As artificial intelligence and robotics move from labs into real-world public-health infrastructure, new models are emerging to tackle challenges that have long resisted scale. One such challenge is mosquito control—a critical issue in densely populated regions where vector-borne diseases continue to strain healthcare systems and urban resilience.

At the intersection of AI, robotics, and biological science is Senecio Robotics, which is reimagining the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) as an industrial, data-driven solution rather than a niche biological intervention. By automating mosquito production through AI-powered vision systems and robotics, the company aims to transform SIT into a scalable, chemical-free, and non-GMO public-health tool.

Driving the deployment of this innovation in India is a strategic partnership with BVG India Limited, one of the country’s largest integrated facility management services providers. Led by Hanmantrao R. Gaikwad, Founder, Promoter, Chairman and Managing Director of BVG India, the organization brings deep execution capabilities, institutional reach, and a strong commitment to governance, skill development, and community impact.

In this interview with AI Spectrum, Gaikwad discusses how AI-driven automation is changing the economics and reliability of SIT, why localisation and data are critical for long-term effectiveness, and how partnerships that combine advanced technology with operational scale can help build sustainable, smart public-health ecosystems for the future.

Senecio Robotics positions AI and robotics as central to making SIT viable at scale. How does your AI-driven production platform fundamentally change the economics and reliability of SIT compared to traditional biological approaches?

Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is a proven, science-based method, through Senecio Robotics that changes the economics and reliability of SIT by industrializing production through an [AI-powered, robotic “SIT HUB”a fully integrated production line that breeds, separates, sterilizes, and packages male mosquitoes for release in a controlled, traceable process. SIT reduces mosquito populations by releasing sterile, resulting in non-viable eggs and a gradual population decline. SIT becomes a scalable, cost-competitive, chemical-free solution that can be deployed as a dependable public-health tool.

While SIT has been recognized globally for decades, it has struggled with large-scale deployment. What were the key technical or operational bottlenecks, and how does automation address challenges such as volume, quality control and localisation?

SIT’s limiting factors have been practical: high-throughput male/female separation, gentle handling of fragile insects at scale, and packaging/logistics that preserve insect quality through release. In many legacy workflows, these steps were manual or semi-manual, time-window constrained, and prone to quality drift as volumes increased.

Senecio Robotics re-architected the end-to-end workflow into a continuous, assembly-line process. Our patented (India registered patent) approach uses machine-vision and AI to identify mosquitoes at high speed with up to 300 mosquitoes per second classified during automated packaging peak time while robotics executes sorting and handling consistently without fatigue or degradation.

Localization is built into the model operationally. The platform is designed to be adapted to local mosquito species and local production, enabling programs to rely on locally sourced strains that are naturally competitive in their target environments, without requiring genetic modification, special fluorescent markers etc.

Mosquito control is often dominated by chemical or genetic solutions. How do you see AI-enabled, non-GMO biological interventions reshaping the future of public-health infrastructure, particularly in densely populated countries like India?

Across the world, public-health systems are confronting a difficult combination: rising insecticide resistance, legitimate concern over environmental impact, and the need for long-term effectiveness in densely populated urban settings.

AI-enabled, non-GMO SIT provides a strategic new pillar for public-health infrastructure. It is chemical-free, species-targeted, and designed to complement existing vector-management measures (surveillance, source reduction, targeted treatments where required) rather than compete with them.

What AI and robotics unlock is scale with precision. Dense cities require very high release volumes and reliable quality; automation makes that operationally achievable. This is how nature-based interventions can move from “promising” to “programmable”, measurable, repeatable, and scalable across districts, cities, and states.

Your platform adapts to local mosquito species, climate, and population density. How does data, from climate patterns to urban density, feed into your AI models, and how critical is localization to long-term effectiveness?

Localization is essential for long-term effectiveness, primarily because competitiveness in the field depends on local biology. SIT works best when released sterile males are strong competitors in the target environment. That’s why we emphasize using locally sourced strains and establishing localized production.

The AI vision system focuses on accurate, high-throughput identification and sorting, while robotics ensures consistent handling and packaging at industrial scale.
Urban density, climate, and seasonality influence are inputs that form base for program design, including capacity planning and mission planning for distribution and release.

Senecio has demonstrated end-to-end operational concepts that extend beyond production to include logistics and release planning, enabling programs to manage mosquito populations as a sustained public-health capability rather than a one-time intervention.

What makes India a priority geography for Senecio Robotics, and how does the partnership with BVG India accelerate deployment compared to entering the market independently?

India is a priority geography because it combines large population scale, high urban density, and a persistent vector-borne disease burden, precisely the conditions where scalable, sustainable mosquito control creates outsized public-health and economic impact.

Equally important, India is a market where execution quality matters as much as technology. This is where BVG India becomes a beneficial partner as it is the largest and leading integrated facility management services provider in India, with a market share of 4.7% in terms of market revenue in Fiscal 2025. (Source: F&S Report) As of March 31, 2025, we had over 85,000 employees across 2,218 active operating sites. In Fiscal 2025, we served over 1,200 clients across 188 cities in India and Saudi Arabia.

The partnership is intended to create a division of strengths:
• Senecio Robotics brings the AI-and-robotics proprietary production platform that industrializes SIT.
• BVG brings on-the-ground execution, institutional relationships, and the operational discipline required to deploy and sustain programs at city and state scale.

This combination accelerates responsible rollout: localized production, structured engagement with relevant authorities, and the ability to scale beyond pilots. It also reflects the broader India–Israel cooperation on science-driven, sustainability-oriented public-health innovation.

Looking ahead, do you see AI-driven SIT as a standalone solution or as part of a broader smart public-health ecosystem that integrates surveillance, predictive analytics, and city-level decision-making?

SIT is not a standalone silver bullet, it is a powerful, scalable component of integrated vector management. The long-term direction is a smart public-health ecosystem where surveillance and analytics inform where, when, and how much to release.

As monitoring tools improve, programs can optimize release strategies dynamically: adjusting volumes and locations based on population measurements, seasonality, and risk indicators. This is where AI brings value end-to-end, from automated production to data-driven operations.

With Senecio Robotics’ automation platform and BVG India’s scale execution capabilities, SIT can evolve into a dependable layer of public-health infrastructure: sustainable, measurable, and adaptable to the needs of modern cities.