A man in south India designed a robotic arm to help feed his disabled daughter, despite the father having no formal training in engineering and using YouTube videos for guidelines. <br /><br />Bipin Kadam, 43, a school dropout in Goa, Karnataka, has built a robot to feed his daughter, as seen in this footage from March 23. <br /><br />His 14-year-old daughter suffers from cerebral palsy and is dependent on others for all her tasks including eating. <br /><br />The robot, named ‘Maa robot’ or ‘Mother robot’, can hold a spoon with its arm, scoop up food from bowls and gently feed her. <br /><br />Bipin does not have formal training in engineering and could not study after 10th standard (around 14-years-old) as his poor family could not afford to pay for his education.<br /><br />He started working as a machine operator at a small manufacturing firm. He realised he was tech-savvy and learnt different skills - 3-D modelling, programming, animation and designing - on the job. <br /><br />He now works as a computer numerically controlled (CNC) operator and manages sophisticated machines in his firm. <br /><br />He decided to make a robot for his daughter as It would take a lot of time to feed her. “I also want her to be as independent as possible,” says Bipin. <br /><br />He had no idea how to build a robot, and being a poor man, who makes just Rs 20,000 (GBP £210) a month, he also had to find the cheapest way to do it. <br /><br />“I looked at at least 500 videos on YouTube and understood how robotics worked. I bought a few components like an Arduino USB board and a servo motor online, and designed the rest myself,” he says. <br /><br />Working every night for an hour after work, Bipin took four months to put the robot together and programme it. <br /><br />He has been using the robot since late 2018 to feed his daughter but in February this year, he made it public. <br /><br />He is now raising funds to develop his robot further, adding more functions and make it easier to use. <br /><br />“Many parents with disabled children can benefit from this robot. I would like to reach it to them,” he says.
