VisionCycle launches AI sorting technology

VisionCycle, Boston, has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to capture copper and aluminum scrap.

VisionCycle’s Vision Valve, a computer vision valve, breaks materials into particle form to sort individual particles. The company says its technology has achieved 99 percent accuracy in sorting copper and aluminum.

“Our approach utilizes the advances in artificial intelligence to separate valuable particles such as copper and aluminum from [scrap] so they can be recycled into products desperately needed for the transition from fossil fuels to climate friendly sources of energy,” says Tim Crowley, VisionCycle chief operations officer. “This approach offers a cost-effective, environmentally friendly way forward over traditional recovery methods. It will also widen margins for recyclers, making a waste-free world economically feasible.”

Operating on 0.5 kilowatts of power to process approximately 120 pounds of material per day, VisionCycle says its approach marks a departure from traditional copper recycling by removing energy-intensive steps and machinery. This approach reduces transportation costs by keeping the process local, the company says.

AnhPhu Nguyen, VisionCycle chief technology officer (CTO), says the technology uses fluid to move particles along channels equipped with sensors to determine particle classification and refers to Vision Valve as a module.

“To accommodate larger volumes, a scrapyard or recycler would add additional modules, as a web host might add additional servers to accommodate data volumes,” Nguyen says.

VisionCycle is currently collaborating with municipalities, contractors and recycling facilities, including Boston-based Solomon Metals and MassRobotics.