ZenRobotics launches fourth generation of waste sorting robots

ZenRobotics, a Terex brand, has introduced ZenRobotics 4.0, its fourth generation of waste sorting robots with new features and upgraded artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize and improve the efficiency of material sorting operations.

“Our commitment has always been to work with forward-thinking recycling companies to automate their waste management processes and make outdated, inefficient and unsafe manual sorting a thing of the past,” ZenRobotics General Manager Jarmo Ruohonen says. “Our AI-powered robots enable companies to take in new high-quality recyclables to meet modern recycling requirements and sell high-purity materials in the aftermarkets.

“ZenRobotics 4.0 is our latest iteration of waste sorting robots with improvements that we believe revolutionize waste sorting technology and are more than just an upgrade to waste management operations—they are ‘efficiency perfected.’”

ZenRobotics 4.0 is available on the Heavy Picker 4.0, a multipurpose waste sorting robot for bulky material, and the Fast Picker 4.0, a high-speed robot ideal for lightweight material.

Heavy Picker 4.0

The Heavy Picker 4.0 robot now has a compact individual recognition system (ZenBrain) to enhance precision and increase efficiency by 60 percent to 100 percent compared with ZenRobotics’ previous system. It also benefits from upgraded AI technology with an advanced global recognition database that allows the robots to identify over 500 waste categories.

Photo courtesy of ZenRobotics

This significantly reduces commissioning times as the Heavy Picker 4.0 comes pretrained to recognize various types of material. Upgraded AI also has improved motion control and given the Heavy Picker 4.0 the ability to prioritize picking the resource that has the most value to the customer. The Heavy Picker 4.0 also has reduced power consumption, lowering the costs of the customer’s operations.

Additionally, the gripper and manipulator have been improved with 90 percent new or redesigned components. ZenRobotics says customers will benefit from less robot downtime, improved efficiency and reliability and more cost-effective maintenance with fewer wear parts.

Fast Picker 4.0

ZenRobotics’ Fast Picker robot couples AI software with high-speed picking, with a rate of up to 80 picks per minute. The upgraded AI on the Fast Picker 4.0 robot leverages higher rates of purity, accuracy and recovery and like the Heavy Picker 4.0, can recognize more than 500 material categories.

One of the key differences with the Fast Picker 4.0 is the customization it offers to customers with adjustable widths and gantry design for seamless integration into various picking stations. The Fast Picker 4.0 reaches the full width of the whole conveyor belt, providing superior picking performance.

The Fast Picker 4.0 also cab be added at the end of a line of Heavy Pickers, incorporating into material streams such as construction and demolition, commercial and industrial, wood, scrap and rigid plastics. The robot can also sort smaller material pieces weighing up to 1 kilogram, once the Heavy Pickers have removed the bulky material. The Fast Picker also can be integrated into side streams, reject recovery lines and quality control.

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