KTN’s Robotics & AI Innovation Network hosted a webinar on Thursday 8th October on how robotics and artificial intelligence can support waste management.
The UK’s 2020 waste targets will soon be obsolete as recycling rates have plummeted to around 44%, despite the target set at 50% by the year 2020. This means that 22 million tons of waste are sent to landfill every year in the UK and are not recycled. In order to support MRFs to meet the UK targets, a closer look needs to be taken at recent developments in robotics and AI. Waste sorting robots using computer vision or other sensory methods are becoming more established in countries like USA and start-ups have emerged tackling the issue of waste contamination at earlier stages in the recycling process.
KTN’s Robotics & AI Innovation Network hosted a webinar on Thursday 8th October from 15.00 – 17.00 on how robotics and artificial intelligence can support waste management. This event aimed to connect people from the waste management sector to innovators who are using robotics and AI to improve waste management. This webinar aimed to inform material recovery facilities (MRFs) of the current state of RAI to increase the recycling rate to meet UK’s recycling targets.
The aims of this webinar were:
- to make waste management facilities aware of the capabilities of RAI for waste sorting
- to understand issues for adopting new technologies
- identify what waste management facilities can learn from overseas recycling facilities
About the Robotics & AI Innovation Network:
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence are significant globalised technologies applicable to every sector. The UK’s extensive industrial and academic research base has immense potential to impact on home and global markets. The Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Innovation Network (formerly RAI SIG) addresses this opportunity enabling UK RAI innovators to connect, access markets and showcase their capability.
