KOCHI: “Hello! Fancy seeing you! May I assist you!” are the phrases that make for the clichéd welcome address of receptionists or customer service executives in a luxury hotel or a next generation bank.
Bu the time has come when robots will be welcoming customers to a bank, an airport or even a hospital with folded hands. A team of enthusiastic people, based out of Kochi, has been successful in developing and deploying India’s first fully-fledged service robot under the brand Sayabot. Sayabot, the brainchild of Kochi-based Asimov Robotics Ltd with Jayakrishnan T at its helm, is a service robot that seamlessly works alongside people using highly capable interaction capabilities and ability to move.
“With a large number of businesses now substituting human beings with automated software to perform a myriad of organised, routine administrative tasks which do not rely on human judgement, the time when robots with artificial intelligence replacing humans to some extent has becoming a reality. However, this can be seen only as a necessity in contrast with demand and availability of trained and willing resources for the blue collar jobs,” says Jayakrishnan.
Ira
Ira, the customised version of Sayabot, has been launched by HDFC Bank in a Mumbai branch. It claims to be the first ‘humanoid’ in the domestic banking space with technological solutions for rural banking operations. Says Jayakrishnan, “basically Sayabot is a customisable version that can be used to perform a wide array of applications, may it be at hospitals, hotels, airports or even in the education and training sector. It will not replace the basic jobs done by humans. But it will be able to work on repetitive tasks tirelessly and continuously, and can do certain works that humans can’t do.” With social media, including Facebook and Twitter, serving as a virtual platform and forum for millions of users, it has become a treasure house of information on individuals, either directly posted or indirectly referred to.
Here comes the ultimate use of Sayabot which can process data gathered from stakeholders’ conversations on digital media by processing them into structured insights. Jayakrishnan adds that the productivity that companies stand to gain by automating certain processes using humanoid robot will be seen in the days to come.
Robotics future
As the concentration of urban population increases, the need for fatigue-less and quality services skyrockets. There are many initiatives world-wide, particularly startups, aiming to tap this growing robotic market. The major share of this research is being done in developed countries like the US, European Union, Japan and South Korea. Many qualified Indian talents are also working in these firms.