From Rejection to Recognition: The Journey of Otomatiks
Eight years ago, standing before a group of people at a college, I found myself in an unexpected situation. I had just finished explaining the idea of integrating robotics education into their curriculum when someone in the audience scoffed and said, “ For the sake of money, you guys will scam with any stupid programs like this? How can a first-year college student learn all these?” It was a question loaded with disbelief, doubt, and rejection. It wasn’t just the skepticism of one person; it symbolized the larger sentiment of a city that had yet to embrace the concept of robotics. The Seed of an Idea in an Unlikely Place Back then, the word “robotics” was almost alien in Vellore, a city known more for its deep-rooted traditions than for cutting-edge technology. Starting Otomatiks was more than just a business decision; it was a vision that I believed would transform education by equipping students with skills for the future. But the road was not an easy one. At every step, there was r...