A dedicated AI Innovation Hub will present AI-based applications for plastics recycling and provide demonstrations covering the value chain from feedstock and product design to collection, processing and material sourcing. The programme includes a live demonstration of swarm-robot sorting technology from Antfarm and a smartphone-based AI material analysis solution from Safi.
Antfarm will demonstrate its Swarm Alpha system, comprising a fleet of six to ten robots designed for sorting real-world waste streams such as bottles, cans and cartons. The company will also present Antfarm Beta, a new system intended to increase sorting speed compared with the Alpha platform. Unlike the Alpha approach, Antfarm Beta is designed around robots that pick individual items and place them into onboard bins until they are full, with the aim of increasing throughput.
The demonstration will also show Antfarm’s vision system, which uses AI models to identify materials during sorting. A live dashboard will display performance indicators such as the material categories sorted, picks per minute and revenue-related metrics.
Safi will demonstrate a phone-based AI material analysis application for recycled PET bales. The solution is designed to enable users to analyse a bale using a smartphone and observe results in real time.
AI applications are increasingly used in recycling operations to support material selection, product design and route planning, as well as to improve sorting accuracy and reduce manual handling. Digital platforms can also be used to support procurement and pricing decisions based on operational data, while traceability systems can document material flows across the recycling value chain.
