THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 29-year-old is making a name for himself by building a weeding machine using artificial intelligence (AI). Prince Mamman, a native of Kollam Edamon and a mechatronics engineer, has developed a baby robot called 'Gardro'. The Kowdiar-based venture is called Freeman Robotics. An AI app has also been developed for this purpose.
The robot can be controlled through the Gardro app on the phone. A toy car-looking robo with three wheels. The phone can be connected to the robot via Wi-Fi. The farm field can be seen on the phone through the camera attached to the front of the robot. The 'machine' can be moved by pressing the icons in the app. Stop the machine in the weedy area and press the 'cut' icon. With this, the blade mounted above the wheel at the front will come down. Weeds up to 10 cm in size will be uprooted. Larger ones will be chopped. Gardro can be used in home vegetable gardens and medium farms. The robot is being re-designed in such a way that it can collect and move the picked weeds. The battery-powered machine can run for one and a half hours on a single charge.
Childhood memory of farming as motivation
Prince Mamman, who used to work in a robotics company, was motivated by his childhood memories of farming with his father. The capital was five lakhs given by his brother Lins in the UK. In 2021, he resigned from his job and started the venture.
The composition of the machine was determined by testing the soil of the farms in collaboration with Vellayani Agricultural College. The first build failed. Again in June, he built a robot and weeded his vegetable garden at home. Gardro will be available in the market soon. Farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat reached out after hearing about the robot on social media. The size of the machine will be increased for them. There are four employees. Residence at Punalur, Kollam. Father TS Mamman, mother Molly Mamman.
