Portable, Robotic Material Recovery in a Box

In recent times, there has been a growing integration of robotic technology in waste separation, offering a robust solution for managing the continually increasing volume of post-consumer waste. While existing solutions are typically implemented in large-scale Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) designed for handling substantial waste quantities, the current market offerings for robotic waste sorting systems prove to be less cost-effective for smaller or less accessible areas. However, in contrast to bulk processing, sorting waste close to its source has demonstrated enhanced material recovery in terms of both quality and quantity. To address this disparity, the Horizon Europe RECLAIM project is dedicated to developing a portable, robotic MRF (prMRF) tailored for small-scale waste sorting and material recovery. RECLAIM adopts a modular multi-robot/multi-gripper approach for material recovery and employs an AI-powered computer vision module for material categorization. Additionally, the project introduces an innovative Recycling Data-Game that encourages citizens to actively participate in RTD activities, contributing annotations crucial for training the AI models utilized in material categorization.