The Hindu Business Line : IIIT-H developing code for robotic platform

A PROTOTYPE of a low-cost robotic platform for multiple applications being developed at the International Institute of Information Technology-Hyderabad (IIIT-H) could well be on course on one of the space missions of NASA and possibly the Indian space programme.

Researchers at the IIIT-H, in league with the Robotics Centre of the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), are developing the robotic platform that could possibly breach the current price barrier of $3,000 and come down to about $1,000.

While the Mecatronics design and the strip down version would come from Jet Propulsion Lab of NASA, the software for better interface would be developed by researchers at the IIIT-H, according to Mr Ajinkya Bhave of the CMU, now at IIIT-H.

"The very fact that the cost of this robotic platform could be brought down to about one third of the current costs, makes it an attractive proposition for multiple applications covering space, manufacturing and maintenance systems," he said.

Dr Raj Reddy, Head of Robotics Centre at CMU and the Chairman of IIIT-H, Governing Board, said that the laboratory has been recently established and has embarked on a programme to work on robotics that could support various space systems.

In addition to many strategic applications, security systems would be looked into.

Digital library may match Harvard's

THE digital library established at IIIT-H has digitised about 60,000 books and plans to complete about 10 lakh books by the end of 2005.

This would create a truly world class digital library and possibly match that of the Harvard University, Dr Reddy said.

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