ERI, the nation’s leading fully integrated IT and electronics asset disposition provider and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company, has shared unique video footage of its of the groundbreaking, A.I.-driven robotic system at its Fresno facility.
The video, narrated by ERI’s Co-Founder, Chief Compliance Officer and COO, Aaron Blum, provides a sneak peek at the robots in action.
ERI’s first-in-industry A.I. and robotics technology system is made up of two robots: SAM and ERNIE. The robotic system, designed by Colorado-based AMP Robotics, is integrated into ERI’s scrap metal sorting line.
SAM (“Super Automated Machine”) separates shredded material such as aluminum, printed circuit boards, yellow brass, capacitors, and copper products into a clean stream, based off a vision system to identify the target material that then sends it to the A.I. (brain) that then determines what action the robot should pick. The picking is done via vacuum system. At ERI, SAM can achieve about 70 picks per minute in its current configuration. Plus, it processes 10 different streams of shredded material.
ERNIE (“Electronic Recyclers Next Innovative Efficiency”) is the industry’s first-ever robotic flat panel processor. This proprietary technology is used to automate e-waste recycling, and can shred 5000 pounds per hour of flat screen TVs and monitors in a controlled environment utilizing a carbon fume scrubber. ERNIE was developed by ERI to prepare for the future in which there will be fewer CRT devices in the end-of-life stream and more flat-screen TVs.
“With steady growth of 10-15 percent per year, we are always looking for innovative ways to enhance efficiencies,” said John Shegerian, ERI’s Co-Founder and Executive Chairman. “Working with our friends at AMP we developed smart technology that will continue to increase our sorting accuracy as our processing volume increases so we can free up our employees to perform ITAD and data wiping services. We are very proud of SAM and ERNIE and being the first in our industry to incorporate robotics and A.I. into the process.”
Shegerian added that by the end of 2019, the company will have added robotics and A.I. to its other facilities across the country.
