Steinert touts UniSort’s AI capabilities

German equipment firm says AI and machine learning contribute to EVO 5.0’s added sorting capabilities.

Photo supplied by Steinert GmbH.

Photo supplied by Steinert GmbH.

Cologne, Germany-based Steinert GmbH says several upgrades and new features have led to the “fifth evolutionary stage” of its UniSort PR sorting technology for recyclable materials.

The company points to “better performance, simplified maintenance [and] new software” as aspects of the new version of UniSort PR, called EVO 5.0.

In a press release about the new features of UniSort PR EVO 5.0, Steinert describes its Intelligent Object Identifier as “an artificial intelligence (AI)-supported object detection system for sorting machines” that can “make for a more stable sorting process, while also improving sorting results.”

Steinert adds, “This improvement has come about through software and the latest developments in the field of machine learning, especially in artificial neural networks.”

The company says the UniSort PR EVO 5.0 “has been put through its paces in practical trials since the start of 2019,” and offers several new or upgraded features, including:

  • dynamic calibration designed to monitor the spectrum of the belt lighting;
  • revamped light boxes designed to ensure improved detection while also simplifying maintenance, combined with software updates;
  • what the company calls optimized valve blocks designed to deliver a consistently precise separation of flowing materials; and
  • an optional automatic white balance designed to reduce the intensity of maintenance, eliminate further manual stages and to make new levels of flexibility possible.

“The UniSort PR EVO 5.0 reflects Steinert’s years of experience gained from several UniSort generations and the huge amounts of data that have been processed,” states the firm. “This, in turn, enables users to respond flexibly to changing material flows and recognize, but also most importantly tap into new potentials.”

Steinert is a family-owned business founded in 1889 in Cologne focusing on sensor sorting and magnetic separation for municipal solid waste (MSW), metal recycling and mining. The company has 340 employees, approximately 100 million euros ($111 million) in annual sales and operates from offices and subsidiaries in Germany, Australia, Brazil and the United States.

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