ZenRobotics unit deployed at UK MRF

The Finland-based ZenRobotics business unit of U.S.-based Terex Corp. says one of its sorting robots is being deployed on a trial basis at a materials recovery facility (MRF) in the United Kingdom. The MRF is operated by waste and recycling firm Grundon.

The ZenRobotics Fast Picker robot has been installed at Grundon’s Bishop’s Cleeve site in Gloucestershire, England. The installation recently received BBC news coverage in the U.K., according to ZenRobotics.

The Fast Picker unit includes a conveyor belt and robotic arm designed to collaborate to scan material, decide what to pick, and then deposit it down one of two chutes.

ZenRobotics describes the device as having an “in-built brain” that, with the appropriate “training,” becomes more advanced over time. Eventually, its artificial intelligence (AI) memory will learn to pick and sort a variety of waste streams at a rate comparable with humans, the firm says.

Once the Grundon robot is proficient in identifying and separating plastics, the company says it will begin training the robot also to be able to pick steel or aluminum cans, paper and cardboard.

The BBC article indicates Grundon hopes the technology can help it increase the volume of recyclable materials it captures and to move it toward its goal of having a fully autonomous sorting plant.

Ed Fagan, Grundon’s head of projects, is quoted by the BBC as saying, “Both optical and robotic sorters can be deployed alongside humans in our [material] sorting facilities. We can really see robotic sorters making a difference in environments which are less well suited for humans, such as the sorting of contaminated waste or working in areas with high levels of noise and dust.”

ZenRobotics says worker safety is playing an important role with customers such as Grundon. “The ability to continue doing the work that they do whilst keeping people out of harm’s way entirely is an opportunity that is too good to miss,” states the company.

Grundon also has a ZenRobotics Heavy Picker robot, designed to handle bulky materials, and a ZenBrain equipped with what ZenRobotics calls “a highly advanced recognition ability and autonomous decision-making.”