H ave you ever wished to see a robot anchoring a television show? Rejoice, for Kidobotikz, the Chennai-based robotics training institute, has made this a reality. Called Chitti, the cute little robot developed by Kidobotikz, is a co-host of Vijay TV’s quiz show, Little Genius 2.0.
“We were brainstorming with the producers of the show and wanted to do something different,” said Sneha Priya, co-founder and CEO of Kidobotikz. “Finally, we decided to build a robot, which would be a one-of-a-kind co-host.”
In the show, Chitti’s role is to indicate which team answers correctly. He also encourages participants and helps them relax by passing various comments, sarcastic remarks, and emoting through different gestures. “He is the centre of attraction and kids look towards him to check if their answers are correct. He conveys this by moving towards the team that got it right. He also declares the winner,” explained Sneha.
“It took us a month to build Chitti. He is a wheel robot and can move around freely.
His shoulder and elbow structure has been replicated from humans. But, for a wrist, there’s just a gripper,” said Sneha. Chitti can blink his eyes, which makes him more human-like. He talks to people too, by shaking and swinging his head and arms.
Inspiration
Learning robotics can be a lot of fun, and this is the message the Kidobotikz team wants to convey through Chitti. Learning robotics helps in developing various skills. “For people who do not know about this field, these small robots can be an inspiration to kickstart something innovative,” says Sneha.
Youngsters can also take part in the Chitti challenge to test their knowledge. “If they have seen the show and know the basics of robotics, they will be able to answer the questions. We are also sending out posters to schools to explain the technicalities of Chitti, so that they can understand the seriousness of the process.
