Abhishek will be conferred a gold medal for his thesis during AKTU’s convocation

LUCKNOW: Can you imagine a ‘Swarm’ of robots performing rescue operations during disasters, like landslides and earthquakes, and other similar activities requiring skill and precision?

You may have seen such visuals in sci-fi movies but it may soon become a reality.

Abhishek Kaushal, an MTech (Mechatronics) student at the Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS) – a constituent institute of Dr APJ Kalam Abdul Kalam Technical University – is developing an advanced ‘swarm robotics system’ in which multiple robots and drones can work like a swarms of bees.

The research work, titled ‘Development of swarm robotic system and its application’ won him a gold medal for the best thesis which will be awarded to him during the 18th convocation of AKTU to be held on Saturday. “I have made four robots and carrying out research on ‘Swarm robotics’, a technology in which multiple robots collectively solve problems by forming advantageous structures and behaviours similar to the ones observed in natural systems, such as swarm of bees, birds or fish,” says Kaushal, a research scholar at CAS.

“My research work is focused on developing swarm robotics for search and exploration in case of a natural disaster. As they are small, robots and drones can go under rubble or confined spaces to locate people and give their exact location so that they can be rescued,” he adds.

Swarm robotic technology has been adopted by developed countries and is used for mapping timberlands in New Jersey, USA.

“The technology can be used for disaster management, resource exploration, surveillance services and others where small robots are required,” he says.