More power to Tessa

What makes Tessa, the humanoid robot, special is that the students made her from scratch and not with the help of any robotic kit

Someone who drives past Siddhartha Central School in the quiet Pallimon village at the Kollam district of Kerala would guess that something big is happening there. For the past few weeks, people from various walks of life have been thronging the school premises, with one wish – to get a glimpse of Tessa!

Well, their latest celebrity Tessa is not student, but a humanoid robot built by the Robotics Club of the school. What makes Tessa special is that the students made her from scratch and not with the help of any robotic kit. The ‘genius robot’, as the kids call it, who would sing, walk, rotate head, narrate stories, answer queries and recognize voices was born in the school robotics lab. It took almost one year for the students to develop, programme and build a working prototype of the AI-powered 27-kg robot, for which they designed the body using thermocol, plaster of paris and fibre coating.

“Around 150 students from class 7^th and 8^th were involved in the process. They made use of their weekly hour-long robotics period and turned up at school during weekends and holidays to work on the robot. Their enthusiasm and fascination were epidemic; the teachers too were very encouraging,” says Sam, the system administrator of the school, who guided the Robotics Club along with staff of Techosa Innovations, a robotics firm.

Tessa, built on Google Cloud database, can understand natural speech and can reply to any query. She can speak, sing and being sensor-enabled, move autonomously without hitting any object on the path. Bluetooth-controlled and enabled with gesture interaction, Tessa looks at the person who talks to her and can rotate her head to the direction of sound, reciprocating to calls and conversations.

“She is an assistant to us. She can rotate her head in 180 degrees and answer any query,” says Devananda, a seventh-grader, who is part of the robotics team, and explains the future plans, “Tessa will be our school’s main attraction. After updating her with face recognition, she will be placed at the school gate welcoming the visitors and identifying the faces of parents and guardians of the students. We are also updating her with home automation so that she can control the lights, fans and electrical system of the school, switching off anything that’s left on by mistake. As of now, Tessa has no arms, so we will first give her arms.”

The students will add surveillance mechanism to Tessa, who will also be the school receptionist who can offer the visitors a guided tour of the institution. Reciting the prayer and national anthem, she will soon grace the school assemblies and be an assistant to the sweepers by helping with cleaning.

School principal Sunitha Kumari is wowed by the students’ dedication. “They used to forgo their PT hours and holidays to work on Tessa. This was also a revelation for us that education can be fun too,” she adds.

It has been two years since robotics was added to the school curriculum with an aim to encourage lessons on technological advancement in artificial intelligence and automation. “We started with basic electronics in class V and progressed to programming concepts as the students reached class VII. We want the children to bring output through hardware. It was during a summer camp that they came up with the idea of Tessa after they were introduced to the semi-humanoid Pepper robot. Guided by their instructors, principal, parents and the management, who raised funds for the project, the students, armed by determination and passion, worked hard to make Tessa. Barring a little help with programming, everything else was done by the students themselves,” recalls Sam. The robot was built at the cost of Rs 2 lakhs.

It was proud day for the whole school when Tessa was unveiled in collaboration with the promotion of the Malayalam movie Android Kunjappan V 5.25 which narrates the story of a man who grows attached to the robot which takes care of him. Devika Praseeth, a seventh-grader from the Robotics Club remembers the day vividly, “I have never seen such a huge crowd. We were both excited and worried, but everything went well and Tessa was amazing. We are proud to be part of the glory Tessa brought to our school.”

A team of 12 students are taking the glory farther by accompanying Tessa to an international robotic conference in New Delhi. Once back to school, Tessa would be actively clearing doubts, assisting academic and manual works, doubling up as cleaning staff, guard and receptionist and above all, inspiring students to become ambitious. Ask if she would replace the teacher, Sam laughs, “No, even among robots, there’s no substitute for a teacher.” The students too would agree with him.

Published in Deccan Herald on December 22, 2019

Allure of aurora

Geethu Mohandas is all set to become the first Indian woman to ever participate in the adventurous sub-zero Fjällräven Polar expedition in April

An Indian by birth and global by spirit’ is how Geethu Mohandas describes herself. The 28-year-old Keralitea an electronics engineer at a firm in Bengaluru, is all set to become the first Indian woman to ever participate in the adventurous sub-zero Fjällräven Polar expedition, if all goes well. The annual expedition to the 300-km Arctic wilderness is open to just 20 chosen travellers across the globe every year. 

“So far, there have been just two Indians who have gone on the expedition. I would be the third, and the first woman, if I am lucky,” says an excited Geethu, who is counting on the Fjällräven Polar online voting which is her ticket to see the Northern lights! 

“Witnessing the spectacular aurora borealis (the bright dancing lights in multiple colours seen above the northern and southern hemispheres), like any travel buff, is my dream too. I would consider lucky if I won and luckier if I could inspire more women to apply for the expedition next year,” she says.

Geethu has been travelling for several years now, starting with the school nature camps she has been part of as a teen. Staying in Forest Department dormitories and experiencing the warmth of nature, the passion grew with her and when she got a job, she started living her dream. Having lost count of her trips, she puts it as ‘I go trekking almost every weekend.’ Sometimes solo, sometimes with her husband Prasad Aadish and at times, with her buddies. A founder of the travel group Let’s go for a Camp, which promotes responsible tourism, Geethu believes that any journey should have a purpose. As part of the motto, she and her friends explore a place not just geographically but along with its culture, history and traditions by giving back to the people the happiness they experienced. 

“Wherever we go, we practise sustainable lifestyle and eco-friendliness. It’s not just sight-seeing. We believe in making a difference to the lives of people there. Tourism makes sense only if we explore places without upsetting the native people’s lives, nature or practices,” she stresses.

In the past four years, Let’s go for a Camp has organised 95 group journeys, thrice outside the country, every time to lesser-explored places. During the journeys, they practise and promote sustainable practices like use of menstrual cups, seed pens and green initiatives. 

“We conduct research on the historical, geographical and cultural significance of the places and while there, stay with the people, experiencing their lives, culture and cuisine, wear their traditional clothing and pay for it all.” As part of promoting employment for rural womenfolk, last April, a 15-member all-woman group comprising students, doctors, homemakers, teachers, IT professionals and lawyers from all age groups went to the Ladakh villages of Thakmachik, Choklamsar, Thiya and Mann, where they did a trial of the idea. “It was a great experience, for both them and us. We grew so close that parting was an emotional moment,” recalls Geethu, who, along with her Ladakhi friend Dolma, is planning a bigger exercise next year by taking more baches to the Ladakh villages from April to July when the climate is favourable.  

Applying for the Fjällräven Polar expedition is also an act of ‘responsibility’ for Geethu. “I noticed that women do not apply for it. May be because it is considered one of the most adventurous trips on the planet. I wanted to break the myth. So as a preparation I led a 19-member crew, 12 of them women, to the Chadar trek, where we had to survive minus 15 to minus 30 degree temperature and cross the entirely frozen Zanskar river in the harsh winter. We spent 10 days without water. It was an amazing endurance test. That was when I knew that cold meant pain,” she laughs.

Confident about Polar expedition, she is now keeping her fingers crossed. “With the required physical fitness and confidence, I am sure that I can do it. The voting is on for another 20 days and I am at the fourth position now. No worries even if I don’t win. I am sure that next year more women would apply. Being an inspiration itself is a victory.”

Published in Deccan Herald on December 1, 2019