Intelligent waste management start-up Recycleye Ltd has worked with the Coventry-based Manufacturing Technology Centre to bring artificial intelligence and affordable robotics to bear on the waste management industry.
The link-up between London-based Recycleye and the MTC to develop an easy retrofittable robotic waste picker, which scaled from research and development to industrialisation within a year, combines Recycleye’s vision system with artificial intelligence and robotics to sort waste efficiently.
Manual waste sorting is no longer equipped to handle the two trillion tonnes of waste produced globally each year. The repetitive nature of waste sorting has exposed pickers to long-term health conditions, leading to a high labour turnover. Health hazards have been further exacerbated by Covid-19, as the spread of the virus has threatened entire plant closures. Furthermore, Brexit is expected to place a significant strain on the ability to find and recruit pickers, leaving recycling facilities unable to keep up with the demands of waste sorting.
Recycleye’s intelligent picking system is powered by Recycleye Vision - a world leading AI computer vision system which detects all items on waste streams by material, item and even brand. As a modular, automated sorting solution, Recycleye Robotics successfully adapts to changing waste composition without any need for retrofit.
The Recycleye robotic picker will be installed at waste plants this year. The combination of Recycleye’s deep technologies and the MTC’s renowned experience in delivering innovative manufacturing solutions is accelerating the waste management industry’s transition to the fourth industrial revolution.
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