Technical field

[0001] Various aspects of this disclosure relate to a sorting container, a sorting system, and a sorting container arrangement.

Background

[0002] Globally, every year more than 400 million tons of plastics are produced. Much of these plastics are mismanaged due to the current linear take-make-waste economy approach. This excessive consumption of plastics and the lack of recycling efforts have led to plastic pollution that affect our biological diversity and also the health of humans. In many developing countries, municipalities often lack a framework, resources, and/or the capacity to implement an efficient and formal waste collection and treatment system. Hence, it may be necessary to improve the sorting of waste, in particular the sorting of plastics. It is found that differentiating various types of plastics within a sorting system can increase revenue for the recycling facility owner in the range from about 20% to about 100%. Various aspects relate to a sorting container and a system using two or more of these sorting containers. The sorting container allows to fit all components required for sorting waste (e.g., waste including different types of plastic materials) into a single container, especially a shipping container (such as a 20-foot shipping container). This makes the sorting container flexible in its location and allows to easily transport to sorting container from one location to another. Therefore, the sorting container can be used at small-scale material recovery facilities (MRFs). For example, Asia has a decentralized ecosystem with small clusters of MRFs processing low volumes of waste (e.g., 10 to 50 tons per day). This restricts the use of expensive state-of-the-art sorting technology including long conveyor belt lines and huge space which requires high volumes of waste, a huge initial investment, and a high maintenance cost. The sorting container, on the other hand, can be employed in these small-scale MRFs and may have significantly lower investment costs. Usually, sorting out different types of plastics from waste may require a pre-sorting to initially sort out other materials, such as metals, paper, cardboards, etc., which increases the required time for sorting and which requires a long waste stream chain to reach a certain level of quality. The sorting container, on the other hand, does not require any kind of pre-sorting and allows to fit all required components into the single (shipping) container. Furthermore, two or more sorting containers may be coupled to each in a sorting container arrangement, thereby allowing scalability. Although, as described herein, there are various advantages to small- scale MRFs, it is noted that the container (or at least some of the components within the container) may be employed in medium-scale or large-scale MRFs. As an example, at least a part of the comparatively long waste stream chains in large-scale MRFs may be replaced by the container described herein.

Summary

[0003] Various embodiments relate to a sorting container, including: a container; an input opening for inputting waste into the container; an output opening for outputting unsorted waste from the container; a conveyor configured to receive waste input via the input opening and to transport the received waste from the input opening to the output opening; one or more robotic arms configured to pick objects from the conveyor; one or more sorting outputs, wherein each sorting output of the one or more sorting outputs is associated with a respective waste-type and associated with at least one robotic arm of the one or more robotic arms, wherein the at least one robotic arm is configured to transfer an object picked from the conveyor to the sorting output and wherein each sorting output includes: a sorting opening for outputting sorted waste from the container, and a transport device configured to receive the transferred object from the associated at least one robotic arm; a terahertz source configured to irradiate waste on the conveyor with terahertz radiation; and a terahertz camera configured to detect terahertz radiation which is passed through the irradiated waste, wherein the terahertz camera is arranged between the input opening and the one or more robotic arms.

[0004] The conveyor may be in a pull-in/pull-out configuration (e.g., may be configured as a pull-in/pull-out belt). Hence, the conveyor may be configured to pull in waste at the input opening and to pull out waste at the output opening. This may ensure a smooth input/output waste stream handling.

[0005] According to various embodiments, the container may be a shipping container, especially a 20-foot shipping container (e.g., according to the ISO standard).

[0006] According to various embodiments, at least one sorting output is associated with a plastic material as waste-type. For example, the irradiated waste may include a plurality of plastic objects, wherein each plastic object of the plurality of plastic objects comprises a respective plastic material of two or more plastic materials; and at least one of the following: one or more metal objects comprising a metal, one or more cardboard objects comprising cardboard, and/or one or more organic objects comprising an organic material.

[0007] According to various embodiments, the sorting container may include no components extending from the (shipping) container.

[0008] According to various embodiments, the sorting container may further include an air ventilation device configured to supply fresh air from outside the container into the container and/or to clean (e.g., filtrate) air inside the container. For example, the air ventilation device may allow clean (e.g., filter) dust and/or particles generated inside the container during waste management.

[0009] Various embodiments relate to a sorting system, including: a sorting container according to any one of the above described embodiments and a computer. The computer may be arranged within the sorting container or may be connected (e.g., wirelessly) to the sorting container. For example, the sorting container may be connected to an external computer employing cloud computing. The computer may be configured to: determine a waste-type of an object within the irradiated waste using the detected terahertz radiation, determine, whether a sorting output of the one or more sorting outputs is associated with the determined waste-type, and in the case that a sorting output is associated with the determined waste-type, control the at least one robotic arm associated with the sorting output to pick the object from the conveyor and to transfer the object to the transport device of the sorting output. [0010] According to various embodiments, the sorting system may further include a user interface which allows a user to set a respective waste-type for each of the one or more sorting outputs. The user interface may be accessible without entering the (shipping) container. The user interface may be attached to the sorting container or may be (e.g., wirelessly) connected to the sorting container. For example, the user interface may be provided by a user device (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, etc.) wirelessly connected to the sorting container.

[0011] Various embodiments relate to a sorting container arrangement, including: a first sorting container according to any one of the above described embodiments or a first sorting system according to any one of the above described embodiments, wherein the first sorting system includes a first sorting container, wherein the first sorting container is configured to sort out one or more first waste-types from waste input into the first sorting container via its input opening; a second sorting container according to any one of the above described embodiments or a second sorting system according to any one of the above described embodiments, wherein the second sorting system includes a second sorting container, wherein the second sorting container is configured to sort out one or more second waste-types different from the one or more first waste-types; and an inter-container transport device configured to transport unsorted waste from the output opening of the first sorting container to the input opening of the second sorting container.

[0012] According to various embodiments, at least one waste-type of the one or more first waste-types is associated with a first plastic material; and at least one waste-type of the one or more second waste-types is associated with a second plastic material different from the first plastic material. [0013] Various embodiments relate to a use of a sorting container including a sorting container or a sorting system or a sorting container arrangement according to any one of the above described embodiments for sorting waste next to the place where the waste is generated. The sorting container allows to fit a sorting solution into a (e.g., 20-foot shipping) container. This allows to easily implement the sorting container at customer’s premises. For example, the sorting of waste may be carried out at the source of the waste, such as next to a shopping mall, a hospital, a stadium, a concert mall, etc.

Brief description of the drawings

[0014] The invention will be better understood with reference to the detailed description when considered in conjunction with the non-limiting examples and the accompanying drawings, in which:

- FIG. 1A to FIG. IK each show a sorting container according to various embodiments;

- FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B each show a shipping container;

- FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C each show a sorting container arrangement including two or more sorting containers according to various embodiments; and

- FIG. 4 shows an example of an image captured by a terahertz camera in comparison to an RGB image.

Detailed description

[0015] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific details and embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and structural, and logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The various embodiments are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some embodiments can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments.

[0016] Features that are described in the context of an embodiment may correspondingly be applicable to the same or similar features in the other embodiments. Features that are described in the context of an embodiment may correspondingly be applicable to the other embodiments, even if not explicitly described in these other embodiments. Furthermore, additions and/or combinations and/or alternatives as described for a feature in the context of an embodiment may correspondingly be applicable to the same or similar feature in the other embodiments.

[0017] In the context of various embodiments, the articles “a”, “an” and “the” as used with regard to a feature or element include a reference to one or more of the features or elements. [0018] As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0019] In an embodiment, a "computer" may be understood as any kind of a logic implementing entity, which may be hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Thus, in an embodiment, a "computer" may be a hard-wired logic circuit or a programmable logic circuit such as a programmable processor, e.g. a microprocessor (e.g. a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) processor or a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) processor). A "computer" may also be software being implemented or executed by a processor, e.g. any kind of computer program, e.g. a computer program using a virtual machine code such as Java. A “computer “may be or may include one or more processors. Any other kind of implementation of the respective functions which will be described in more detail below may also be understood as a "computer" in accordance with an alternative embodiment.

[0020] A “memory” may be used in the processing carried out by a computer and/or may store data used by the computer. A “memory” used in the embodiments may be a volatile memory, for example a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or a non-volatile memory, for example a PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable PROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM), or a flash memory, e.g., a floating gate memory, a charge trapping memory, an MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory) or a PCRAM (Phase Change Random Access Memory).

[0021] As used herein, the term “objecf includes any object, e.g., a recyclable or reusable object that may be sorted according to type and/or class. Examples of materials of plastic objects may include High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE), Polypropylene (PP), Polystyrene (PS), Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) etc. Such objects may include bottles, jars, containers, plates, bowls etc. of various shapes, sizes, and forms (for example, partially compressed, distorted).

[0022] While the disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced.

[0023] In order to allow recycling of plastics, it may be required to sort different types of plastics out of waste. However, the waste may not only include plastics but also other materials, such as paper, metals, cardboards, etc. Removing these other materials prior to sorting out the different types of plastics may require a complex, and hence expensive presorting. Differentiating different types of plastics within waste may also require comparatively long process chains as described above. Various aspects relate to a sorting container which allows to sort non-pre-sorted waste by means of a (e.g., 20-foot ISO shipping) container. Hence, the sorting container may have a comparatively short process chain, may not lead to pre-sorting costs, and may be flexible in its location (e.g., easily shipped to another place, moved to another location on land, etc.).

[0024] FIG. 1A to FIG. IK each shows a sorting container 100 according to various aspects. The sorting container 100 may be based on a containerized waste sorting modular solution. The sorting container 100 may include a shipping container 102 (e.g., a single modular shipping container). The shipping container 102 may be a shipping container according to the ISO standard (e.g., a 20-foot shipping container). A 20-foot shipping container may be configured according the ISO standard 668 such that the 20-foot shipping may have (in the case of outside measurements) a length of about 6.06 meters, a width of about 2.44 meters, and a height of about 2.59 meters (in the case of a standard 20-foot container) or a height of about 2.896 meters (in the case of a 20-foot high-cube container). It is understood that since the components can be arranged within a 20-foot container they can also be arranged within a greater container, such as a 40-foot container (e.g., according to ISO 668). For illustration, an exemplary shipping container 102 is shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. The shipping container 102 may include a front side 202, a back side 204 opposite to the front side 202, a flooring 206, a roof panel 208, a first side panel 210, and a second side panel 212 opposite to the first side panel 210. With reference to FIG. 2B, the front side 202 may include a front door 224. The front door 224 may allow a user to enter the shipping container 102. Optionally, the back side 204 may include a back door 226. The shipping container 102 may include a front frame 220 and/or a back frame 222 to couple the flooring 206, the roof panel 208, the first side panel 210, and the second side panel 212 to one another. The shipping container 102 may include some modification in comparison to a common shipping container, such as various openings within its outer shell. The sorting container 100 may include various components arranged within the shipping container 102. According to various aspects, all components of the sorting container 100 may be arranged within the shipping container 102. Hence, the sorting container 100 may include no components which extend from the shipping container 102. In the following, these modifications to a common shipping container and the components within shipping container 102 are described with reference to FIG. 1A to FIG. IK: [0025] The sorting container 100 may include various openings. Each opening described herein may be an opening within the shipping container 102 to allow a transfer of objects into the shipping container 102 and/or out of the shipping container 102. Illustratively, an opening, as used herein, may be a window within the shell of the shipping container 102. The sorting container 100 may include an input opening 104. The sorting container 100 may include an output opening 108. The input opening 104 may be an opening (e.g., a window) within the front side 202 of the shipping container 102. The output opening 108 may be an opening (e.g., a window) within the back side 204 of the shipping container 102. The sorting container 100 may include a conveyor 110. The conveyor 110 may be arranged between the input opening 104 and the output opening 108. The conveyor 110 may be configured to transport objects input via the input opening 104 to the output opening (e.g., to output transported objects from the shipping container 102). The conveyor 110 may be configured to pull-in waste at the input opening and to pull-out waste at the output opening. Hence, the conveyor may be in a pu II- in/pull-out belt configuration. This may ensure a smooth input/output waste stream handling.

[0026] According to various aspects, the input opening 104 may allow to input waste into the shipping container 102. The conveyor 110 may be configured to receive waste input via the input opening 104 and to transport the received waste from the input opening 104 to the output opening 108. The conveyor 110 may be any kind of transport device capable to transport objects (e.g., waste) from the input opening 104 to the output opening 108, such as a conveyor belt, conveyor roller, etc.

[0027] The waste 106 input via the input opening 104 may include different types of materials, such as metals, plastics, cardboard, papers, organics, etc. Hence, the waste 106 may be non-pre-sorted waste. Herein, an object may have a specific material type in the case that the object includes at least 70% (e.g., at least 80%, e.g., at least 90%) of this material type. For example, a metal object may include at least 70% of metals (e.g., different metal materials) and a plastic object may include at least 70% of plastics (e.g., different plastic materials). For example, the waste 106 may include a plastic object 106(1) (e.g., a plastic bottle), a cardboard object 106(2) (e.g., a box), and a metal object 106(3) (e.g., an aluminum can).

[0028] In the following, the sorting container 100 is described as being configured to sort different plastic materials out of (e.g., non-pre-sorted) input waste 106. However, this serves as illustration and the sorting container 100 allows to sort out any kind of other material in a similar manner.

[0029] According to various aspects, the waste 106 may not be shredded prior to inputting the waste 106 into the input opening 104 and not within the sorting container 100. [0030] The sorting container 100 may include a sensor module. The sensor module may include a terahertz source 120. The terahertz source 120 may be configured to irradiate waste on the conveyor 110 with terahertz radiation 124. The terahertz source 120 may be configured to directly or indirectly (e.g., using one or more reflectors) irradiate the waste on the conveyor 110. The sensor module may include a terahertz camera 122. The terahertz camera 122 may be configured to detect terahertz radiation 126 which is passed through the irradiated waste. The terahertz source 120 may be arranged above the conveyor 110. The terahertz camera 122 may be arranged below the conveyor 110 (e.g., at least partially within a frame of the conveyor 110). The terahertz camera 122 may be arranged (e.g., directly) beneath the upper conveyor belt material. The sensor module may be a THz linear image scanning system. The sensor module may be a High-Speed Terahertz Imaging Scanner from TeraSense [1] using any of their source-types and camera-types. According to various aspects, the terahertz source 120 and the terahertz camera 122 may continuously acquire data.

[0031] Terahertz radiation, as used herein, may refer to electromagnetic radiation operating in the Terahertz (THz) range/spectrum and may refer to electromagnetic radiation having a frequency equal to or greater than 0.1 THz. The terahertz radiation can penetrate through not only visually transparent objects, but also opaque objects. The image data or signal detected by the terahertz camera may include the penetration intensity of the electromagnetic radiation (which may be referred to as “power intensity”). It follows that image data or signal based on the “power intensity” may include heat maps showing or representing power penetration distribution. The terahertz camera may be configured to provide a THz power intensity heatmap image using the transmittance signals of the material to THz radiation. In FIG. 4, a heatmap image 404 captured by the terahertz camera 122 is compared to an image 402 captured by a RGB camera. Terahertz radiation may be non-destructive to the objects within the waste 106.

[0032] The sorting container 100 may include one or more robotic arms 112(n= I to N) (with “N” being any integer number equal to or greater than one). A robotic arm (short robot), as used herein, may be configured to pick an object (e.g., a waste object) from the conveyor 110, to move the picked object, and to release the object after moving. A robotic arm may be a delta robot or an industrial robotic arm. A robotic arm may include a grabber configured to pick an object by grabbing the object (see, for example, first robotic arm 112(1)). A robotic arm may include a suction head configured to pick an object by means of underpressure (hence, pressure below atmospheric pressure) (see, for example, second robotic arm 112(2)). The terahertz camera may be arranged between the input opening 104 and the one or more robotic arms 112(n= 1 to N). The sorting containerlOO may include further components which the one or more robotic arms may employ in order to pick and move an object, such as a camera (e.g., a RGB camera) tracking the objects within the waste 106 and any kind of image recognition software. The one or more robotic arms may be pre-configured depending on the production line configuration, according to the waste inpul/output stream and/or the volume of waste 106. [0033] Using terahertz radiation may be advantageous over other radiation types, such as NIR (near infrared) hyper spectral optical sensor systems. NIR cannot penetrate plastics and could not get any color information from objects. Also errors are induced to NIR systems in the case that the plastic objects are contaminated with organic materials, such as food waste. Sorting systems using a NIR optical sensor system are not able to sort labels on plastic bottles, black plastics, and multi-layer plastics.

[0034] The sorting container 100 may include one or more sorting outputs 114(m= 1 to M) (with “M” being any integer number equal to or greater than one). Each sorting output 114(m) may allow to output objects (e.g., sorted waste objects) out of the shipping container 102. Each sorting output 114(m, k= 1 to 2) may include a sorting opening 162(m, k) (e.g., a window within the shell of the shipping container 102). A sorting opening may be referred to as discharge chute for positive sorting out. The arrows 154(m, k) in FIG. ID to FIG. II may indicate a respective waste stream of objects which are positively sorted out via the respective sorting opening 162(m, k). The integer number “k” may indicate whether the sorting opening 162(m, k) of the sorting output 114(m, k) is disposed within the first side panel 210 (k=l) or the second side panel 212 (k=2). Each sorting output 114(m, k= 1 to 2) may include a transport device 164(m, k). The transport device 164(m, k) may be coupled to the sorting opening 162(m, k) such that the transport device 164(m, k) transports objects transferred to the transport device to the sorting opening 162(m, k) for outputting the objects (e.g., the sorted waste objects) out of the shipping container 102. Each sorting output 114(m) may be associated with at least one robotic arm 112(n) of the one or more robotic arms 112(n= 1 to N). The at least one robotic arm 112(n) may be configured to transfer an object picked from the conveyor 110 to the associated sorting output 114(m, k= 1 to 2). Hence, a sorting output may be associated with more than one robotic arm and each of these robotic arms may be configured to transfer objects from the conveyor 110 to the transport device of this sorting output. Further, some robotic arms (e.g., each robotic arm) may be associated with more than one sorting output and may be capable to transfer a picked object from the conveyor 110 to one of these sorting outputs. A transport device 164(m, k) may be configured as a bin (e.g., including a flap as shown in FIG. ID).

[0035] Each sorting output 114(m, k) may be associated with a respective waste-type. Illustratively, objects having a specific waste-type may be sorted out (using the at least one robotic arm associated with the waste-type) and output via the sorting opening of the sorting output. A “waste-type”, as used herein, may refer to any category of waste which is intended to be sorted out. For example, the waste-type may refer to a material category, such as metals, cardboards, organics, plastics, etc. The waste-type may refer specific materials within a material category, such as in the case of plastics: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), High- Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), etc. More than one sorting output may be associated with the same waste-type. For example, a respective waste-type may be assigned to each sorting output 114(m, k). As an illustrative example, a first sorting output 114(1,1) may be assigned to clear PET, a second sorting output 114(1,2) may be assigned to colored PET, a third sorting output 114(2,1) may be assigned to HDPE, and a fourth sorting output 114(2,2) may be assigned to other plastics (or alternatively to cardboard).

[0036] The sorting container 100 may include a computer or may be connected to the computer (e.g., using a memory for processing as described herein). The computer may be arranged within the sorting container 100. Alternatively, the computer may be arranged outside the sorting container and may be connected (e.g., wirelessly) to the sorting container 100. In this case, the computer may employ cloud computing. In the following, the sorting 100 is described as including the computer 128. However, it is noted that the computer 128 may also be arranged outside the sorting container 100 and connected to the sorting container 100.

[0037] The computer 128 may be configured to receive a representation of the detected terahertz radiation (e.g., an image) from the terahertz camera 122. The computer 128 may be configured to determine a respective waste-type of one or more objects within the irradiated waste using the representation of the detected terahertz radiation (e.g., the image). The computer 128 may be configured to control each of the one or more robotic arms 112(n= 1 to N) (e.g., to control a robotic arm to pick a specific object and to move the picked object to a specific sorting output). The computer 128 may be configured to determine, for each respectively determined waste-type of the one or more objects, whether at least one sorting output 114(m) of the one or more sorting outputs 114(m= 1 to M) is associated with the determined waste-type, and, in the case that that at least one sorting output 114(m) is associated with the determined waste-type, control the at least one robotic arm associated with the sorting output to pick the object from the conveyor and to transfer the object to the transport device of the sorting output.

[0038] An example is shown in FIG. IB: The computer 128 may determine that the plastic object 106(1) includes a plastic material corresponding to the waste-type which is associated with one of the sorting outputs and may control the first robotic arm 112(1) to pick the plastic object 106(1) and to move the plastic object 106(1) to the sorting output. In this example, the cardboard object 106(2) and the metal object 106(3) may not be associated with the wastetype of any of the sorting outputs and may not be sorted out. The cardboard object 106(2) and the metal object 106(3) may then be output as residuals 138 (in some aspects referred to as non-sorted waste) via the output opening 108. The residuals 138 may be part of an output waste stream.

[0039] The computer 128 may be configured to determine the waste-type of an object by employing (e.g., automated) object identification, feature extraction, and classification to extract key features and may use image classification techniques to automatically differentiate between at least two classes of waste-types, such as between an HDPE bottle and a PET bottle. Here, the computer 128 may employ any kind of model capable to determine (e.g., to classify) a waste-type of objects. A “model” may be, for example, based on machine learning (e.g., may employ a machine learning algorithm). Illustratively, a “model” may be adapted (e.g., trained) using machine learning. A “model” may be a decision tree model, a random forest model, a gradient boosting model, a support vector machine, a k-nearest neighbor model, a neural network, etc. A “neural network” may be any kind of neural network, such as an autoencoder network, a convolutional neural network, a variational autoencoder network, a sparse autoencoder network, a recurrent neural network, a deconvolutional neural network, a generative adversarial network, a forward-thinking neural network, a sum-product neural network, etc. For example, a contour-based object detection algorithm may be employed to identify one or more ROI from the heatmap image, wherein each ROI corresponds to a respective object to be classified. Hence, the computer 128 may employ machine-learning- based waste material classification (using deep learning of object classification in an artificial intelligence platform and detailed material identification module using terahertz radiation), such as a waste material classification module. According to various aspects, the inference of the model may be executed on an edge computing device.

[0040] The computer 128 may include a server rack including an edge computing engine. [0041] According to various aspects, the sorting container 100 may include two or more sorting outputs (i.e., M 2). A first sorting output 114(1) of the two or more sorting outputs may be associated with a first plastic material as waste-type and a second sorting output 114(2) of the two or more sorting outputs may be associated with a second plastic material (different from the first plastic material) as waste-type. Hence, the sorting container 100 may be configured to sort out different types of plastics.

[0042] With reference to FIG. 1C, the sorting container 100 may include one or more air ventilation devices 130(p= 1 to P) (with “P” being any integer number equal to or greater than one). Each air ventilation device 130(p) (e.g., an air handling unit) may be configured to supply fresh air from outside the shipping container 102 into the shipping container 102. This may allow that a user 150 can enter the shipping container 102 (e.g., to conduct any work inside the shipping container 102, such as maintenance). The air ventilation devices may be required due to handling of dirty and hazardous waste materials for repeatable sorting performance, hazard precaution and fire suppression. According to various aspects, the sorting container 100 may include a ground floor 102(1) within the shipping container 102 in which the conveyor, 110, the sorting outputs, the robotic arms are arranged. The sorting container 100 may include a second floor 102(2) within the shipping container 102. Some of the components may be arranged on the second floor 102(2). For example, a fan 132 of at least one of the air ventilation devices may be arranged on the second floor 102(2) (e.g., within the shell of the shipping container 102 atthe second floor 102(2)). Each robotic arm 112(n) may be associated with a respective robot controller 140(n) for controlling the robotic arm 112(n). At least one robot controller 140(n) may be arranged on the second floor 102(2). The computer 128 may be configured to control the robot controllers 140(n) in order to control the respective robotic arm 112(n). The sorting container 102 may include an air compressor 142. The air compressor 142 may be arranged on the second floor 102(2). The air compressor 142 may be configured to provide the underpressure of the robotic arm(s) using a suction head for picking objects (e.g., the second robotic arm 112(2) in FIG. 1C). FIG. IK shows at least portions of the first air ventilation device 130(1) and the second air ventilation device 130(2) in a side view (in 192), an isometric view (in 194), and a plan view (in 196). The sorting container 102 may include a firefighting system (e.g., including one or more fire extinguishers 198).

[0043] With reference to FIG. 1H, FIG. II, and FIG. 1J, the sorting container 100 may include a user interface 180. The user interface 180 may allow the user 150 to set a respective waste-type for each of the one or more sorting outputs 114(m= 1 to M, k= 1 to 2). The user interface 180 may be a human-machine interface (HMI) dashboard. With reference to FIG. 1H and FIG. 1J, the sorting container 100 may include a roller door 182 at the front side 202 (see front view F in FIG. 1 J) . The input opening 104 and the user interface 180 may be accessible without opening the roller door 182. Hence, the user interface 180 may be accessible without entering the shipping container 102. With reference to FIG. 1J, the back side 204 (see back view B) may include a back wall 184 (or alternatively a second roller door). The input opening 104 may be arranged within the roller door 182 and the output opening 108 may be arranged within the back wall 184. This allows to lock the sorting container 100 using the front door 224 and the back door 226. It is noted that the sorting container 100 is described as including the user interface 180 for illustrating an exemplary embodiment. In this case, the user interface 180 may be attached to the sorting container 100. Alternatively, the user interface 180 may be arranged outside (and not attached to) the sorting container 100. In this case, the user interface 180 may be configured to (e.g., wirelessly) connected to the sorting container 100. As an example, the user interface 180 may be a user interface of a user device (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, etc.) and the sorting container 100 may include an interface (e.g., a wireless interface) which allows to connect the user device to the sorting container 100. Thus, the user device may allow to control the sorting container 100 (e.g., to set a respective wastetype).

[0044] The sorting container 100 may include further modifications of the shipping container 102, such as electrical (e.g. lighting, power supply (e.g. 40 Amp Single Phase 220- 230V), tower light, etc.) and mechanical modification work (e.g. accessories fabrication (window, exhaust fan housing, mechanical louver, chute, etc.), custom build steel structures, and/or frameworks for the one or more robotic arms and/or the conveyor 110. Optionally, the sorting container 100 may include an input flap 160 coupled to the input opening 104 and/or an output flap coupled to the output opening 108. Also a respective flap may be arranged at each sorting opening such that the sorting openings can be closed (e.g., during shipping). Alternatively to using a flap, the respective opening (input opening, output opening, and/or sorting opening(s)) may closable using another component, such as a door (e.g., a sliding door). Optionally, the sorting container 100 may include one or more cameras at the front door 224, one or more cameras next to each robotic arm, one or more additional cameras inside the shipping container 102, and/or cameras viewing an area outside the shipping container 102. According to some aspects, the shipping container 102 may have an open front wall and/or an open side wall (e.g., for allowing an easy maintenance).

[0045] The sorting container 100, described herein, can be shipped to be added, integrated, or retrofitted into an existing MRF. Therefore, this (e.g., mobile automated) sorting container 100 tackles the limitations of retrofit solution and long conveyor belt solution in the existing conveyor belt system in MRFs. The sorting container 100 provides a pre-fabricated environment which may be pre-test (e.g., certified) prior to shipping. The sorting container 100 has a low initial investment to start operations and requires no additional infrastructure costs. The modular solution of the sorting container 100 leads to low maintenance costs.

[0046] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C each show a sorting container arrangement 300 including two or more sorting containers 100(o= 1 to O) (with “O” being any integer number equal to or greater than two). Each of the two or more sorting containers 100(o= 2 to O) may be configured in accordance with the sorting container 100. The two or more sorting containers 100(o= 2 to O) may be configured the same or at least one sorting container may be configured different to the other ones. The sorting containers 100(o= 2 to O) of the sorting container arrangement 300 may be arranged side by side (see, for example, FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B) and/or on top of each other (i.e., stacked) (see, for example, FIG. 3C). Within the sorting container arrangement 300, the residuals 138 of one sorting container may be input into the input opening of another sorting container. The sorting containers may be arranged in a linear production line, in multiple production lines (see FIG. 3A), in a circular production line (see FIG. 3B), and/or in a stacked production line (see FIG. 3C). Illustratively it is shown that the sorting containers 100 allow easy scalability of production lines.

[0047] With reference to FIG. 3A, the sorting container arrangement 300 may include five sorting containers 100(o= 1 to 5). In this example, a first waste stream 302(1) may be input into the input opening 104 of the first sorting container 100(1) and a second waste stream 302(2) may be input into the input opening 104 of the second sorting container 100(2). The residuals 138(1) output via the output opening 108 of the first sorting container 100(1) may be input into the third sorting container 100(3) and the residuals 138(2) output via the output opening 108 of the second sorting container 100(2) may be input into the fourth sorting container 100(4). Both, the residuals 138(3) output via the output opening 108 of the third sorting container 100(3) and the residuals 138(4) output via the output opening 108 of the fourth sorting container 100(4) may be input (e.g., as fifth waste stream 302(5) and sixth waste stream 302(6), respectively) into the input opening 104 of the fifth sorting container 100(5) which may (in this linear production line) output the output waste stream 138(5) including the objects which are not sorted out.

[0048] With reference to FIG. 3B, the sorting container arrangement 300 may include four sorting containers 100(o= 1 to 4). In this example, a first waste stream 302(1) may be input into the input opening 104 of the first sorting container 100(1) and the residuals 138(1) output via the output opening 108 of the first sorting container 100(1) may be input into the second sorting container 100(2) and the residuals 138(2) output via the output opening 108 of the second sorting container 100(2) may be input into the third sorting container 100(3), etc. This may be carried circular such that the residuals output via the output opening 108 of the fourth sorting container 100(4) may again be input into the input opening 104 of the first sorting container 100(1) as indicated by reference sign 306(1). This circular approach may be carried out until a predefined condition is fulfilled (e.g., a predefined number of cycles or a predefined quality factor of objects sorted out, etc.). The circular approach may end with outputting residuals 308(4) from the fourth sorting container 100(4).

[0049] With reference to FIG. 3C, the sorting container arrangement 300 may include two sorting containers 100 which are stacked. Stacking the sorting containers allows to reduce the required lateral space. Similar to the circular approach shown in FIG. 3B, the sorting may be carried out in cycles such that the residuals 138(2) of the second sorting container 100(2) may be input again into the first sorting container 100(1) (as indicated by 306(1)). This stacking approach may end with outputting residuals 308(2) from the second sorting container 100(2). [0050] According to various aspects, the transport system 300 may include one or more inter-container transport devices (for example inter-container transport device 310). Each inter-container transport device may be arranged between the output opening 108 of one sorting container 100 and the input opening 104 of another subsequent sorting container 100. For example, in the configuration according to FIG. 3A, a respective inter-container transport device may be arranged between the output opening of the first sorting container 100(1) and the input opening of the third sorting container 100(3), between the output opening of the second sorting container 100(2) and the input opening of the fourth sorting container 100(4), between the output opening of the third sorting container 100(3) and the input opening of the fifth sorting container 100(5), and/or between the output opening of the fourth sorting container 100(4) and the input opening of the fifth sorting container 100(5). For example, in the configuration according to FIG. 3B, a respective inter-container transport device may be arranged between the output opening of the first sorting container 100(1) and the input opening of the second sorting container 100(2), between the output opening of the second sorting container 100(2) and the input opening of the third sorting container 100(3), between the output opening of the third sorting container 100(3) and the input opening of the fourth sorting container 100(4), and/or between the output opening of the fourth sorting container 100(4) and the input opening of the first sorting container 100(1). For example, in the configuration according to FIG. 3C, a respective inter-container transport device may be arranged between the output opening of the first sorting container 100(1) and the input opening of the second sorting container 100(2) (e.g., inter-container transport device 310), and/or between the output opening of the second sorting container 100(2) and the input opening of the first sorting container 100(1). In the stacking configuration according to FIG. 3C, the circulation may be carried out infinite (e.g., to maximize the throughput and minimize the residue).

[0051] According to various aspects, the two or more sorting containers 100(o= 2 to O) may be arranged in series. For example, the two or more sorting containers 100(o= 2 to O) may be arranged such that the residuals 138 output by one sorting container may be (e.g., directly) input as waste stream 302 into the input opening of the next sorting container (and so on for the two or more sorting containers). [0052] Various embodiments describe the use of the sorting container 100 and the sorting container arrangement 300. It is understood that these aspects also relate to corresponding methods.

Reference

[1] https://terasense.com/products/thz-scanner