Meet Jasper, first thirst-quenching robot in Mumbai

By Aftab Shaikh

Taxi driver Hemant Kumar was taken completely by surprise on Thursday when he was served water on a pavement on New Link Road in Andheri by a robot that looked cooler than the water bottles it stocks. Besides Kumar, several other passers-by were introduced to Jasper and its teenage makers on a scorching afternoon. Six-wheeled, with a neck and a head that has cool blue LED eyes, Jasper has been developed by a group of eight teenagers who trained at the SP Robotics Makers Lab in Andheri. Though it’s easy to use – just press ‘open’ on the 3X3 feet cubical bot and pick a bottle – it wasn’t that easy to make.

Khushi Chaudhry, Disha Bharwada, Ishaan Kamath, Siddhant Ray, Adith Gandhi, Aditya Goyal, Husepas Marfatia and Mudit Jain, all aged between 12 and 15 years, took a month to develop Jasper at a hobby robotics class. The group heard about the lab on social media and were inspired by a world-famous delivery robot. Mentored by Anand Mathuria of SP Robotics, which has 75 centres across the country, the group plans to take Jasper all over Mumbai.

“You may have heard about a delivery bot in America. Gone are those days when latest technology implemented in the US came here after several years. Our students decided to do something right here, right now,” Mathuria told Mirror.

As for Jasper, it’s controlled from an android app developed by the students and has a capacity to distribute 50 water bottles at a time. The students carry it to a busy location, sit in a corner and operate it. The robot has voice modulation system which suggests that passers-by should stay hydrated.

“We learned about robotic concepts, Bluetooth configuration and coding at the centre and utilised our learning to develop a welfare robot,” Aditya Goyal, a 13-year-old student said. The students are simultaneously researching how to automate the robot by enabling ultrasonic sensor, GPS, attached camera, and Internet of Things (IoT) system.



Thane to get traffic bot

Meanwhile, Thane and Pune will become the first two places in India to get a traffic-assistance robot. As reported last month by Pune Mirror, the traffic police will soon introduce ‘Roadeo’ that will function as a quasi-traffic policeman and caution commuters about traffic rules and offences. A brainchild of SP Robotics Makers Lab, the project has been developed by six school-going children.