Recycling robot provider EverestLabs has opened its first cloud-based robot operation center to give its customers 24 hours of support. The center will be based out of the company’s headquarters in Fremont, Calif., and in Chennai, India, where it has a team of workers.
EverestLabs’ team of engineers and technologists will help its materials recovery facilities customers, or MRFs, monitor a range of activities, including pick accuracy and efficiency. They will also help to track upstream issues as well as maintenance problems.
“MRF operators are sophisticated and require the same powerful AI and automation capabilities used by the world’s leading companies,” said JD Ambati, founder and CEO of Everest Labs, in a statement. “We opened the Robot Operations Center to help MRF operators lead recycling into the 21st century. The new center allows us to further provide MRFs with access to full-stack enterprise AI software and robotics that assure vertical integration, efficiency, and allow for continuous improvement at plants.”
Going green with robotics and AI
Founded in 2018, EverestLabs’ flagship product is Recycle OS, which it described as an “AI-enabled recovery-to-reuse operating system that helps material recovery facilities (MRFs) recover more recyclable objects.”
Recycle OS runs the company’s robotic cell, which it claimed is 49% better at recovering materials than legacy delta robots. The operating system also controls the company’s software packages, Basecamp and PeakView, which track conveyor-line data and help MRFs track their goals.
While other types of robots have existed at MRFs for a while, they are often big, break easily, and don’t talk to one another, Ambati told Robotics 24/7.
EverestLabs said it plans to address that need with easy-to-use systems that provide clear, actionable data and have nimble, flexible robots that increase throughput and address labor deficiencies. Chris Jodoin, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Everest Labs, told Robotics 24/7, the company’s robots can identify objects in 12 milliseconds thanks to its vision system, for example.
EverestLabs building out customer support network
Another important aspect is having strong customer support. That’s where the robot operation center comes into play. Ambati said the center provides customers with an “extra set of eyes and hands available remotely 24/7.”
EverestLabs claimed thta customers using Recycle OS have already seen a 25% to 40% increase in recovery time. That translates to an increased number of materials saved, Ambati said.
“All these things suddenly are enabling the plant operator to run the plant longer, run the robots longer, without having to worry about, ‘Is the robot working? Did a runner check on the robot?’” Ambati said.
EverestLabs has 10 American customers but has plans to expand its North American network and eventually go international. The company spotlighted one customer in its announcement of its robot operation center— Alameda County Industries, a recycling services provider that serves the cites of Alameda, San Leandro, San Ramon, and Castro Valley Sanitary District.
“We have peace of mind knowing our robotic cells are being monitored 24/7 by the EverestLabs team at the Robot Operation Center,” said Rob Pollard, maintenance manager, and Ernesto Jauregui, MRF manager, at Alameda County Industries. “Thanks to this team, our plant shift supervisors and maintenance staff can focus on other responsibilities around the facility without worrying about robot maintenance. All while simultaneously meeting the recovery of recyclables and quality-control goals.”
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