Scientists at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are developing a humanoid robot designed to assist in frontline military missions, reducing the risk to troops in high-risk environments, an official confirmed on Saturday.
The Research and Development Establishment (Engineers), a key laboratory under the DRDO, is working on a machine capable of performing complex tasks under direct human command. The project, now in its advanced development phase, aims to minimise troop exposure to danger in hostile terrains.
S.E. Talole, Group Director at the Centre for Systems and Technologies for Advanced Robotics within the R&DE (Engineers), said the team has been engaged in the project for four years.
“We’ve developed separate prototypes for the upper and lower body and have successfully achieved certain functions during internal trials,” he said, adding that the humanoid is intended to operate in challenging landscapes like jungles.
The robot was recently showcased at the National Workshop on Advanced Legged Robotics held in Pune. It is designed with three critical components: actuators for movement, sensors for real-time data collection, and control systems to interpret this information, allowing precise and responsive action.
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“One of the biggest challenges is ensuring the robot can carry out desired tasks smoothly, which requires mastering balance, rapid data processing, and ground-level execution,” Talole noted. Researchers are now focusing on these aspects as they push towards project completion by 2027.
Kiran Akella, a scientist leading the design team, highlighted the humanoid’s potential in high-risk operations. The robot’s upper body will feature lightweight arms with spherical revolute joint configurations, offering 24 degrees of freedom — seven in each arm, four in the gripper, and two in the head, enabling it to perform complex autonomous tasks such as closed-loop gripping and manipulating objects in hazardous environments.
DRDO officials said the bipedal humanoid will include advanced features like fall and push recovery, real-time map generation, autonomous navigation, and path planning through simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM), allowing it to carry out missions in unpredictable and dangerous conditions.
Both arms are designed to collaborate in safely handling hazardous materials, including mines, explosives, and dangerous liquids. The robot will be equipped with proprioceptive and exteroceptive sensors, data fusion capabilities, tactical sensing, and audio-visual perception, allowing seamless operations day or night, indoors or outdoors.
Despite the technological hurdles involved, the team is optimistic about meeting the 2027 timeline for a fully operational prototype capable of supporting the Indian armed forces in high-stakes missions.
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