Rush: technological leap into future

Lahiru Sanjeeva Fernando

Controlling software

Sonar Sensor System

Touch Your Future, a competition on Skills Innovations and Educational Exhibition, was conducted at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) recently under the patronage of the Youth Affairs and Skills Development Ministry. Visitors who strolled through the premises witnessed a number of striking inventions done by Sri Lankan youth.

Our focus was soon drawn to a fine invention which can no doubt be the answer to the monitoring and communicating problems in a company in the local setup. A major issue which some company employers have is that they do not have a proper monitoring system. The improper monitoring system of a company is advantageous to some employees who fail to perform their duties. This has a great impact on the development of a company and may even lead to bankruptcy if the company would fail to achieve its targets. Imagine that you are an owner of a company. You need to fly abroad for a conference.

What are the procedures you take to monitor your company?

The general method is to call to the General Manager and inquire about the turn of events. You may dictate terms over the telephone but you do not see what is taking place in office. You are left in the dark till your return. You are able to witness the results only after your return back to office.

Rush’s wheels

Robot Rush

Young researcher Manoj Chanuka Senevirathna has noted this problem. He has dug deep into the problematic areas of this subject and come up with an innovative approach to solving this matter using the latest technology. This is how ‘Rush’ was born.

Rush is a robot which is build and developed by using electronic and advanced Java technology. It comprises a number of features that human beings possess.

Rush’s features

Rush has wheels instead of legs. It can move in any direction. The wheels are designed to reverse and turn. The speed too can be controlled. Rush has arms that can move.

The robot’s head can rotate 360 degrees. A camera is installed in the head instead of eyes. It gives a live broadcast of what is taking place in the robot’s surroundings.

Rush has the capability to detect faces too. There is also a reverse camera to capture the view when the robot reverses. It can recognize voices and process the commands that it is given according to the identified voices.

In addition to these features Rush can understand text messages as well. Powered with a sonar sensor system Rush has the ability to avoid accidents while moving.

Controlling device

A special software is designed to manipulate Rush. The user who controls the robot needs to install this control software into his or her computer. The robot can be

controlled remotely through Internet by using this software.

There is a unit installed in the robot to identify and exchange the data between the remote computer and the robot via Internet.

Rush’s owner can move the robot to any location in a company by using this software.

He or she can also rotate its head and view what he or she wants. The face detecting system helps to identify the person. It gives the information to the user by checking the records against the main system which is relevant to the identified face.

The robot has speakers which act as a mouthpiece for the user so that he or she will have no problem giving first hand instructions to the person near the robot. The microphone installed in Rush absorbs sounds and filters it for the user. This is done through the Internet and in only a matter of seconds it gives the real picture of the situation to the user.

The user can also send a text command to Rush. Then the robot will proceed with its actions according to the text message.

Economical value

Rush is a valuable find for a busy organization or company which employs thousands of people. The robot can be used to monitor giant apparel industries and manufacturing plants. This artificial unit can represent the owner or any other top notch even if he or she is not at the location. The company owner can also monitor the company proceedings in real time accurately. This is a bonus point since a problem can be fixed at that moment without any postponements.

Future of Rush

Manoj and his team at JAVA Research Center have come across this find after many experiments. They have gone through a lot of research material to develop the device. They intend to upgrade Rush step by step to a higher standard. They have even developed a mechanism to maintain the connection between the robot and user in case connectivity problems arise.

The robot will then switch to self driven mode and process the data according to the given commands. They are now involved in developing the brain of the robot. After this the robot will be able to think on its own according to the commands installed in its system.

Technology has taken a leap into the future with Rush. Do not be surprised if you see robots working in offices instead of human beings in the coming years.

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