Feedback from primary school children is an integral part of Haksh-E’s development, and with that as part of the co-design process, an AI prototype for recognizing handwashing actions evolved. Toycathon is an inter-ministerial initiative hosted by the Innovation Cell in India’s Ministry of Education. In the 2021-22 season, it selected the idea for Haksh-E as a national finalist.

The design team consists of members from diverse backgrounds. Sreejith Sasidharan and Pranav Prabha are researchers at AMMACHI Labs who co-designed Haksh-E with the children. They also developed and built a handwashing action recognition system into the robot to determine the quality of handwashing.

Devasena Pasupuleti and Anand M Das are M-Tech Robotics & Automation students at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and doing their university internships at AMMACHI Labs. They worked on a game-based interaction between the children and the robot, which contributed to the children’s acceptance of Haksh-E.

Rajesh Sharma and Gayathri Manikutty are the mentors for the team. Rajesh Sharma is Vice President of Engineering Spire Animation Studio, USA, and Gayathri Manikutty is a social innovator and social robotics researcher with AMMACHI Labs.

Read the full article on India AI, an initiative by the Govt of India to develop a socially positive framework with best practices for AI development.

Photo 1: Haksh-E’s design team.