Background

The customers for NexCOBOT's recycling robot solution are garbage recycling companies operating within the waste management industry. NexCOBOT's innovative solution combines AI Vision technology to accurately identify and classify different types of plastic bottles. Using AI algorithms, the system can distinguish bottles based on attributes such as color (transparent, white, and green) and their intended use, such as beverage or oil plastic bottles. Leveraging a highly efficient Delta Robot system, the solution effectively and smoothly sorts the plastic bottles into their respective recycling bins, ensuring precise and streamlined recycling processes.

Challenge

One of the main challenges faced by the waste company was the difficulty in finding new operators for their recycling operations. The industry was experiencing a decline in the number of individuals interested in pursuing this type of job, resulting in a labor shortage. This shortage of skilled operators was having a significant impact on the company's ability to efficiently and effectively manage its recycling processes, potentially leading to delays and reduced productivity. Another problem the customer faced was that they initially collaborated with another company for their recycling automation needs but faced a specific challenge. The previous solution failed to meet their target of sorting 60 bottles per minute efficiently. Recognizing the critical importance of achieving this goal, the waste company decided to switch to NexCOBOT's recycling robot solution.

Solution

The waste company chose NexCOBOT as their trusted partner to overcome their challenges due to NexCOBOT's comprehensive solution for automating garbage recycling processes. NexCOBOT's holistic approach integrates AI vision, GRC2 robot controller, AI PC, robotic arm and conveyor tracking into a cohesive system. The AI vision system, a key component of the solution, plays a vital role in the sorting process. It employs cutting-edge algorithms to distinguish between different types of plastic bottles and accurately detects the center position of each bottle. This information is seamlessly transmitted to the robot controller via the AI PC TT300-A. Leveraging this data, the robot swiftly selects the specific plastic bottle and precisely places it into the corresponding recycling box. The seamless integration of the AI vision system with the robot motion control and conveyor tracking ensures a highly efficient and accurate sorting process throughout the recycling line.

The waste company let us know that “compared to the controller we used in our previous project, NexCOBOT’s controller enables quicker application completion due to providing a well-designed configuration and customer-friendly debugging tools.” This statement highlights the exceptional performance of NexCOBOT’s solution, emphasizing the product’s ability to address the challenges faced by the waste company.

Benefits

The implementation of NexCOBOT's recycling robot solution resulted in significant quantifiable improvements for the waste company. Previously, one recycling line required five operators to manually sort plastic bottles. However, with the introduction of the recycling robot solution, each robot had the capacity to pick up 60 bottles per minute, effectively replacing one person. By automating the recycling line with four robots and one operator, the waste company achieved a remarkable reduction in labor requirements. This not only resulted in cost savings associated with hiring and training operators but also increased overall efficiency. The robots' ability to handle 60 bottles per minute significantly improved, leading to enhanced productivity and reduced bottlenecks in recycling operations. The adoption of NexCOBOT's recycling robot solution enabled the waste company to streamline its processes, optimize productivity, and realize tangible benefits regarding labor reduction, increased efficiency, and cost savings.