Recycleye has its AI eyes on the prize

UK sorting technology specialist Recycleye has acquired EUR 15.8 million in funding from venture capital firm DCVC to improve further the accuracy of its smart sorting system.

Recycleye, which uses artificial intelligence-powered robots to lower the cost of recycling, has also announced that existing investors have increased their stakes. These include Promus Ventures, Playfair Capital, MMC Ventures, Creator Fund and Atypical. The company has previously received a total of EUR 4.6 million with an additional EUR 2.4 million in European and UK government innovation funding.

Recycleye’s technology recognises different waste streams and picks an ‘unlimited number’ of plastics, aluminium, paper and cardboard. Objects are scanned and identified at 60 frames per second.

‘This is twice as fast as the industry standard and means that each item is seen on average 30 times as it passes along the conveyor belt, with double the chance of being accurately identified before picking,’ the company asserts.

Its system is currently picking up to 33 000 items per robot over a 10-hour shift, while capturing compositional data to enable strategic decisions by plant managers.

‘Our team is working with a growing number of waste management companies facing the two-fold challenge of labour shortages and increased costs while responding to the growing demand for quality recyclates,’ says company ceo Victor Dewulf.