TeknTrash Robotics and Sharp Group Pilot AI-Powered Humanoid to Tackle Waste Sector Challenges
UK-based TeknTrash Robotics has partnered with environmental services provider Sharp Group to test ALPHA, an advanced humanoid robot designed to revolutionize waste sorting. The pilot at Sharp Group's Rainham facility—processing 2,800 tonnes of waste weekly—uses Meta Quest 3 headsets to capture workers' movements, training ALPHA's AI models for precision waste handling.
The collaboration addresses critical industry challenges:
Safety Crisis: The UK waste sector reports 4.5% work-related illnesses (vs 3.1% average) and non-fatal injury rates nearly double other industries (3.4% vs 1.8%). Its fatality rate is 17× higher.
Efficiency Gaps: Human sorters make 30-40 picks/minute but suffer fatigue errors, while single-stream recycling contaminates 25% of materials. England's dry recycling fell 7.1% (0.4M tonnes) in 2022 due to quality issues.
ALPHA's hyperspectral vision and cloud-powered NVIDIA GR00T framework enable mobile, dexterous sorting—outperforming stationary robotic arms. The 6-month trial precedes planned deployment across 1,000 European plants within two years.
"This transforms both worker safety and recycling economics," said TeknTrash CEO Al Costa. Sharp Group's Chelsea Sharp added: "We're redefining industry standards through AI and robotics."
#CircularEconomy #Industry40 #SmartWaste #AIPowered #HumanoidRobots #WorkplaceSafety #TechForGood #GreenTech #CircularEconomyNews #WasteTech #AIforGood #RoboticsRevolution #SustainableInnovation #FutureOfRecycling #UKInnovation #LondonTech #CleanerUK
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