Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has introduced ‘Oscar’ – a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) waste-sorting technology from Intuitive AI – that is designed to help travellers sort their waste items into compost, recycling, or trash bins.
The ‘Oscars’ are designed to fit existing waste bins. When users walk up to the machine, they place an item in front of a camera for the system to analyse. ‘Oscar’ then tells the user which bin to use to dispose of the item.
These new devices feature interactive AI technology to offer insights into waste management performance and problem items introduced into the system. The ‘Oscar’ units are designed so their cameras do not capture or store identifying information about users, just the waste items they present for sorting.
“The Port of Seattle strives to reduce waste to landfills and we’re trying innovations like ‘Oscar’ to build awareness among our customers and gather data on the types of waste we see at SEA and our maritime facilities,” said Sandra Kilroy, Senior Director Environment and Sustainability, Port of Seattle. “We know that individuals come to our gateways from all around the world and they might have different waste bins or rules, so ‘Oscar’ will help inform them on how to sort here. At SEA, it supports our goal to divert 60% of terminal waste from landfills.”
