The Kerala government on February 24 launched robotic scavenger, Bandicoot, to clean sewages in Guruvayur temple town, becoming the first state in the country to use robotic technology to clean all its commissioned manholes.
Key facts
- The state water resources Minister launched Bandicoot under the Guruvayur Sewerage Project in Thrissur district by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), as part of the 100-day action plan of the state government.
- As per the state Government, Kerala has become the first state in the country to use robotic scavengers to clean manholes.
- The robotic Tron Unit, which is the major component of Bandicoot, enters the manhole and removes sewage using robotic hands, similar to a man’s limbs, the release, adding that the machine has waterproof, HD vision cameras and sensors that can detect harmful gases inside the manholes.
- Genrobotics, a Technopark-based company, have developed “the world’s first robotic scavenger” Bandicoot in an effort to eliminate manual scavenging providing respite for workers engaged in manhole cleaning.
- Bandicoot will be cleaning all the commissioned sewerage and drainages in Kerala.
- Bandicoot robots are currently deployed in few towns across 17 states in India and three Union Territories.
