Zoho Corporation has invested Rs 20 crore in Genrobotics, an startup building robotics and AI-powered solutions for social issues such as hazardous working conditions.
The investment will assist Genrobotics in its mission to eradicate manual scavenging in India and provide safety and dignity to workers in the sanitation and oil and gas industries.
Genrobotics offers Bandicoot robot, the world’s first robotic scavenger, which helps clean confined spaces such as sewers manholes, sewer wells, storm water manholes, oily water sewers (OWS) and storm water sewers (SWS) in refineries.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Bandicoot in 2018.
Smart cities, Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), refineries, multinational companies, townships and housing colonies across 14 states are leveraging Bandicoot robots, eliminating the need for human entry into manholes.
Bandicoot, which combines the use of human intelligence and Artificial Intelligence, is transforming the sanitation and oil and gas industries by offering a viable alternative to the dangerous practice of manual cleaning, said Vimal Govind MK, CEO and co-founder of Genrobotics.
Bandicoot robots use their legs, various sensors and cameras to enter manholes, move around and gain stability in different terrains.
