Around 100 people gathered at a cheering zone near Churchgate station as the members of Salaam Bombay Foundation unveiled Armaan, a mascot of the Tata Mumbai Marathon. The robot was created by underprivileged children from the NGO.
According to a member from the NGO, Armaan was the first robot ever be a part of the Mumbai Marathon in any capacity. “A crew of eight students worked closely with an expert team from IndiaFIRST Robotics, a Pune-based robotics education company, to build a bionic arm that was then fitted onto the robot,” the member said.
A lot of participants stopped mid-way to shake hands with the mascot as its arms moved extremely precisely. “The robot uses motion sensors to make sure that the arm moves just the right amount,” the team member said.
Aditi Parikh, vice president, communications, Salaam Bombay Foundation said, “By teaching our students the basics of robotics, we have managed to open a whole new world of exciting opportunities that they wouldn’t have access to otherwise. None of these students have ever worked on a project like this before.”
‘Display of talent’
Ms. Parikh also said the robot was an example of the talents and skills underprivileged children from government schools can display if provided with appropriate opportunities.
Armaan also held a placard which read, ‘Skilling Young India For A Better Future’.
Salaam Bombay Foundation said it aimed at educating every child and empower children so that they could make correct choices about their health, education and livelihood.
