Zeppelin in AI-based tire recycling link-up

Friedrichshafen, Germany – Zeppelin Systems GmbH has partnered with French waste-tire sorting company Regom to deliver integrated tire recycling systems employing artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

The ‘revolutionary’ project will see Zeppelin tapping into Regom’s technology which uses AI in the sorting of scrap tires, explained the German plants systems supplier.

Regom’s system processes a waste tire every three second, managing around 800 tires per hour, according to a Zeppelin  announcement, issued 1 March.

The advanced processing capabilities are enabled by AI, which evaluates tire sidewall images at high speed, and determines exact features and further uses of scrap tires.

“The results are a high-accuracy detection rate of the tire’s brand, model, profile, size and wear,” said Zeppelin, describing the technology as “very important” for high-quality recycling of scrap tires.

The workload involved in tire sorting is greatly reduced because tires no longer need to be sorted and evaluated manually, noted Guido Veit, VP sales for polyolefins, rubber and silos at Zeppelin.

According to Veit, for the second-hand tire market, the AI-supported process offer precise measurement and evaluation capabilities to determine if a tire can be reused.

Tires that do not make it back to the shops are mechanically separated and shredded as the next step.

According to Zeppelin, the tire sorting technology is easy to integrate into existing recycling systems, including Zeppelin’s services in tire recycling.