RECLAIM Recycling Data Game

RECLAIM has received funding from the Horizon Europe program to enhance local-scale material recovery activities through a portable robotic Material Recovery Facility (prMRF). Such a portable facility fits in a container and can be quickly deployed in areas in need (such as remote areas with a large seasonal influx of tourists) and handle the recovery of valuable recyclable waste locally. The Recycling Data Game is a companion mobile app for RECLAIM with two goals: (a) to collect human annotations on waste data to enhance AI algorithms for optical sensing, and (b) to raise social awareness of recycling and encourage citizens to participate in project activities. The Recycling Data Game shows images captured from the conveyor belt of the prMRF to players, who through their gameplay will contribute new knowledge to the AI. The improved AI algorithms would then select new images to show to users, forming a closed cycle of content re-use. Finding engaging ways for players to annotate waste data in a way that would be useful for all needs of AI (Identification, Localization and Categorization) is an important design challenge of the Recycling Data Game, and will help everyday people understand more about (and help solve) the current challenges of automated waste sorting. The Recycling Data Game includes 9 different mini-games with different annotation tasks (asking players to categorize, identify or locate objects of different materials), tests for recycling awareness, and a fast-paced mini-game where the player plays the role of the sorting robot within the prMRF. Turn Recycling into a Game: Play, Learn, and Make an Impact!