BW Communities

The Bot Protocol

BW Online Bureau Nov 08, 2014

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[Robotic technology has been around for some time now, it has helped Indian companies in industrial units for welding, cleaning and transportation but the technology now will be seen in domestic front as well. Consumer durable major LG Electronics and a fairly new entrant in the consumer durable space Milagrow HumanTech have come out with domestic robots for doing everyday chores like cleaning, vacuuming. Currently there exists no market for domestic robotics in India and these products are first of its kind that is being made available in the market. However, the vacuum cleaner market has always existed in India. In 2011 about 400,000 units of domestic vacuum cleaners were sold in India. Globally, the robotic vacuum cleaner market is growing at a very fast pace. "In the US, out of all the vacuum cleaners sold last years, 25 per cent were robotic vacuum cleaners," says Rajeev Karwal Founder and CEO, Milagrow. While Milagrow is targeting to sell 10,000-15,000 units this year, for LG this is just an exercise to enter the new premium category and to showcase the new high-end technology. "The basic objective is to create a premium image in the Home Appliances category,  and to bring in the latest technology in every segment," says Y.V.Verma, Director, Home Appliances, LG India. LG ‘s robotic vacuum cleaner Hom-Bot, which comes in at a price of Rs Rs.43,990, does cleaning and moping by its two cameras on both top and bottom of the body. Milagrow has come out with three different products and are ranged between Rs. 9,990 and Rs. 16,990. "By 2015 we expect to grow the Indian market to about 100,000 units," says Karwal. These robots can clean without anyone's presence and even returns to the base to recharge itself when necessary.