RoboVerse VR: School kid sisters leave visitors spellbound with flood-related robots

Kochi: Every visitor to RoboVerse VR, organised by Manorama Online in association with Jain University, pauses for some time at a particular stall with two robots. There are two reasons for their interest in the exhibits. Firstly, residents of Kerala – who have experienced massive floods in 2018 - can relate to the two robots as one is designed to save people during floods without human intervention and the other can remove silt, mud and garbage that accumulates after water recedes. The second attraction of the stall is that both the robots are the creations of two school students who are also sisters.

While Cathleen Marie Jeeson is a class 7 student, her sibling Clare Marie Jeeson is in class 4 at Holy Grace Academy, Mala in Thrissur. The siblings eagerly explained their efforts behind building the robots to the visitors, who were left amazed at the creations.

“Several people lost their lives in the floods of 2018. Even though rescuers saved many of those trapped in the flood waters, they could not reach some places on time. Similarly, the cleaning process after the floods was extremely difficult. In fact, the damage caused by the floods is still visible in certain areas of the state,” said the siblings.

“We designed the two robots as a solution to these issues. The first robot – Aqua Rescue Raft 1.0 – can be used for rescue missions during floods. Our second creation – Trashbot 3.0 – is for cleaning the affected areas after the floods,” said Cathleen and Clare with pride.

Apart from rescuing people, Aqua Rescue Raft 1.0 can check water and air quality and detect the presence of electricity in water. It has a camera that can capture and transmit images. A GPS system is also enabled.

The sisters are being trained in robotics by Akhila Gogas and Dixon of Unique World Robotics, which is offering technical support to RoboVerse VR. Cathleen and Clare said that the ideas for creating the robots are their own. “After we present our purpose for a new robot, the professionals teach us how to build it,” the siblings said.

“We will be taking Aqua Rescue Raft 1.0 and Trashbot 3.0 to World Robotic Olympiad,” said the sisters, who have won a number of international awards in robotics.

RoboVerse VR, which presents cutting-edge technologies in robotics, Artificial Intelligence and virtual reality, will conclude on June 17. The visiting time at the expo, which is taking place at Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Kadavanthra in Kochi, is from 10 am to 10 pm.

A host of celebrities have visited the expo, apart from people of all ages. From the cinema field, the visitors included Asif Ali and family, Babu Antony, Anarkali Marikar, Gowri Nanda, Gokul Suresh, Ashkar Soudan, T S Suresh Babu and Arun Chandu. The favourite stalls for children at the expo are Robowar and robo dog that dances with music. Stalls where visitors can learn how to fly drones; planetariums and virtual reality game zone are among the other big attractions at the event.

Entry to RoboVerse VR is by pass. Tickets are available from the website www.roboversexpo.com and at the expo counter.