AMP Robotics Corp. yesterday announced that it now offers a offers a complete line of automated systems using artificial intelligence for materials recovery facilities. The Louisville, Colo.-based company said it also offers a standalone, integrated facility system to expand recycling infrastructure.
“As demand for automation in the waste industry continues to grow, we’ve expanded our capabilities to provide customers with solutions for both new and existing recycling facilities alike,” stated Matanya Horowitz, founder and CEO of AMP Robotics.
“We’ve gained invaluable experience from developing best-in-class technology and deploying hundreds of systems globally, and the modern recycling infrastructure we’re creating through retrofit solutions and facility expansion is helping more economically recover valuable commodities and increase recycling rates,” he said in a press release.
AMP Robotics said it is applying AI and automation to identify and sort materials with the goal of increasing recycling rates and economically reclaiming raw materials for the global supply chain. It also designs, builds out, operates, and services new materials recovery facilities (MRFs) for waste industry customers.
With hundreds of deployments across North America, Asia, and Europe, AMP's technology recovers plastics, paper, and metals from municipal collection. The company said it also recovers valuable commodities from electronic scrap, materials from construction and demolition debris, and feedstocks from organic material.
AMP Cortex-C a compact sortation system
AMP Cortex-C is a compact version of AMP’s AI-guided robot that adapts to space constraints and brings the company’s technology to more facilities. AMP said that Cortex-C's small-footprint and ease of installation are designed to provide MRFs and plastic reclamation facilities (PRFs) with a consistent, reliable sortation system for locations that are tight, hard to staff, or where existing labor could be redistributed.
As with other AMP Cortex units, Cortex-C uses the company's robotic components and grippers, AI for object recognition, and patented control software. As a result, it streamlines service for facilities, said AMP.
“The system shares the robustness, reliability, and experiential learning of AI gained from a global fleet of more than 300 installations and fits into additional locations to expand sortation points and material recovery within facilities,” it claimed.
“The expertise we’ve built in recycling technology has enabled us to expand where and what we can sort so we can bring the benefits of AI-driven automation to more locations in more facilities,” said Jeremy Neigher, general manager of AMP’s technology solutions group. “We’re committed to innovating so we can deliver the latest advancements in AI and automation to our customers to increase their profitability and improve their bottom line.”
Cortex-C is adaptable to an array of conveyor belt sizes, angles, and configurations, without the need for costly retrofits or downtime, according to AMP. The company said it can complete and installation over the course of a weekend with on-site support.
Like AMP’s other offerings, Cortex-C is backed by the company’s dedicated service and support teams.
Neural network recognizes billions of containers
AMP added that its neural network has recognized more than 75 billion containers and packaging types in real-world conditions annually. AMP Vision is a modular computer vision system that helps operators understand material flow throughout key stages of sorting operations.
When integrated with AMP Clarity, the company’s portal for recycling data and insights and robot optimization, customers can use AMP Vision to monitor real-time material characterization and performance measurement throughout a facility.
AMP Vortex is designed to tackle film contamination and improve recovery of film and flexible packaging. AMP boasted that its technology suite can tackle the majority of non-automated sorting stations in a MRF without a significant retrofit to existing infrastructure.
AI improves targeting and gripping reliability
AMP Robotics said that its latest AI innovations will further increase recovery performance and reliability. The company’s new AI - Advanced Targeting (AT) algorithms use machine learning to determine the optimal grip area for each item its system identifies, based on the object’s discrete material features and condition.
This ability to target and guide a robot to the desired grip area can increase yield by learning to avoid creases, holes, and other difficult-to-grasp locations on objects, explained AMP. Similar to the company's AI for identification of material type, these algorithms can learn from experience across the fleet and adapt to new gripping technologies.
AMP added that these software advancements will be available for all Cortex and Cortex-C units.
Pilot extends capabilities to the entire facility
AMP Robotics said that its AI platform extends its capabilities to a comprehensive MRF offering. In a secondary sortation facility pilot, the company said it economically processed recyclable mixed plastics, paper, and metals sourced from residue supplied by primary MRFs and other material providers.
AMP said this pilot allowed it to incubate and improve its model for new recycling infrastructure. For nearly three years, it has been actively testing the capabilities of AI and automation to direct facility design, with a focus on dramatically lowering the cost of recycling while maximizing yields in terms of both recovery and quality.
The company said its experience in secondary sortation will inform how it designs, builds, operates, and services next-generation facilities for customers. It is initially targeting single-stream and secondary feedstocks.
“The current MRF infrastructure is insufficient to capture the billions of dollars worth of recyclables that go unrecovered annually, and its high-cost burden compounds this problem, making recycling economically unfeasible in many geographies,” noted Gale Clark, general manager of AMP’s facility solutions group.
“Our technology can influence not only sorting processes within the current MRF infrastructure, but the design of AI-powered facilities [can also] increase efficiency and recycling capacity, prevent loss of recyclables to landfill, and supply greater volumes of post-consumer recycled content,” he said. “AMP brings creative structuring so customers experience capital efficiency in partnering with us.”
AMP Robotics at WasteExpo
AMP Robotics is exhibiting and speaking at WasteExpo 2023 this week in New Orleans. Neigher participated in yesterday's panel on “Disruptive Technologies Impacting the Industry.”
Jonathan Levy, director of government affairs, will join the May 3 session on “The Rise of EPR: Unpacking the Details” panel. AMP is showing its latest technology innovations and offerings for new and existing recycling facilities at Booth 847.
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