Nearly 300 units of Bandicoot robots have been deployed in 19 states and three Union Territories across India – from Mohali to Maha Kumbh.
New Delhi: Three robots are on a holy mission at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. Not to seek blessings, but to clean up after 40 crore visitors. Called Bandicoot, the robots are a Kerala-based startup’s solution to manual scavenging, which has claimed as many as 400 lives from 2019 to 2023.
“We control everything at our fingertips, sending spaceships to Mars, yet we haven’t been able to fully automate something as simple as sewer cleaning, just 10 feet below the ground. It’s time to change that,” said Rashid Karimbanakkal, co-founder and director of Genrobotic Innovations.
As the Maha Kumbh unfolds, these robot cleaners are diving into the dirtiest jobs, ensuring faith meets sanitation. The Bandicoot claims to be the world’s first robot designed to put an end to the centuries-old, dehumanising practice of manual scavenging.
Operators clad in protective gear — yellow helmets, long orange gloves, and fluorescent green jackets — stand by the Bandicoot, eyes glued to a screen as they control the robot’s arms with a red joystick. The robot descends into manholes, unclogging drains and navigating underground hazards, tasks that once exposed sanitation workers to life-threatening conditions.
Karimbanakkal sees his robots as the future of modern sanitation.
In the seven years since the launch of the startup, nearly 300 units of Bandicoot robots have been deployed in 19 states and three Union Territories across India.
We are taking humans out of manholes, said Karimbanakkal
From ideation to scaling up
The founders of Genrobotic Innovations—four software engineers from Kerala—turned to wildlife for a solution.
“When designing a tool for underground work, we took inspiration from the bandicoot—an Australian marsupial,” said Karimbanakkal. These small, rat-like creatures dig burrows beneath the surface, collecting sand and piling it above ground to create space for their homes below.
Within a year, the team developed a machine that mimicked these tasks and called it Bandicoot. That was back in 2018.
Bandicoot resembles a sleek, futuristic machine, rolling on a wheeled frame with a central drone unit at its core. The drone has a collapsible pipe, plunging eight metres deep into the ground, while four robotic legs stretch out to navigate the terrain. A robotic arm with integrated bucket scrapes wastes from the corners and walls, collecting them at the centre.
As the Bandicoot descends, its robotic limbs fully extend, giving the eerie impression of a human figure standing beneath the surface—almost as if viewed through X-ray vision.
Waterproof, low-light, and night-vision cameras, along with gas sensors, gather vital data for navigation and safety. The live camera feed guides the operator, and gas sensors detect toxic fumes in the manhole.
“If dangerous levels are detected, the system instantly warns the operator,” said Karimbanakkal.
Incubated under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in Thiruvananthapuram, Genrobotic Innovations got wings in 2017. Initially, the founders focused on designing and 3D-printing hardware models using wooden structures at KSUM’s fabrication labs, where they tested parts before building the actual product.
Funding started rolling in as early as 2018, with seed investments from Mumbai-based venture capital firm, Unicorn India Ventures and Rajan Anandan, former Vice President of Google India, fueling the start-up’s early ambitions.
The momentum only grew stronger as the start-up progressed. Heavyweights like Mahindra Group contributed Rs 2.5 crore in pre-Series A funding, while Zoho Corp followed with a whopping Rs 20 crore in Series A funding. According to the founder, these investments marked a pivotal turning point, propelling the venture into its next big chapter.
“Our engineers are constantly tinkering with the machine to ensure that the sewer cleaning process involves zero human contact,” said Karimbanakkal.
Launched last year, the new Bandicoot Mobility Plus takes the original model to the next level by integrating it with a vehicle, responding directly to feedback from frontline workers. This upgrade automates every step of the sewage cleaning process—from digging to collecting and dumping grime.
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