INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The problem of how to find the potential treasure trove hidden in millions of pounds of trash is getting a high-tech answer as investors
funnel $16 million into the recycling robots built by Denver-based AMP Robotics.For recyclers, the commercialization of robots tackling
Their once-stable business has been turned on its head by trade wars and low unemployment.Recycling businesses used to be able to rely on
China to buy up any waste stream (no matter the quality of the material)
kinds of raw materials it would be willing to receive from other countries
The result has been higher costs at recycling facilities, which actually are now required to sort their garbage more effectively.At the same
time, low unemployment rates are putting the squeeze on labor availability at facilities where humans are basically required to hand-sort
The end result is an industry proactively searching for cost-saving alternatives and added opportunities to increase revenue by capturing
computer vision technologies can actually help identify branded packaging and be used by companies to improve their own product life cycle
industry as well, according to Horowitz
Automotive scrap and construction waste are other areas where the company has seen interest for its combination of software and
hardware.Meanwhile, the core business of recycling is picking up
In October, the company completed the installation of 14 robots at Single Stream Recyclers in Florida
sites in California, Colorado, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.The traction the company is seeing
in its core business was validating for early investors like BV, Closed Loop Partners, Congruent Ventures and Sidewalk Infrastructure
