For those eagerly awaiting to experience the Recycling Data Game (RDG), the time has come! RECLAIM project’s Recycling Data Game (RDG) will be showcased at the Plastics Recycling Show Europe (PRSE), Europe’s leading plastics recycling exhibition, in Amsterdam between April 1-2.
Attendees and exhibitors can play the game at PRSE’s ‘AI in Plastics Recycling’ space on stand K50 using tablets and large interactive screens, said Matthew Barber, PRSE show director and global events director at Crain Communications. “AI is revolutionising plastics recycling, and innovations on show at PRSE are at the forefront of that transformation,” he added.
Designed and developed by the University of Malta in collaboration with RECLAIM project partners, the Recycling Data Game uses gamification to raise awareness on recycling while engaging citizens in scientific research to enhance material recovery operations of the portable robotic Material Recovery Facility (prMRF).
The RDG is a companion mobile app for RECLAIM with two goals: (a) to collect human annotations on waste data to enhance AI algorithms for optical sensing, and (b) to raise social awareness of recycling and encourage citizens to participate in project activities.
The Recycling Data Game shows images captured from the conveyor belt of the prMRF to players, who through their gameplay will contribute new knowledge to the AI. The improved AI algorithms would then select new images to show to users, forming a closed cycle of content re-use.
Finding engaging ways for players to annotate waste data in a way that would be useful for all needs of AI (Identification, Localization and Categorization) is an important design challenge of the Recycling Data Game, and will help everyday people understand more about (and help solve) the current challenges of automated waste sorting.
Additionally, RECLAIM, through the RDG games, provides innovative approaches to connect citizens with emerging social and environmental needs, thus improving societal adaptation and integration in the green and digital transition.
RECLAIM’s Recycling Data Game’s showcase at one of Europe’s leading plastics recycling exhibitions comes at a time when the European Union is increasingly exploring the application of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, among other sectors, to transform waste management activities, including material recovery operations. Many European Union-funded Research and Innovation projects are using robots with AI, supported by computer vision and deep learning, in the waste management sector to optimise waste sorting and recovery operations to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
To this end, the RECLAIM project is trying to implement a decentralised AI-driven waste sorting and recovery system for municipal solid waste (MSW) that can be deployed anywhere, even in remote areas. This portable, containerised robotic facility integrates advanced robotics, computer-vision and hyperspectral imaging technologies to achieve small-scale waste processing for material recovery.
Our technology will support this circular transition by means of recovering valuable materials for recycling. By facilitating on-site recovery, RECLAIM project will reduce waste transportation costs and associated carbon emissions, but also increase quality of recycled solid waste materials by avoiding waste compression.
