- Tuesday, April 22, 2025
By: indiaweekly.biz Staff
THE South Indian state of Kerala’s moves to contain the cornonavirus outbreak have caught wide attention with two robots joining the ‘battle’.
Parliamentarian Shahsi Tharoor was among the first to tweet about the new recruits.
Robots dispensing sanitiser & #COVID2019 advice. In Kerala!! pic.twitter.com/TlBETlxXel
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 17, 2020
The interactive robots developed by Asimov Robotics, a startup, have been deployed at the Integrated Startup Complex in Kochi, where they offer hand sanitisers, face masks, and awareness videos and briefs to visitors.
They are even “programmed to regularly wipe the handlebars of the entrance door with a sanitiser”, said their makers.
The robots could soon be programmed to analyse people’s body temperatures and advise those with high temperatures to consult the health department, said Asimov Robotics CEO Jayakrishnan T.
“Once we equip the robots with thermal sensors, it will only take a week to reprogram the robots for the task,” he added.
The company said such robots, with additional features such as mobile phone sanitising, could be assembled in a couple of days if it gets “support from the authorities”.
Reports said the robots could be used at airports and railway stations.
Harnessing innovation for a healthier planet.
A lot of people have been sharing technology-driven solutions for COVID-19.
I would urge them to share them on @mygovindia. These efforts can help many. #IndiaFightsCorona https://t.co/qw79Kjtkv2
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 16, 2020
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged researchers, innovators and tech-lovers to rise to the occasion and ideate for a better planet.
