Sewer Robots: Which Machine Does Which Job

Four Jobs Sewer Robots Do

The first job involves visual and sensor inspection using wheeled or tracked crawlers controlled through long tether cables. The second job involves robotic cutters that remove the liner at each connection to reopen service connections after a pipe is relined. The third job uses a robotic arm lowered from a stand unit over the manhole, which Genrobotics says an operator controls from a safe distance. The fourth job is autonomous pipe patrol: RedZone says SOLO autonomously traverses the pipeline, and Pipebot Patrol aims to move from a tethered system to a fully autonomous robot.

Makers do not publish list prices for professional inspection and cutting systems online. A VEVOR sewer pipe inspection robot lists for $7,499.90 at the time of writing, featuring 394 feet of cable for lines measuring 11.8 to 59.1 inches. Genrobotics and RedZone publish no price for Bandicoot or for any RedZone system either. Readers can review crawler pricing context in our sewer crawler camera cost guide.

Inspection Crawlers on Tethers

Three makers publish crawler specs for this job: Envirosight for the ROVVER X, CUES for the Steerable Pipe Ranger II, and RedZone for the Responder. Envirosight says the ROVVER X adapts to inspect lines 6 to 96 inches in diameter, with the 96-inch end needing a lift, wheel carriage and auxiliary lamps. Envirosight states the ROVVER X crawls as far as 1,640 feet using steerable six-wheel drive, with observation coding that includes Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP) and WRc.

Orlando-based maker CUES reports over 64 years of industry leadership and builds camera transporters, lateral cutters, multi-sensor profiling systems, and GraniteNet software. The CUES Steerable Pipe Ranger II uses up to 2,000 feet of cable to inspect 7-inch relined pipe through 72-inch pipe, and can inspect 8-inch relined lines. In Kiel, Germany, IBAK Helmut Hunger GmbH & Co. KG has produced sewer inspection and rehabilitation systems since 1945. More details on crawler camera lines appear in our sewer crawler cameras comparison. Our profiles of Envirosight and RedZone Robotics cover each maker's lineup.

NASSCO lists over 650 member organizations. NASSCO calls its PACP, Lateral Assessment Certification Program (LACP) and Manhole Assessment Certification Program (MACP) "the trusted sources for proper and consistent assessment condition coding of pipelines, laterals and manholes." RedZone reports more than 100 million feet of pipe and more than 79,000 manholes inspected, in more than 44 countries. RedZone lists the Responder as a hydraulic tracked crawler for 36 to 240 inch (915 to 6,000 mm) pipe. Its listed sensors are 3D LIDAR, sonar, CCTV with virtual pan, tilt and zoom, gas and temperature.

Robotic Cutters after Pipe Relining

Robotic lateral cutters reopen service connections after a sewer pipe has been relined with CIPP material. Dutch maker Sewer Robotics, located in Poeldijk, notes that lateral connections need to be reopened after relining, using cutters that remove the liner at each connection and restore the opening. Sewer Robotics says its water-driven and electric cutting systems reopen lateral connections and remove protruding taps. Its water jet removes roots, cement, grout, concrete, failed liners, and mineral deposits, while the EM500 electric motor cuts cast iron, concrete, and CIPP liner material.

Pipe diameter ranges for Sewer Robotics machines differ across the maker's own pages. For the HA125E electric cutter, the lateral reinstatement page lists 150 to 1,000 mm (6 to 20 inches), while the electric cutting robots page lists 150 to 500 mm (6 to 20 inches) with its 205 mm ram lift. The HA200E electric cutter displays a section heading of 250 to 750 mm (10 to 30 inches) but a specification table on the same page showing 250 to 800 mm (10 to 32 inches). The HA125 cutter features four-axis movement, 500-degree electric pan rotation, a 90-degree pivot, weighs 5.1 kg, and measures 342 mm long.

Sewer Robotics also produces the C70 and the R600, which serve non-cutter roles. The C70 is an auto-upright high-definition (HD) video nozzle mounted on a jetting hose operating between 125 and 275 bar (2,000 to 4,000 psi) in lines from 150 to 1,000 mm. The R600 is a 110 kg multi-functional modular crawler for heavy-duty tank cleaning, cold cutting, and ultra-high-pressure jetting. The R600 page gives two pipe ranges: a section header states greater than 800 mm, while the scope-of-use table states greater than 500 mm.

IMS Robotics GmbH of Ottendorf-Okrilla, Germany, lists about 40 sales partners in 30 countries. Its air-powered MICRO S automatic cuts in pipes measuring DN 75 to DN 250 to reopen service lines after liner rehabilitation, weighing approximately 70 kg with its 50-metre hose. The IMS DRIVE E is an electric milling robot for main sewers from 150 to 400 mm with an outer diameter of approximately 122 mm and 440-degree rotation. Picote says its Smart Cutter for DN 32 to DN 300 pipes opens and shapes lateral CIPP connections without accidental damage to the original pipe, and that its Robo Smart Cutter range fits the Schwalm Robotic Talpa series.

Manhole Cleaning Robots

Genrobotics developed Bandicoot, which Genrobotics describes as the world's first robotic scavenger that automates manhole cleaning. The Bandicoot system places a Stand Unit over the manhole opening, lowering a multi-jointed robotic arm with a waste bucket directly into the chamber while an operator controls the mechanism from a safe distance. Genrobotics does not state Bandicoot's weight or the manhole diameter it needs.

The Bandicoot hardware integrates six degrees of freedom across its robotic arm, four HD cameras providing 360-degree vision, toxic gas detection, and an Ingress Protection rating of IP68. Genrobotics also lists pneumatic systems and a working depth of up to 12 meters. Genrobotics lists specialized hardware variants on its sanitation pages, including the Bandicoot Mini for preventive maintenance and the Bandicoot Mobility+ with integrated waste management handling.

Genrobotics says Bandicoot was inaugurated in Kerala in February 2018, though its page does not show totals for robots deployed, states or countries. Genrobotics reports operations across 15 Tamil Nadu cities, more than 20 Bandicoot robots deployed in Gujarat, and active cleaning operations in Nagpur, Sambhajinagar, and Ulhasnagar. Genrobotics says Uttar Pradesh launched Bandicoot for the end of manual scavenging. Our Genrobotics profile covers what the company builds and who uses it.

Autonomous Sewer Patrol Robots

The United Kingdom Pipebots programme launched in March 2019 through an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Programme Grant led by the University of Sheffield alongside Bristol, Birmingham, and Leeds universities. Core academic research finished in February 2025. The University of Sheffield says its smallest Pipebot measures 40mm wide and that a swarm is lowered into a water pipe through a hydrant, so that robot works in water pipes. Our Pipebots page covers the programme.

Pipebot Patrol, by the Pipebots site's account, is a £1.8 million project funded by the Ofwat Water Breakthrough Challenge. Pipebot Patrol's partners include Northumbrian Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, Mincam, EMS, Jet Aire and the Gateshead, Sunderland and Newcastle councils. The project currently runs tethered systems housed in secure kiosks, and its stated goal is a fully autonomous robot, tested in lab trials first and then in selected zones. Separately, RedZone lists SOLO for 8 to 12 inch pipe, says it autonomously traverses the pipeline, and launches it in squads of up to four with a 10 to 15 minute average deployment. See our overview of pipe inspection robots.

Legal Limits on Manual Sewer Work

The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines a permit-required confined space as an area containing or having the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere, containing a material that has the potential to engulf an entrant, having internal configurations with converging walls or sloping floors, or containing any other recognized hazard. OSHA specifically lists manholes among confined spaces.

In India, The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Bill passed the Lok Sabha on September 6, 2013, and the Rajya Sabha on September 7, 2013, as tracked by PRS Legislative Research. The bill prohibits the manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without protective equipment.

Choosing a Sewer Robot by Job

Start with the job, then the pipe size. For condition coding, Envirosight lists the ROVVER X for lines 6 to 96 inches, CUES lists the Steerable Pipe Ranger II for 7-inch relined through 72-inch pipe, and RedZone lists the Responder for 36 to 240 inches. To reopen lateral connections after relining, IMS Robotics lists the MICRO S automatic and Sewer Robotics lists the HA125 cutter.

For manhole cleaning, Genrobotics says the Bandicoot Stand Unit sits over the manhole and lowers an arm with a bucket or grabber to a depth of up to 12 meters, with the operator at a safe distance. For small-diameter inspection, RedZone lists SOLO for 8 to 12 inch pipe, launched in squads of up to four with a 10 to 15 minute average deployment.

Pipe size then narrows the cutter choice: IMS Robotics lists the MICRO S automatic for DN 75 to DN 250, Picote lists its Smart Cutter for DN 32 to DN 300, and Sewer Robotics lists 150 to 500 mm for its water-driven HA125, 200 to 750 mm for the HA195 and 300 to 1,000 mm for the HA250.