Kerala going nuts over attempt to develop palm-climbing robot

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At his make-shift innovation workshop at the nondescript village of Nenmara in Kerala's Palakkad district, Satheesh C, a young engineer, is in relentless pursuit of a gadget that can tackle Kerala's tallest challenge of the moment: To develop a robot to harvest coconuts, in the backdrop of a stinging dearth of coconut climbers.

Elsewhere in the state, several others are at work on the same problem: There's T Prakasan from Kozhikode, Babu G from Kollam, John Jose Pattery from Thrissur, and KR Rajan from Kochi, to name a few, all of who are in a race to take the Rs 1 million prize from the state government for a robotic device that will harvest coconuts.

Interest in the 'great coconut challenge' has been so intense that it has gripped the fancy of a few from outside the state as well. So there are innovators like SR Sankapal and Jagannath Raju from Bangalore who are also eyeing the million-rupee prize and a lot more moolah in future through commercial production of the successful palm-climbing robot.

The coconut challenge ignited the innovation bug among so many, that there were 468 who showed interest in developing a robot in the first round. "After primary assessment of the proposals, 109 were chosen and after further screening, we gave Rs 90,000 each to eight individuals whose proposals were rated the best", says Abdul Majeed, additional director of the state industries department.

The eight short-listed innovators and 13 others recently demonstrated their wares at the Kerala Agricultural University campus at Vellayani near here, where the results were not exactly found to be appropriate replacements for Kerala's traditional coconut climbers who have who have amazed locals and tourists with their nimble-footed work in going up and slithering down the majestic coconut palms.

But the innovators are in no mood to give up, and Satheesh in particular has his focus riveted on developing the gadget, for good reason. Satheesh, who completed his computer engineering from Thiruvanathapuram two years ago, runs a software development firm that employs two others at Kanjikode in Palakkad's industrial belt, and personally appreciates the need to replace human coconut climbers with robots.

"My father and grandfather have been climbing palms for years. It is a very strenuous job and my father has recently quit palm-climbing after some 30 years of work to take up contract jobs because palm-climbing is telling on his body", says Satheesh.

Satheesh's innovation did not make the grade at the recent competition at Vellayani but he is confident of solving the glitches. "It was a short circuit that caused the problem. My gadget features a remote controlled robot with a wireless camera to identify the nuts to be harvested, and an electric chain saw to do the cutting. During the competition round at Vellayani, an electric short circuit played havoc with the gadget, and I am sure of solving it soon", says he.

The coconut challenge concept is spearheaded by additional chief secretary for industries, T Balakrishnan, and the department has decided to offer a million rupees each to three successful innovators rather one winner as had been planned earlier. "We found three or four of the devices that were displayed to be suitable to our conditions. They need just a few finishing touches and our expert committee chaired by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre scientist Kothandaraman can give the innovators valuable suggestions before they go for commercial production", says Balakrishnan.

The coconut challenge holds positive implications for Kerala, one of which is that it gives an image makeover for the state by at least partly erasing the perception of Kerala being industry-unfriendly.

The other defining aspect is that the competition to develop a gadget that replaces human labour has thus far gone uncontested in a state where unions have opposed mechanization as each new gadget made its appearance. Computers were opposed for nearly two decades in Kerala, while tractors and harvesting machines are only grudgingly allowed even today.

When tractors, harvesting machines and earth movers came along, the labour employed in those jobs did not disappear, but stood by and watched profitably, coercing those who employed such machines to pay them 'nokku kooli', or a fee for 'observing' the work being done.

Whether coconut robot users will have to pay traditional climbers a nokku kooli is to be seen. Balakrishnan is optimistic on that front. "We have matured as a society. We have overcome the computer issue and the tractor issue, and we will overcome the coconut robot issue", says he.

For now, however, it is for techies like Satheesh to overcome the glitches in their robotic designs and come up with the perfect coconut robot, before the Kerala society engages itself in an all-encompassing debate about the coconut robot and social justice.

When the innovators demonstrated their gadgets at Vellayani, a few coconut climbers were among the crowd, looking on benignly. An approving nod from them is considered a mandatory ingredient if the coconut robot idea is not to fall with a thud in a state fiercely suspicious of mechanization.