MUMBAI: Milagrow Robots founder & chairman Rajeev Karwal died of Covid-19 on Wednesday morning after he was on ventilator support for almost a week. He was known for his contribution to the Indian electronics and technology space.
Karwal-founded Milagrow Human tech has installed humanoid robots at dedicated Covid-19 wards. Designed the hospitality industry, the robot had been modified to suit the requirements of the healthcare sector. At a time when doctors and other health care staff at hospitals are at risk of contracting the lethal pathogen, Milagrow’s humanoid robots deployed at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and other hospitals in the country mitigated the hazard by performing contactless monitoring of the admitted Covid-positive patients and disinfecting and sanitising the Covid wards without human help.
It is truly tragic that while his robots are helping doctors win the battle against Covid-19, Karwal himself succumbed to the disease.
The man behind Made in India robots set up Milagrow in 2007 for management consultancy and by 2012 the company transitioned to making robots for residential and industrial use. Prior to this, he was known for his brand-building efforts at LG, ONIDA, Philips and Electrolux, where he became part of the senior management. He was known transforming LG Corp as their VP of sales and marketing. He also worked as the president and CEO of Reliance Digital for a year before he founded Milagrow.
As the novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across India, the demand for automated solutions across sectors is high. Milagrow had introduced four humanoid robots to cater to increased demand in the healthcare, hospitality and office management industry. The robots also perform the function of disinfecting and cleaning the Covid wards.
“This humanoid is specifically for the hospitality industry but when Covid-19 broke out and the reports started to come from Italy that almost 28 per cent to 30 per cent people in the healthcare sector were infected because of the proximity with the patients, then immediately our mind started to work, that how this robot can be used in actual infectious wards where distancing between the doctor and the patient is very important,” Rajeev Karwal had told ANI in April 2020.
