Cities switching to robots to tackle sanitation issues

An increasing number of Indian cities are turning to artificial intelligence (AI)-powered robots to tackle many water and sanitation-related challenges, ranging from cleaning manholes and inspecting sprawling underground water pipeline networks for leaks to cleaning water bodies.

- Manoj Sharma

For instance, Nagpur, which initially rejected robotic scavengers three years ago, now wholeheartedly embraces them. Thane has incorporated robots for water storage tank cleaning, while Mumbai deploys them to clean manholes and water bodies. Chennai is using robots for water pipeline inspections, and in Shillong, robots are being deployed to clear floating trash from the famous Umiam Lake. Start-ups led by young engineers are at the forefront of developing these cutting-edge robotic solutions.

"We have deployed three Bandicoot robots in the past 11 months, which have cleaned about 9,000 drainage chambers. These robots have emerged as a sustainable solution in our efforts to eliminate manual scavenging," says Prithviraj BP, CEO, Nagpur Smart City, a special-purpose vehicle of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC).

Bandicoot, a robot developed by Genrobotics, a Kerala-based award-winning start-up, harnesses the power of AI to clean manholes, eliminating the need for sanitation workers to expose themselves to highly hazardous environments. The robot is equipped with human-like arms and a range of gas sensors to identify and assess sewage conditions inside drainage chambers. But Nagpur is not the only city to have adopted it.

"Trivandrum was the first city to deploy our robots four years ago. Today, from Leh to Trivandrum, our robots are cleaning manholes in 200 cities across the country. Until a few years back, it was a challenge to convince authorities, but they became receptive post Covid-19 when cities confronted a severe crisis," says Vimal Govind, co-founder, and CEO, of Genrobotics.