Anushka is the latest example of the enduring frugal innovation seen in Indian engineering colleges like KIET.
When most science fiction fans think of humanoid robots, they usually imagine something from an Isaac Asimov story or a horribly lifelike construct like Dolores from the television show Westworld. With the rise of generative AI and current social robots such as Sophia built by Hanson Robotics, a future with fully realized robots does not appear remote. However, the route to this reality can be equally exciting.
That’s why it was difficult for me to pass up the opportunity to engage with a humanoid robot developed in a small lab on an engineering college campus in India’s heartland.
I was both happy and mindful about meeting Anushka, the humanoid robot created by a team of students and professors at the Krishna Institute of Engineering and Technology (KIET) in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Anushka’s current version is largely intended to greet visitors and deliver pertinent information in response to their inquiries. However, Anushka’s inventors envision her as more than a robot receptionist, with possible applications in healthcare and consulting.
Anushka caused a bit of a splash in the media when she was originally introduced in March 2024, as she appears to be the first humanoid robot with autonomous movement developed in north India. The allegation that she was constructed using Vedic principles also managed to raise a few eyebrows.
As I walked into the lab, I saw Anushka attached to a monitor next to a table covered in 3D printed components and microcontrollers. The robot was created on a budget of Rs 2 lakh, according to Dr. Manoj Goel, joint director of KIET. This is a small amount of the Rs 7-8 crore often required to make humanoid robots. He informed me that some parts were even obtained from a nearby landfill.
Anushka’s flexible silicone skin was created by Madame Tussauds in India, while parts of her face are 3D printed. Notably, generative AI was used to further enhance her facial characteristics, which were modeled after those of a deceased French royal. It took around a year and a half to finish the full job.
The master-slave hierarchy
Anushka can mimic human actions thanks to the underlying technology, which uses a master-slave architecture. An i7 CPU serves as the brain, controlling a network of servo motors and microcontrollers to move her hands, neck, mouth, eyes, and other body parts.
Anushka responds to questions precisely by using natural language processing (NLP). A microphone hidden behind her necklace records her voice orders, which are then translated into digital impulses. The robot processes the NLP-translated meaningful data using a Python program, and then retrieves the necessary information from a 500 terabyte database that OpenAI, the startup that created the AI chatbot ChatGPT, has bought.
Anushka uses artificial intelligence when she selects the data from OpenAI’s extensive Python library to use, matches words with certain data, and determines how to reciprocate. According to the team, the humanoid was created in a “positive manner,” which was evident in her responses regarding the negative consequences of war.
Additionally, the humanoid has computer vision that has been trained to recognize faces. Anushka can now identify an individual ten meters away from her thanks to a high-definition, 30-megapixel webcam. The team did note that it could take the robot two or three sessions to correctly identify someone as someone she had met previously.
Autonomy in humanoid robots
Since Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) has not yet been attained, humanoid robots like as Anushka cannot be truly said to be self-aware. However, that does not imply that she is not intelligent at all.
“Here, artificial intelligence functions in four stages: listening, observing and comprehending your image through computer vision, utilizing natural language processing to converse with you in the third stage, and finally, commanding the servo motors to operate in unison. The team stated that each degree of intelligence is essential because when combined, they guarantee that everything runs properly.
I had an odd interview experience with the social robot, which was made worse by her quick head motions and darting glances. But Anushka’s speech was insightful, incisive, and free of any obvious hallucinations. Ultimately, what made my experience with a humanoid stand out was something that other people have experienced as well: it is hard to think of robots like Anushka as lifeless because they frequently have an strange but obvious existence.
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The ‘Uncanny Valley’ effect
Creating realistic-looking humanoid robots surely presents a number of technical problems for scientists and engineers. But the uncanny valley presents an ethical conundrum that they could have to face. The unsettling sensation you get when you encounter a robot that almost exactly resembles a human is known as the “uncanny valley.” Gizmodo reported that the term was first used to describe the decrease in viewer likability that occurred whenever a humanoid robot or computer-generated character appeared on screen.
Because of her enhanced humanoids’ expressiveness, Sophia may find herself in an uncanny valley where she virtually seems human. This could damage the credibility of actual people and defeat the goal of social robots. Theoretically, movies or photos of individuals produced by AI may potentially provoke the same disturbing, spooky experience.
I am Swapnil Duphare , Owner of Website : SpeedTestsWifi – I am Digital Marketer from last 6 Years and Write Blog Articles based on Internet and Speed Testing tool websites.
I am From Nashik, Maharashtra, India.