With Kerala conducting its local body elections in Thrikkakkara Municipality, Ernakulam the voters found amidst them a robot at the very entrance of the polling booth.
The robot called Sayabot was placed there to check the temperature of all those coming in to vote and providing them with sanitizer. It was really an eye turner accessory at the booth because it not only checked temperatures but also reminded people to follow solid covid-19 norms, wear masks, maintain social distance, and if it found anyone with a slightly higher temperature it made a loud announcement and asked the officers present to inform the polling officer regarding the person. The robot was installed to provide sanitizer to those who forgot their own, there are speculations that if the robot turns out to be a great success it can be installed in other areas also. “Perhaps, this is the first a robot is being deployed in a polling booth in the country. It is doing its job perfectly. It enforced discipline and distancing in style.
The robot is a brilliant idea by a Kochi based start-up firm Asimov robotics. “We are making a multi-purpose humanoid service robot, called Sayabot. It is a versatile robot that can be customised to perform assigned tasks with precision and accuracy,” said CEO of Asimov Robotics T Jayakrishnan. When the administration approached the firm for an invention like this it was then when the firm started the project. It has till now been installed in banks, education and hospitality sectors in the state and outside. It is the first time something like this has been installed in the country. The robot also has a system of greeting people and reminds them of the norms very politely. There were markings made for people to stand on at safe distances from one other as they queued up for elections. The fact that even the elderly women wore masks along with all those who were present there shows how much people of the state are respecting the norms laid by the government.
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