Recycleye Detects Items in Waste Streams

Recycleye secures £500,000 funding from Innovate UK to trial MRF sensor technologies.

07:50 07 August 2020

Innovate UK has awarded £500,000 funding to London-based start-up Recycleye to trial material recycling facilities (MRF) sensor technologies. The AI technology is said to replicate "the power of human vision" to identify items in waste streams and benefit an industry that currently "lacks accountability and traceability". 

 

Victor Dewulf, founder and chief executive officer of Recycleye, confirms that the company is in the process of trialling the sensor with two major waste management companies, including one in the UK. 

 

Peter Hedley, the company's chief technology officer, said: "The human eye only sees visible light but the power of our brains makes it the world's best sensor. Unlike a machine we do not need to read a barcode or RFID to know the brand of an item, nor do we need laser spectroscopy or x-ray vision to know the material of an item. At Recycleye we are developing an AI that replicates this unique human ability." 

 

Mr Dewulf added: "The technology is currently being piloted on sites in both the UK and France and its performance is being validated for automated quality assessments, back-end quality control certification and PP food/non-food grade identification. 

 

"We also plan to carry out Tier 2 deployments of the technology towards the end of the year ahead of larger-scale deployments in 2021.