Arobot can change the world. It can make our lives easier. It can be an ‘extra something’ that changes the way we perceive things. ‘Robo-guy’ Balaji Lakshmanan spoke of the robots his world is made of — from his earliest robot ‘HuBo’ made during his college days to the humanoid he created for the movie Mugamoodi . Getting a robot to move its arms is extremely difficult. As human beings, we do it without conscious effort. “We don’t realise how cool our design is,” said Balaji. Robots can be used to provide affordable solutions for everyday problems. Balaji showed videos of how his team designed fingers for Tamilarasan, a security guard who lost three fingers in an accident. “We were really moved when he lifted a bottle using the fingers,” he said. “Honda cars are said to have a very good braking system,” said Balaji. But, did you know that this was an offshoot of a braking system designed for a humanoid?
