Improved performance and simplified maintenance are key multipliers for the economic viability of a sorting facility. Through its new software and the fifth evolutionary stage of the tried-and-tested UniSort PR, Steinert is offering improvements in both, paving the way for the next era of waste sorting technology.
Steinert
Steinert bringing advanced sorting technology to IFAT 2020
Some applications are more complex than others and cannot be handled using conventional methods. Since they comprise a PE outer wall, silicone cartridges, for example, are valuable materials for recycling. Silicone residues inside the cartridge can, however, contaminate pure PE products, resulting in removal from the material flow.
The Intelligent Object Identifier has been developed for precisely this application – an AI-supported object detection system for sorting machines that detects and isolates these cartridges using optically detectable characteristics. These distinguishing features make for a more stable sorting process, and improve results.
This technology will also support and enable other sorting tasks. Steinert is working on an addition to the sorting program to separate PET bottles and trays that will further improve reliability due to a new object detection feature.
Learning from machines
This improvement has come about through software and the latest developments in the field of machine learning, especially in artificial neural networks, resulting in the latest stage of expansion of the UniSort PR, the UniSort PR EVO 5.0.
The model has been put through its paces in practical trials since the start of 2019. A showpiece of modern technology and robust engineering, the UniSort PR EVO 5.0 reflects Steinert’s experience and the huge amounts of data that have been processed. This forms the basis for further advances in sorting performance, optimising processes in the value-added chain, and flexibly to changing material flows.
Steinert’s experts will be available at the IFAT Trade Fair (4-8 May) in Munich, Germany, for more information.
