FlexCycle develops innovative solutions for the automated recycling of soft materials, such as textiles, cables, and fuel cell membranes. These materials, often challenging to handle due to their elasticity and unpredictable degradation, require adaptive and cross-domain approaches.
The project is based on two main pillars:
Adaptive hardware: new robotic tools, such as soft and under-actuated end-effectors, capable of handling various materials with minimal reconfiguration.
Advanced software: a framework based on structural models of materials and advanced neural networks to optimize robotic actions.
The goal is to create a domain-independent automation system that can quickly adapt to different types of materials, reducing setup time and costs. FlexCycle aims to improve recycling efficiency and promote economic and environmental sustainability, aligned with the European Green Deal objectives.
The industrial objective of FlexCycle is to introduce here a much-increased level of automation resulting in a potentially high long-term impact on industry and society. HORIZON-CL4-2024-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-03