A bot to make fresh, hot idlis

Prompted by a personal emergency, two engineers have designed a fully automatic idli maker

Suresh Chandrashekaran and Sharan Hiremath.

Inside the Idlibot.

Idli, called iddalige in a 10th century Kannada text, is an all-time favourite in the south. Two Bengalureans have now come up with Idlibot, an automated idli-making machine.

Sharan Hiremath and Suresh Chandrashekharan founded Freshot Robotics in 2019, with an office and lab on Bannerghatta Road. Their first robotic product can make four varieties of idlis at a time.

In 2016, when Sharan’s daughter was unwell, he wanted to buy idlis for her late at night, and wasn’t able to find any restaurant open. This is when the idea was born. “The only way to have access to such food all the time was to build an automatic machine,” says Sharan, a computer science engineer.

Three years later, he teamed up with Suresh, a mechanical engineer trained in product design, and started working on a prototype. The product is set for launch on April 2, 2022. “It’s in testing mode, and we are manufacturing seven such bots now,” Sharan says.

The prototype works with different toppings, and can make 72 idlis in a cycle. The idlis take 10-12 minutes to cook, and the machine takes 18-20 minutes to pour the batter and clean itself, according to the Freshot Robotics team.

The fully-automated machine cooks and packs idlis, and it can also be set up at places with floating 24/7 crowds. “We plan to instal our first bots at apartment complexes, metro and train stations, hospitals, college campuses, and airports,” says Sharan.

Freshot Robotics sets up the bots in partnership, and does not sell them. “We work with something similar to a franchise model. The co-owner invests in the location, parts of the bot and the infrastructure,” Sharan says.

For two idli bots and a chutney-sambar bot, the price is about Rs 30 lakh. “We will place one Idlibot and one chutney-samhar bot at a location, but two Idlibots is ideal,” he says.

Experts will help prepare the batter, which will have to be refilled every six hours. An SOP sheet is given to partners to maintain the viscosity of the batter and ensure the bots run smoothly.

The product underwent several changes during its development. “This is the fourth prototype. Challenges like batter consistency, cooking time and eco-friendly packaging have all led to changes,” he says.

‘Complement darshinis’

The bot is not planned to be a competition for darshini restaurants, but to complement them. “Wherever such an eatery is not available, we plan to offer a 24/7 solution,” says Sharan, co-founder.

What next

The innovators are working on a rice bot. “This will make items like puliyogare and chitranna. The bot washes, steam cooks and adds flavours to the rice,” says Sharan, one of the two engineers working on the design. Bots to make fruit juices and dosas are also on the way.

So how much does it cost?

Two Idlibots and a chutney-sambar bot are considered ideal for a business, and together come to about Rs 30 lakh. A working prototype, now on display at Freshot’s office on Bannerghatta Road, is making idlis in four flavours: peri peri, Italian herbs, chocolate and podi, and plain ones. These are optional flavours, and more flavours will be available soon.

*Freshot Robotics, next to Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Bannerghatta Road.

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Challenges in design

Suresh Chandrashekharan, co-founder of Freshot Robotics, says, “The biggest challenge was to get the idli off the moulding plate, which took multiple iterations. The plate changed from steel to food-grade silicone,” he explains. The cleaning and sealing mechanisms were added to the bot later. “Design evolution led to four prototypes,” he says.