NIT Rourkela Develops Indigenous AI Robot That Interacts Like Humans, Secures Patent

Rourkela : NIT Rourkela researchers have developed an indigenous AI-powered social robot capable of natural human-like interaction — including understanding spoken language, recognising emotions, and responding in real time. The institute has secured a patent (No. 574589) for this innovation.

The robot uses AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) to hold conversations beyond pre-coded answers, identify facial expressions (happy, neutral, sad), detect gestures like waving or raised hands, and reply with natural speech using Google TTS.

Designed for homes, schools, hospitals, offices, and community spaces, the robot offers an affordable price point of ₹80,000–90,000.

Published in Computers and Electrical Engineering (Elsevier), the research was led by Dr. Anup Nandy, Dr. Asim Kumar Naskar, and scholars Sougatamoy Biswas and Rahul Saw.

The robot is built on a wheel-based platform with obstacle avoidance and aims to support elderly care, classroom learning, and front-desk assistance. The team plans real-world pilot deployments and is seeking collaborators for commercialization.