Banking on robots a reality soon

If the government springs any more demonetisation-like surprises in the future, banks just might be better equipped to deal with it with a higher degree of automation and artificial intelligence. Not the Goddess of wealth, but an aptly-named two-feet-tall humanoid robot that can answer any query related to banking transactions, account balance or interest rate. Developed by the Coimbatore-based Vishnu Engineering, the robot is designed to provide information to customers and answer their related queries. "Usually when a customer enters a bank and goes to the'may I help you' counter, a set of questions take care of most customers' requirements. So the fundamental concept behind the robot is to answer all those questions," says N Kamakodi, MD & CEO, City Union Bank.