Nagpurbot: An artificial intelligence based app to guide newcomers in city

Nagpur: For any newcomer in the city, navigating through various needs is now going to seem easier. With the help of

Nagpurbot

application on Facebook messenger app, which functions based on the concept of artificial intelligence, the user will find several features aggregated for their convenience. Users will be able to book metro train tickets, or instantly book a hotel room or pizza. They will also get Nagpur’s weather updates and will be guided about its tourist places, shopping venues, hospitals, movie screens and its emergency control rooms. All of this, without downloading further apps. The user will be directed to the websites through links which will direct the user to websites such as Weather.com, bookmyshow, Uber, ola, Dominos, YouTube, Wikipedia and so on.

The method is simple: Search Nagpurbot on Facebook messenger, and type ‘get started’. Then, click on ‘features’ to see various options. This application has been created by 18-year-old medical aspirant from Chandrapur Harshawardhan Ramteke, along with five others — Chinmay Naik, Shashank Phatkure, Karan Chikate, Apurva Ramteke and Karan Tiple — who belong to the same age group.

“As of now, we have only received the alignment map from the Metro officials. We are further coordinating with them in order to be able to book metro tickets through our app. Our app is a support to the smart city project,” he says. Work on the app was started on 1st November last year, and on November 20, he made the app’s base model.

In a unique move, the app will bring together all roadside eateries who are well-known for what they serve. “When I came to Nagpur, I didn’t know where I could go to eat. So I ordered a pizza from a famous outlet. I later found a street seller offering Manchurian for Rs50. My app will guide all newcomers about chowpatty areas around the city, what to eat, and from where,” says Ramteke.

Above all this, a female assistant named as ‘Natasha’ has also been developed to allow users to have a friendly chat. Users will also be able to join others through various chat rooms. The app will run based on funds from advertising. Ramteke, who turned a Facebook developer out of sheer interest, plans to get volunteers by integrating e-cells of engineering colleges in order to boost the ecosystem. Ramteke says he hasn’t so far invested in the app, and targets users in the age of 18-45 years. The latest features were added on May 22, and the app will now be updated every month.

Only 25 per cent of the app has been developed so far. “We want the users to try the app, and based on their queries, we’ll add more features to it. Artificial intelligence cannot be self-developed. As more minds engage with the app, we will be able to transform it, the way Google has been functioning since 2005. In Nagpur, most people don’t know what Facebook can do. 1,000 minds can together make Nagpur an excellent city,” Ramteke adds.