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What started as a college project at IIT Madras has grown into a deep-tech startup using robots and artificial intelligence to tackle one of India’s most hazardous sanitation challenges.
Meet IIT Madras graduate Divanshu Kumar, who developed a project focused on septic-tank cleaning during his time at the institute. The project brought him closer to the dangers faced by sanitation workers who enter septic tanks and manholes, prompting him to explore whether robotics could take humans out of these hazardous environments.
The project eventually evolved into Solinas, an IIT Madras-incubated deep-tech and climate-tech startup focused on transforming the water and sanitation sector. According to PIB, support from the Department of Science and Technology’s
Technology Business Incubator (DST-TBI) at IIT Madras played an important role in the company’s early product development.
One of Solinas’ key innovations is HomoSEP Atom, a robotic system designed to clean septic tanks and manholes while allowing sanitation workers to operate from outside. The system brings several functions—including blade-based cleaning, solid-waste desilting, suction and waste storage—into a single device.
According to the DST, HomoSEP Atom has reached 16 cities across India. Its deployment in Madurai has helped tackle manhole blockages and reduce sewer overflows, while the technology has also been used in the densely populated areas of Chennai to clean septic tanks linked to apartments, housing boards and individual homes.
Beyond improving efficiency, the technology addresses a major human concern: the safety and dignity of sanitation workers. By enabling workers to clean manholes without entering them, the robots can reduce exposure to toxic and dangerous environments.
Solinas has also developed smaller robots for underground water and sewer pipelines, including a 90-mm water robot and a 120-mm sewer robot. Its technologies, including Endobot and Swasth AI, use robotics and AI to identify pipeline defects, leaks, blockages, contamination and other problems hidden underground.
The company’s solutions have been deployed in cities including Coimbatore, Hubbali and Goa, helping identify infrastructure problems and improve water and sewage management.
From an IIT Madras classroom project to robots operating in real-world sanitation systems, Kumar’s journey shows how engineering innovation can move beyond the laboratory to address some of India’s most difficult and often overlooked urban challenges.
