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U of T students who developed AI-powered trash sorting device featured on CBC

Group shot of the U of T students behind the RoboBin
From left to right: Vaibhav Gupta, Ganesh Vedula, Nikunj Viramgama, Aakash Iyer and Maharshi Trivedi (photo courtesy of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering)

A team of five ºüÀêÊÓƵ students have developed an artificial intelligence application that can automatically determine whether your trash belongs in the garbage, recycling or organics bin.

Ganesh Vedula, Aakash Iyer, Nikunj Viramgama, Vaibhav Gupta and Maharshi Trivedi are behind a startup called Paramount AI and were recently featured on CBC News. Their product, RoboBin, can scan an item and cross-reference it with a library of over 35,000 images of waste in order to determine which bin it belongs in.

Paramount AI showed off RoboBin at KPMG’s Ideation Challenge, where they beat out 600 other applicants from 65 universities.

Non-recyclable material contaminating the recycling system costs the City of Toronto an estimated $1 million annually. Viramgamaj told CBC News that the team plans to test out RoboBin in local neighbourhoods to see if the product is "feasible and scalable" before pitching it to the city.

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