NIT Jamshedpur focusing on robotics as world looks to reduce personal contact

NIT Jamshedpur is organising on online workshop on robotics and artificial intelligence, with students and faculty members from various technical universities taking part. The faculty at the institute feel that as the world looks to reduce personal contact post the pandemic, robots will be extremely useful in doing jobs, which would have put humans at risk of the disease.

Jamshedpur (Jharkhand):Identifying that nations across the globe are looking for options to reduce human-to-human contact as much as possible in the post coronavirus world, the National Institute of Technology in Jamshedpur is conducting an online workshop in artificial intelligence and robotics.

In a bid to understand various areas where robots can replace human service, the institute is organising the workshop under 'Atal' - the online training and learning programme of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Faculties and students from various technical varsities across India have been participating in the programme, including those from IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, and other NITs.

"With all physical movement shut owing to the situation, we started the online programme. We have been inviting around 200 participants so that they can upgrade their knowledge and take benefit," said Prof Prabha Chand, Dean, Faculty Welfare, NIT Jamshedpur.

The institute's director, Prof. K.K. Shukla, said that in the post-pandemic world, when focus will be on reducing personal contact, the field of robotics will be the relevant answer.

He said that with many healthcare workers contracting the disease, robots could replace them and deliver food and medicines to patients.

However, he added that the application is not limited to only the health sector, as robots can prove to be effective in various other fields - like serving food at restaurants or screening people.

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Echoing similar views, Dr. Vijay Dalla, the programme coordinator at the institute, said that robots would hold the key to the future, as they can do jobs that human cannot.

"Earlier, people used to be averse to the idea of robots as they thought employment opportunities for human would reduce. But the truth is that robots can help us increase our capabilities and capacity," he said.

"Robots can work at places where humans cannot. Especially during a pandemic, when we want to reduce personal contact, robots will prove extremely helpful," he added.

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