Digimarc, a digital watermarking technology provider, has announced the launch of its new sortation software, which is designed to help brands achieve circularity.
The Digimarc Recycle software has been engineered to reduce the cost of compatible hardware by nearly 50%, making it more accessible for recycling and waste sortation facilities worldwide.
The technology improves the precision and accuracy of sorting machines in identifying recycled materials.
According to Digimarc, the technology utilises digital watermarks to accurately determine the composition of each item, addressing the issue of misidentification common in current technologies.
This misidentification often leads to cross-contaminated plastics, which hinders the possibility of closed-loop recycling and a circular plastics economy.
The software has the ability to increase sortation specificity, enabling sorting machines equipped with cameras and the Digimarc Recycle software to detect digital watermarks on packaging as they move along conveyor belts.
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This specificity allows for sorting at any desired level of granularity by connecting digital watermarks to a cloud-based repository of product attributes.
Digimarc has optimised the latest version of its Recycle software for graphics processing units (GPUs), which are widely used in AI applications.
Digimarc research and development vice-president Ravi Sharma said: “In redesigning our detector software operations for GPUs, we’re harnessing the parallel processing capabilities and the performance and cost advantages they provide.
“As a result, we’ve reduced the hardware needed for our detection technology, thereby reducing the compute cost of Digimarc’s detection module by up to 70%, while achieving the same performance. It’s a win-win for recycling facilities and the industry, as our latest release increases the ROI [return on investment] for all recycling ecosystem participants.”
The software is already operational at the Hündgen material recovery facility (MRF) in Germany, where it is installed in a Pellenc ST-developed sorting machine.
Within just one day of operation, the technology successfully identified tens of thousands of items with Digimarc digital watermarks, showcasing its scalability and efficiency.
Pellenc ST co-founder and chief scientific officer Antoine Bourely said: “Achieving such a significant reduction in cost while maintaining efficacy is a key success factor for implementation of the technology in the recycling industry.”
In June this year, Digimarc entered into a strategic partnership with industrial automation solutions provider Omron.
