Thiruvananthapuram: Robotic scavenger 'Bandicoot,' will soon be cleaning sewers in the temple town of Kumbakonam in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
The product, developed by a Kerala-based start up, was handed over to Kumbakonam municipality by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) as a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
There are about 5,000 manholes in Kumbakonam municipality which needs regular cleaning and around 400-500 sewer manholes are cleaned every month.
Bandicoot will automate the process and reduce human involvement in the socially ostracised work to almost nil.
The robot has been developed by Genrobotics, Thiruvananthapuram, a start-up promoted by a group of engineers from Kerala.
Chief executive officer of Genrobotics, Vimal Govind, speaking to IANS said that the Kerala government would also be utilising the services of Robots to clean sewer holes.
The robot, equipped with Wi-Fi, bluetooth and control panels has four limbs and a bucket system attached to a spider web-like extension to scoop out the waste from sewers.
The project is also supported by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA). The KWA has also joined hands with the Kerala start up mission to transform new ideas into practical technologies for addressing issues relating to pipe leakage and sanitation.
