PITTSBURGH, PA.—Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and CleanRobotics today announced a partnership to implement AI recycling bin TrashBot at the airport to assist with smart waste management initiatives. As part of PIT’s commitment to exploring innovative aviation technologies, TrashBot will join the facility to sort passenger waste and recyclables with 96% accuracy.
TrashBot is a smart bin that sorts waste at the point of disposal while gathering data and delivering education to users. Through AI and robotics, TrashBot’s technology identifies and sorts the item into its corresponding bin, reducing contamination and recovering more recyclables. TrashBot is ideal for high-traffic areas where contamination inhibits successful recycling and composting. For airports, TrashBot can significantly influence waste diversion rates and educate a traveling population, driving long-term sustainable impact.
“TrashBot’s implementation at PIT Airport, and the work we do together, embodies how AI and robotics can transform waste management and sustainability practices within airports. We’re eager to see how TrashBot and associated waste data can support and advance PIT’s commitment to solving operational challenges through innovation,” said CleanRobotics CEO Charles Yhap.
The project is facilitated by PIT’s xBridge Innovation Center. Launched in 2020, xBridge is PIT’s proving ground for technologies and startups that solves for needs in today’s airports and tests and incubates strategic technologies that could be deployed in the future. The proof-of-concept and pilot site showcases new technologies in a real-world operating environment. The xBridge is designed to capitalize on and grow the region’s powerful tech economy right at the airport for the aviation industry and beyond. xBridge has partnered with firms ranging from global Fortune 500 companies to local start-ups for projects that have tackled air purification, deployed robotic floor scrubbers, and applied artificial intelligence to security wait times.
“The TrashBot is an innovative product that fits right into our vision of a more sustainable future,” said Cole Wolfson, xBridge Director. “Bringing AI and robotics into a sector like waste management, which affects the entire aviation industry, and giving us the ability to dramatically upgrade our recycling efforts is a game-changer. We’re really proud of this partnership with CleanRobotics.”
A mission-driven company, CleanRobotics aims to disrupt facility waste management by applying AI- and data-driven solutions to recycling programs. The CleanRobotics team is driven by the core belief that sorting waste accurately at the source is the best way to ensure recyclables and other recoverable materials are diverted from landfills. CleanRobotics’ mission ensures the effectiveness of recycling at high-traffic facilities while expanding education and securing the ROI of these programs.
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