Hyderabad startup to launch AI-powered sewer governance platform Project SHUDH on July 11

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad-based deep-tech robotics company The Bot Factory will launch Project SHUDH, an AI-powered sewer governance platform, at T-Works on July 11. The company says the platform is designed to help cities eliminate manual sewer entry while enabling digital monitoring and management of underground infrastructure. Telangana IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu will formally launch [...] HYDERABAD: Hyderabad-based deep-tech robotics company The Bot Factory will launch Project SHUDH, an AI-powered sewer governance platform, at T-Works on July 11. The company says the platform is designed to help cities eliminate manual sewer entry while enabling digital monitoring and management of underground infrastructure. Telangana IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu will formally launch the platform. Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary, Hyderabad Metropolitan Area and Sports, and Sanjay Jaju, Chief Secretary, Government of Telangana, will attend the event. Shift from sewer cleaning to digital governance Unlike conventional sewer-cleaning systems that focus primarily on mechanised cleaning, Project SHUDH combines autonomous robotic systems, artificial intelligence, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), satellite-based monitoring, predictive analytics and real-time governance dashboards. According to The Bot Factory, every sewer intervention is digitally recorded, analysed and monitored, enabling civic agencies to build audit trails, monitor performance, identify recurring problems and plan predictive maintenance. The company said the platform is intended to transform underground infrastructure into a measurable and accountable public asset while reducing dependence on hazardous manual intervention. System demonstrated with Hyderabad water board Project SHUDH has been demonstrated in Hyderabad in collaboration with the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB). According to the company, the robotic system can operate in both vertical manholes and horizontal sewer pipelines while generating real-time operational data and digital maps of underground drainage networks. The information is intended to help authorities assess infrastructure health and make informed maintenance decisions. The company said Project SHUDH was developed under its disaster-management robotics initiative and is aimed at creating intelligent robotic systems for public safety, environmental protection and urban infrastructure management. The launch comes amid continued concerns over hazardous sewer cleaning in India. According to data presented in Parliament, 377 people died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks between 2019 and 2023. The company estimates that nearly 8,00,000 sanitation and sewer workers are engaged in sewer, septic tank and drain maintenance across the country. The Bot Factory said India offers a significant market for AI-driven sewer governance, with more than 4,500 statutory towns, municipal corporations, municipalities, Smart Cities, water and sewerage boards, industrial townships and cantonment boards requiring modern underground infrastructure management. The company said its long-term objective is to help cities achieve zero manual sewer entry, improve worker safety, reduce operational costs and build a data-driven governance framework for underground infrastructure. ]]>