Machine Man's passion for low-cost robots

Dr S R Pandian specialises in robotics and is one of the familiar names in the field. But he is different from many others as he believes that research should use available low-cost resources and still make significant impact on society.  

He describes himself as a bit of an electronics geek and claims he enjoyed devoting more time on machines during his schooling. What started as a childhood hobby led him to several inventions in robotics that got him recognition.

With the rapidly falling costs of electronic hardware, computers and free software in the recent years, Pandian advises students to “do it yourself” with tips from experts.

As high-tech resources are not easily available in the country, Pandian is interested in promoting low-cost open source hardware and free, open-source software among college and schoolteachers and students, so that education can become fun, innovative and inspiring. Most of the projects and technologies in his lab are built using open-source tools.

“Those days even a battery was costly,” he recollects his student days. Pandian,  fondly called“Machine Man”, has developed over 20 low-cost robotics, which could widely help the general public. 

After completing his master's in electrical engineering from IIT-Kanpur, Pandian obtained PhD from IIT-Delhi and at present he is the visiting faculty at the Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM)- Kancheepuram, which is fully funded by the Union Government.

The 55-year-old received wide recognition after he developed a prototype of automatic seesaw in 2003 when he was with the University of Michigan. He had put pneumatic cylinders under the seats of a seesaw and connected them to a small tank. Accordingly, as children went up and down, air is pumped through the cylinders, into the tank. “My invention was among The New York Times Magazine's Outstanding Ideas of 2003,” he said.

Pandian, who worked for about 10 years in Japan and the US, returned to teaching budding talents on robotics science, especially in his home state of Tamil Nadu. 

“I studied in a municipal high school in Erode district. My great inspiration are my teachers, who helped me to participate in several science exhibitions where I got  prizes,” Pandian said. That encouraged him to make up his mind to pursue engineering. 

“During that time I felt I can contribute not only to the betterment of the people but also students who want to make an impact in the field of engineering,” he said. 

Pandian's latest invention is a smart outdoor mobile robotic trash can to accompany schoolchildren during voluntary clean-up efforts. The device interacts with children under computer control and is fitted with an HD webcam, microphone and speakers. It also carries air quality monitoring sensors. “The air quality data monitored by the robot can be used to raise environmental literacy among children and the public,” he said. 

The project  will be presented at a major international conference in the US next month. In addition, the robot informs the public about the air pollution level (mainly particulate matter 2.5, carbon monoxide and the global warming gas carbon dioxide. Additional pollution sensors will be added in future.)

Recently, Pandian collaborated with his students, staff and scientists at the ICMR Centre for Research in Medical Entomology, Madurai, on the design and  development of low-cost smart mosquito trap device to control spread of diseases by readily available materials and components.

According to him, the low-cost device, which is equipped with webcam- type microscope and micro-computer to trap the mosquito, shoots the image of the mosquitoes and identifies the type. Unlike commercial and conventional trap machines the “smart” trap has a low-cost microcomputer and USB microscopes so that the trapped mosquitoes can be identified using image-processing software with stored template images of common mosquito species causing various diseases.

The top portion of the device has titanium dioxide coating and ultra-violet (UV) or LED light to attract mosquitoes, which get sucked in by a small fan to dehydrate it. “The data on mosquito counts, date and time are transmitted through Wi-Fi or GSM communication to a computer system with the public health authorities and researchers,” Pandian explained.

Stating that the device is designed using low-cost, off-the-shelf materials, he said the collected data can be accessed through a mobile application. “If the trap device is installed in schools and hospitals, the detailed data could be analysed to predict spread of mosquito-borne diseases,” Pandian said. He would obtain patent for all devices invented here.

Deep-sea exploration will soon be an option for archaeologists as Pandian has invented an underwater robot. “I always advise students to try and develop simple technologies for the pressing problems facing the poor,” he said.  Students should work in their free time on such research by using internet, which could provide vital information.

Pandian recently mentored student interns from an engineering college in Virudhunagar on building a small toy-like mobile robot with low-cost materials. Children can go online and race these robots in IIITDM Teaching Learning Centre in real-time over the Internet. 

Similar to playing online games, children can use virtual reality goggles, wireless game controllers, and even feel the rumble when the robots collide with each other or with the race track!

Pandian is working with a visiting Japanese student and his engineers on a low-cost, micro wind energy system that can be implemented by households in regions with rich wind energy potential.