Digitalization and artificial intelligence
Digitalization and artificial intelligence
Technology meets circular economy! We are intensively involved with the topics and technologies of tomorrow, in line with our motto: sustainability is our drive.
In the field of digitalization, we develop AI-powered solutions for the waste management and circular economy sector. Image-based object recognition helps us make material flows more transparent, automates quality control and enables targeted process optimization. Mobile phones are used as image sensors, providing a cost-effective and robust solution that can be easily integrated into industrial workflows.
Our digital solutions support various areas of the circular economy:
- Transparent material flow analysis: Overview of various material and waste streams
Use case: Counting and detection of PET bottles and other materials on conveyor belts - Automated contaminant detection: detection of undesired contaminants directly within the process
Use case: Detection of contaminants such as plastic bags, newspapers, metal cans, and other foreign materials during the emptying of organic waste bins - Continuous quality assurance: material quality control through AI powered analysis
Use case: Incoming inspection of glass cullet in the glass recycling process - Digital data analysis and reporting: provision of results via an online dashboard or interface integrations
Use case: Review of captured images with highlighted contaminants, key metrics, and hotspots
Interfering material scanner and AI
AI-Powered analysis of organic waste: Brantner has redefined the standard for image-based detection of objects in waste management.
The system analyzes organic waste directly during unloading into the collection vehicle. A camera installed in the loading area captures each tipping event via trigger signal. A custom-trained AI model analyzes the material and automatically identifies unwanted contaminants. The contamination scanner supports the data-driven optimization of organic waste streams and helps implement targeted actions where they achieve the greatest impact.
System Benefits:
- Contaminant analysis according to the organic waste ordinance
- Improved understanding of waste composition
- Fully automated operation without affecting staff workflows
- Transparent analysis through dashboards and reports
- Supports targeted measures for improving organic waste quality
Quality scanner
AI-Powered glass quality control: The patented quality scanner is an AI system that automates the quality inspection of glass cullet.
The system analyzes glass cullet samples directly in the production process without interrupting operations. The samples are captured and analyzed by the AI model. This enables the reliable detection of different types of glass cullet as well as contaminants. The quality scanner supports continuous quality assurance in glass recycling and enables automated responses when contaminant levels exceed defined thresholds.
System Benefits:
- Detection and classification of clear, brown, green, blue, and other types of glass
- Detection of contaminants such as ceramics, porcelain, stones, heat-resistant glass, and metals
- Detection of lead glass under UV light
- Automated shard and contaminant counting including mass calculation
Insights into Additional Use Cases
Our solutions can be applied beyond the waste management sector. In almost every industry, there are successful use cases for AI-powered material recognition, quality control, and process optimization.
In addition to existing applications, Brantner continuously explores new fields of application for artificial intelligence in the circular economy.
Recent examples:
- Mattress Recycling: Multiple mobile phones serve as image sensors for measuring mattresses. The data supports the subsequent automated cutting process.
- Alternative fuels: Contaminant detection during unloading and incoming quality inspection of shredded material. An audio-based trigger mechanism initiates the image capture sequence and documents the detection of contaminants that could damage system components.
- Plastic Sorting: Analysis and monitoring of material flows in plastic recycling facilities. The system identifies sorting optimization opportunities, monitors sorting quality, and detects deviations at an early stage.
- And many more applications: Our AI solutions are continuously being enhanced and adapted to meet new industrial requirements.
Sensors
Depending on the application, our sensors transmit various data streams to a central platform, which can provide customers with insights into factors such as fill level, last emptying, temperature, air and soil moisture, and much more. This data can be processed automatically, aggregated with other data, or used to trigger immediate alerts when thresholds are exceeded.
Thanks to state-of-the-art LoRaWan technology, our sensors communicate with a service in an extremely energy-saving manner and transmit data as required. Our sensors are used in applications ranging from classic fill level measurements and specialized moisture measurements in viticulture to complex smart city projects where, among other things, the proportion of particulate matter can be measured.
