Now a ‘robotic’ welcome at Jaipur Wax Museum

Rajasthan's famous Jaipur Wax Museum, situated on the premises of the famous Nahargarh Fort on the Aravali Hills here, is all set to introduce a robot to welcome its visitors. Anoop Srivastava, the founder-director of the museum, said the robot will soon start welcoming visitors and give them information about the museum like a "well-trained guide". 

"I always wanted to introduce innovative features to the museum as it is very important to surprise and engage the audience. We live in a technology-driven world where everyone looks out for something new and different," he said. 

"We had been working on the 'robotic guide' concept for a year. The 5-feet-10-inches tall robot will communicate with people in English. But we will update the software to include Hindi language as well," Srivastava said, adding it is in the final phase of making. Talking about the functioning of the robot, the museum director said it would be able to rotate its head by 28 degrees and demonstrate to its visitors various exhibits with its hands. 

"We are also working on the advanced stages wherein the robot will be able to recognise faces, images and other robots. The 'smart' robots will welcome the visitors, sing songs and interact with them as well," Srivastava said.

He said there are also plans to fit a 7-inch TV screen on the chest of the robot which would reflect whatever it would be saying. The museum showcases wax and silicon statues of personalities like Maharana Pratap, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Mother Teresa, Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar and erstwhile Jaipur rulers, among others.