- AMP Robotics acquires $55 Million in funding.
- XN Group led the Series B funding.
- AMP Robotics will use the funds to expand its business.
AMP Robotics is a start-up located in Denver, Colorado that develops recyclable material sorting robotic systems. This morning, the company announced the completion of a $55 million Series B funding round led by XN.
The startup says it will use the funds to scale up its business operations and improve AI product applications that integrate into material recovery facilities to increase recycling rates for its customers.
Importance of Waste Management Robots
In 2015 alone, the U.S. produced around 262 million tonnes of municipal waste, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. While more than 91 million tonnes have been recycled and composted. Such automation aims to push the total higher.
As the pandemic causes companies to suspend recycling activities due to worker safety concerns. The demand for waste-sorting robotics is expected to hit $12.26 billion by 2024. In other words, it is rising at a 16.52 percent compound annual growth rate.
AMP Robotics Breakthrough
AMP Robotics claims that its solution offers about 80 objects per minute. It is a significantly higher selection rate than manual processes. It also offers an integrated tracking without retrofitting of content sources.
The AMP’s system is flexible in nature, allowing facility managers to adapt it to current workflows. It can also be customized to individual recyclable object brands and SKUs.
The products of AMP Robotics can not only sort metals, batteries, capacitors, plastics, PCBs, cables, cartons, bottle caps, cardboard, cups, clamshells, lids, aluminum, and thin-film by color, transparency, and opacity. In addition, it can also sort by metal materials, mixed wood, asphalt, bricks, concrete, and mixed plastics. This includes polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene with high density, polyethylene with low density, polypropylene, and polystyrene.
AMP Robots Design BreakDown
AMP Cortex, the robotics control system of the business, leverages a mix of AI algorithms and physical robots to orchestrate tasks of sorting, choosing, and positioning. Sitting over a conveyor belt, held in place by a moveable steel frame, is a three-armed picker machine with an adaptable frame area and height.
It comes with data from AMP Neuron with computer vision to discern visual characteristics. It also improves itself by processing “millions” of cloud images through the network of AMP Robotics. This makes it possible to sort items more efficiently and learn new material types, adjust to changes in packaging design and lighting, and recover high-demand materials like paper, tissue, and cardboard.
