Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments are likely to draw a leaf or two from Kerala’s sewage-cleaning robot Bandicoot. Firms from UAE are also in talks with Genrobotics, the Kerala start-up that came out with the robot series.
Hardly a year after the Kerala government’s experiment with the sewage-cleaning robot emerged a winner, the governments in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have invited the founders of Genrobotics – four young engineers Arun George, Vimal Govind, NP Nikhil and Ashiq – to get the hang of the machine that eliminates manual scavenging. There is also a huge spate of enquiries from the UAE-based companies and government bodies.
“We are in the process of bringing out five more Bandicoot robots, including one each for experimental projects with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments,” said Arun George, one of the founders.
Order-book of the young start-up is full. The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) and Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) have signed a MoU for the transfer of technology and products, including the use of robots for cleaning up sewers. Genrobotics was incubated under the state government-run KSUM. The Bandicoot project is funded by the Kerala Financial Corporation and venture capitalist Unicorn India Ventures.
“Two of the new series of Bandicoot robots will go to KWA and one will be for Cochin International Airport (CIAL),” said Vimal Govind. The Bandicoot has four limbs and a bucket system attached to a spider-web extension that goes into the sewer, shovels the waste and collects it in the bucket, which is then lifted out. It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules.The robot is powered by pneumatics since using heavy electronic equipment inside the manhole may inflame the explosive gases present in the manhole. The robot monitors the manholes through pictorial representations, inspects conditions, including gaseous information and blocks and then does the clean-up.