager, Kuka Robotics (India).

The company had earlier approached automobile manufacturers to engage its robots in the manufacturing process. It has sold around 150 robots in the first half of this year.

Kuka is now in talks with Essel World in Mumbai and Adventure Island developed by Unitech in New Delhi for supplying its robot Robocoaster.

Robocoaster is a robot targeted at amusement parks and fun zones in malls and costs in the range Rs 2.5-Rs 3 crore.

The robot is already popular in the US and Europe and can be found in the Legoland Park in California, Germany and France, among others.

Noting that the entertainment sector has a huge budget and technology plays a major role in maintaining the competitive edge, Shoran said it is this unexplored but growing segment that the company wants to explore.

“A typical entertainment project for an amusement park costs around Rs 200-300 crore,” he said. Kuka robots are also popular among Hollywood production houses. “Our robots can help shoot the most difficult angle or sequence in the movies,” said Shoran.

Some of the movies that have used Kuka robots for shooting include DaVinci Code, Thunderbirds and Die Another Day, among others. He added that Bollywood is opening up to sophisticated technology and with special effects driving new generation movies, robots can take the level of sophistication to a higher level.

The Indian defence sector too has expressed an interest in robots. “They need robots for handling and wielding purposes,” said Shoran.

Some of Kuka’s major clients in the automobile sector include Tata Motors, Hyundai Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Ashok

Leyland. It recently bagged an order for 70 robots from Volkswagen for its upcoming plant in Chakan near Pune.