Lakeshore Recycling Systems installs SamurAI from Machinex

Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS), Morton Grove, Illinois, has announced the installation of the new Machinex SamurAI at its single-stream Heartland Recycling Center in Forest View, Illinois. The company is the first to install the technology in the U.S. (Lakeshore was profiled in the October 2016 issue of Recycling Today.)

Featuring a robot with four articulations, the SamurAI employs artificial intelligence (AI) technology to identify materials for an accurate, positive product recovery or a precise quality control function, Machinex says. The AI operates according to a predetermined task hierarchy and continues to improve and learn from operating experience to assure maximum recognition efficiency, the equipment supplier adds.

The SamurAI technology is intended to reduce LRS’ reliance on manual labor, decrease operating costs and improve productivity.

“We developed this technology further to always answer the evolution of the market needs,” Pierre Pare, CEO of Machinex Group, Plessisville, Quebec, says. “Machinex has nearly 35 years of knowledge and experience in the waste and recycling industry, developing and integrating technologies in material recovery facilities, thus ensuring that our clients always remain ahead of the market. We are excited to expand our partnership with LRS and happy to provide them with new technology to further their mission.”

“LRS continues to look for innovative solutions to help us improve our sustainability efforts,” LRS CEO Alan T. Handley says. “With the SamurAI technology, we are now able to sort, separate and allocate recyclable items more quickly than before. With this new technology, LRS is able to contribute more to preserving the Earth and providing innovative as well as environmentally responsible waste and recycling solutions.”