The New Indian Express 04.11.2019

Spider Robot extends helping hand to manual scavengers

The internet is awash with posts about activists who occasionally get their hands dirty. Rarely do people mention about manual scavengers who get their bodies covered in filth.

Minister SP Velumani with the Bandicoot robot in Coimbatore on Sunday. (Photo | Express)

By Express News Service

COIMBATORE: The internet is awash with posts about activists who occasionally get their hands dirty. Rarely do people mention about manual scavengers who get their bodies covered in filth.

On Sunday, Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani officially initiated the use of Developed by Kerala-based startup Genrobotic Innovation, the spider-shaped robot will be used by sanitation workers to clean manholes in the city. It was sponsored by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and handed over to the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation on October 1.

He said the robotic arm could travel through a manhole for up to 30 feet and collect the accumulated sludge.