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Exclusive Interview with Lov Panthi: Top 6 Finalist of Wai Wai Glocal Teen Hero 2019

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A 15-year-old, Lov Panthi is a talented innovator from Butwal, Rupandehi who makes humanoid robots along with his twin brother Kush Panthi. Lov has caused a stir in humanoid robotics field of Nepal as he had been interested in robotics since childhood. He is one of the Top 6 Finalist of Glocal Teen Hero 2019.

He shared some words to Glocal Khabar during an exclusive interview after the Glocal Teen Hero event. The major highlights of the interview are given below:

Glocal Khabar: Can you share about your journey as Top 6 Finalist. What do you recall the most? What were the learnings?

Lov: I was the youngest among the finalist and I felt glad to be selected as one of the Top 6 finalist of Glocal Teen Hero. Since, my field of work is innovation, I got to learn many things from Samir and Bikram brother because even to make a robot, tech ideas and learning programming and programming is quite essential. And moreover, everybody who were one step behind the title were deserving and I learnt many things from them. Likewise, the motivational session given to us enlightened me and I realized I have lots of potential. Something that inspired me was when we visited different corporate houses. I learnt, if the management is amazing, success is obvious. “Self-Confidence”- I especially highlighted this word because throughout the trainings, upon visiting corporate house, manufacture plant I realized Self-Confidence develops Self-esteem that will lead business further. Not just the business but is necessary in every field to achieve success. I also enjoyed every motivational session and my GTH journey was full of amazing memories.

And both the events Glocal Teen Hero, Glocal International Teen Conference were best, and I was able to interact with the national and international delegates. The networking session and panel discussion was amazing, and I got knowledge about entrepreneurship, empowerment and socio-perspective aspect. Lastly, the day spent on cozy with fellow finalist was an incredible experience.

 Glocal Khabar: How did your journey as an Innovator start? What kind of challenges did you face on your way?

Lov: Before, we had no idea what Robot is. But after watching the Rajnikanth movie ‘Robot’, I developed a deep interest on robotics. I started to research how Robots are made. Me and my twin brother decided to explore the field of robotics. This curiosity and our excitement led us to make simple and small-scale remote-controlled robots. My entire concern was about how to make a robot which can talk. I used to continuously research on it and watch pictures and videos about Robot itself. I made simple remote-control cars.

After some tinkering, I felt the need to learn programming language to make advanced robots. I learned programming via internet and started to wonder about the possibility of speech and language in humanoid robots. I tirelessly researched on this matter and successfully built an automated humanoid robot called ‘Go Go’ when we were in class 9. This robot can shake hands and perform tasks like switching lights on or off, lifting small objects and even uploading pictures on social sites. I believe Robots can help humans in so many little ways and make our lives easier.

After 2 years of research, I made a robot which can translate Nepali language and respond in Nepali language as well. My brother and I made this robot with an aim of helping Nepali household. People can easily communicate in their native language with the robot.  I believe that tech enthusiasts have faced many problems in Nepal. Because of lack of necessary resources, I couldn’t get hold of machines I wished for.

I think AI and robotics can speed up the development process and have many prospects. For instance, they can be used in hospitals to assist patients and can also be a good alternative to secure our houses. People can focus on more productive work as robots can perform the tasks that are deemed to be monotonous for humans.

Glocal Khabar: What is your future plan after GTH 2019? What will you be working on?

Lov: Currently I am studying Science in +2, I want to pursue engineering in Pulchowk Campus of Nepal. I want to contribute in the robotics field always because it’s my passion and I strongly believe I can do a lot. I aspire to be a robotics engineer in the future and make people’s lives easier. I also want to update my humanoid robots by giving them facial expressions using Artificial Intelligence soon. Likewise, I want to introduce robot in the mass of people and show what a robot is.

Glocal Khabar: What message you would like to deliver to the youth?

Lov: I want to say that, whatever you plan to initiate, start the work. Don’t leave it for tomorrow because tomorrow never comes. We need to listen to our heart and do the things that we are really passionate about. Patience and hard work, both plays a great role for any successful work. And lastly, Keep a positive attitude and a learning mindset. This way, one can learn many things.