Child prodigy creates robot in record time

Hyderabad: A 12-year-old child prodigy has developed a humanoid robot which can respond to voice commands. It can remember commands like 'line following' programme to follow the marked path.

Fitted with the voice playback module, motor diver, receiver transmitter and fixed speaker, using arduino programming, this is a unique feat for a boy of his age for Mohammed Hassaan Ali, a Class 8 boy and resident of Malakpet. Ali developed the robot in a span of about 14 days. At present, it is being used by him as a 'serving robot.'

The innovation by the prodigy has proved that anyone can acquire technical knowledge and use a robot to help in one's daily chores. "The robot was made in about a fortnight with the expenses of around Rs 40,000. The robot works with the help of remote control and has the programming of voice and autonomous intelligence," said Mohammed Hassaan Ali.

Fame came his way at the age of 10

Speaking to The Hans India, Ali said that it all started when his father took him to a construction site when he was 10-years-old. His father was able to identify his talent after he calculated measurements at the construction site.

Later, the boy showed keenness and proficiency in Applied Science, with the help of online tutorials of computer programming and AutoCad. Sure of his expertise and with a passion to share the same with others, he decided to teach engineering students.

And, for the last two years, Ali has trained about 2,800 engineering students. Gaining mastery over his subject, more so with sharing his knowledge with people much older than him, Hassaan Ali is has taken to helping M Tech and B Tech students in their projects works. He has taken up the new responsibility just a 3 months ago.

The boy's grasp of the subject and penchant for learning new things constantly perplexes anyone who comes across him. Now, students from even top engineering colleges from the city visit him to clarify their doubts or learn rudiments or advanced topics in their subjects. Projects like Embedded Systems, Internet of Things (IOT), Robotics are being taught for free. In the last three months, Ali has worked on more than 100 projects and he is also running a Website:skillindiaalce.com to reach out to technical students at large.

Ali says that as many as 25 students from African nations including Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, Sudan, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana and South Africa who are pursuing their studies in the city are training under him.

Expertise prods him to make robot

While helping the students twice his age in emerging technologies like Robotics and Internet of Things, Ali was piqued by an idea as to why he should not make a robot himself. He shared his interest with his father Mohammed Sadiq Ali, a civil engineer. He broke the news that he wanted to make robot that can be operated with a remote and can accept voice commands.

The father-son duo went to purchase a small mannequin and some circuit board from a local market. The whole mannequin was later painted and stickers were pasted and a tray was fixed on its hands. A round tub was placed near legs, wherein circuits were placed and a total of 4 wheels were attached to it. Ali hit upon the idea of using motorbike battery to power his creation. After this, he mounted a voice playback module, motor diver, receiver transmitter and speaker, Arduino onto the robot. It was made to understand and follow 'line following' programming commands so it can follow marked lines. "In one full charge it can work for 8 hours," a beaming Ali said.

A robot that wishes

When switched on, the robot wishes you and asks, "What can I help you sir?" Through remote control, it can be used for serving the things it can hold. This robot works as a serving robot which can be used in hotels, restaurants etc, if it is incorporated with a high frequency sensor, he opines.

Mohammed Sadiq Ali said that Ali can perform better if he gets support from government or any NGO. "With their support, he can make an intelligent ground vehicle i.e., a driverless car which he dreams of these days. The equipment required for achieving this feat needs to be imported from abroad, and hence the need for help from government or NGOs," he added.