Doha: Robots have been gaining importance in the fields like engineering and education and Robotic Engineer Prof. Prahlad Vadakeppat feels that by 2030, robots will also find a place at homes. Even he and his students are working on some of these kinds of robots. Vadakeppat said to Gulf Times that a host of robots would soon be available to assist doctors, at home and to care for the elderly.

According to Vadakeppat, many more interactive robots were being planned and they would become reality within the next five to 10 years and he and his students are building a number of robots. "Interactive robotic systems would be able to communicate and assist in homes and those with less mobility like the elderly would have robots on an assisted technical platform, which will be used to get them water, their medications and newspapers," he explained. He said that the human-like robots would be mass produced and would soon be available in China, India and Singapore. The prices of the robots vary depending on their specifications.

Recently, the Robotic Engineer showcased some of his robots at a technical seminar in Qatar on 'Advances in Robotics.' Two-foot humanoid robots that are fitted with camera and sensors, which can play football and also dance, were featured during the event. Another robot that has a re-configurable modular robotic system, which will make it possible to link two small robots to perform a function, was also featured during the seminar. "We are designing these robots for difficult tasks such as working inside a pipe by using the robot outside to manipulate the activities of the one inside," he said.

Vadakeppat mentioned that a new aspect of robotics called edutainment was also in the pipeline to attract more young people to robotic education. "To further draw young people to robotic engineering, we will be organizing a robotic world cup in Bangalore later this year and in Dubai in 2011," he said. The event will be organized by the Federation of International Robot- Soccer Association founded by Vadakeppat.