The Kerala government has roped in start-up Asimov Robotics to use its robots in the campaign to check spread of coronavirus. The two androids of Asimov have became viral since Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor shared their video in his twitter handle earlier this week. “Robots dispensing sanitiser & #COVID2019 advice,” tweeted Tharoor.
The robots are distributing masks and napkins as well. “The state had been on the forefront in harnessing robotics in public interface. Last year, the Kerala Police had been the country’s first law enforcement agency to induct a robocop to welcome public in police offices,” says Saji Gopinath, head of Kerala Start Up Mission (KSUM), a state government agency.
While one of the two androids distributes hygiene materials to check spread of the virus, the other walks around displaying screens that detail the WHO campaign to contain the disease. “Being robots, they grab eyeballs fast. We are planning to ply more robots in places like airports where risks are higher,” said T Jayakrishnan, founder and CEO of Kochi-based Asimov Robotics.
Another Kerala start-up, Genrobotics, has been making waves in civic hygiene for the last two years, as it came up with its robot Bandicoot to clean public sewages, which used to be sanitised manually.