Robot Shalu

Robot Shalu is a social humanoid built by Dinesh Kunwar Patel, a computer science teacher at a Kendriya Vidyalaya school in India. Gulf News reported in March 2021 that he built it from recycled materials such as plastic, cardboard, wood and aluminium, over roughly three years and at a cost of about Rs 50,000. Wikipedia dates the first public showcase to a DD News broadcast in November 2020.

The robot is described as a social and educational humanoid. Press coverage says Shalu can recognize people, greet them, show emotions, read newspapers and recite recipes, and answer general-knowledge and maths questions. Reports credit it with nine Indian and 38 foreign languages; that figure comes from the creator and the press rather than from an independent test. Gulf News calls it a prototype and says its exterior was then plaster of paris, which Patel planned to replace with a mask.

Wikipedia also records that the project drew on the Indian film Robot and on Hanson Robotics' Sophia, that a speech at an automation expo in 2022 is among its appearances, and that work on a next version was under way. Sources differ on where Patel lives and works, with Mumbai and Jaunpur both mentioned. Most of the press coverage dates from 2020 to 2022.

No height, weight, sensor, actuator or price figures are published in the sources reviewed, so the spec table is left empty. The robot is recorded as a prototype, and there is no current independent confirmation that it is still in use.