A robot for Rs. 15k: Courtesy Pulkit Gaur

An Indian engineering graduate, Pulkit Gaur, has developed a robot that can go underwater and clean water or chemical tanks. This project is developed by Gridbots, an entrepreneurial venture by Gaur, this low-cost robot will remove any sludge particles in water. “This compact machine has tracks fitted for movement. It has a drive system on the front side to which a brush mechanism is attached to scratch dirt from the tank walls. We are also considering using a filter,” said Gaur to Bangalore Mirror.

This robot is available for consumers as well. This robot is available at Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000, and is a consumer version of SaUsR, the robot that is already in use in medicine industries. These robots are targeted at those who make medicines. They employ them to prevent sludge formation in tanks. “SaUsR carries out underwater operations with ease and lets you use this robot as a sophisticated underwater cleaning unit. It has on-board intelligent electronics that lets it navigate in fully-autonomous mode. With a high resolution on-board camera having pan-tilt capabilities, it can spot even minutest details of your water/chemical tank,” said Gaur.

Pulkit Gaur

Gaur is a production and industrial engineer from MBM Engineering College in Jodhpur. He graduated in 2004 and since then has been pursuing his childhood passion. “I have been working on these robots since school days. Earlier, it was all about taking part in competitions. I soon realized robotics was in its nascent stage, and a lot can be built on it,” he said. His resume goes up to 17 pages and was appreciated by former President A P J Abdul Kalam for his efforts.

Gridbots was a start-up that took shape through his passion for robotics. “I wanted to start a venture that would come up with innovative products that run on intelligence. I wanted to do something more than the assembly of robots. It had to be a multi-purpose product for my client,” he said. Gridbots started two years ago in Ahmedabad and presently employs 15 people. It plans to recruit 35 more by this year-end.

Gaur already has many plans chalked out for his company. “We are working on developing defence robots, and also a surveillance robot that can be controlled via mobile or the Internet,” he added. Few of his other creations include an image- understanding technology and a consumer robot that does household chores.

Source: Siliconindia