Garbage trucks that sort their own rubbish? Portable recycling stations that produce 3D printing filament from waste soft plastics? It's not science fiction. A new graduate research development project could see these innovations become reality sooner than we think.
Southern Cross University is leading an innovative project to skill up graduates as Australia transitions to an AI-boosted circular economy.
The AI-powered digital transformation for the smart circular economy project is funded by a $730,000 grant from the CSIRO's Next Generation Graduates Program .
This will support Southern Cross University in developing a digital ecosystem for a smart circular economy with program partners The University of Technology Sydney, Revolve Your World, CSENS, and Business NSW.
"This is a great opportunity to identify what's needed to implement circular economy principles and practices into day-to-day operations," said Southern Cross University project leader Professor Andrew Rose.
"Having a mix of educational institutions, government agencies and commercial organisations as program partners enriches the input that will inform this project. That's crucial to achieve widespread uptake of circular economy practices."
The project aims to develop skills and tools for creating a smart circular economy in Australia, particularly in regional areas. Student opportunities include four PhD scholarships valued at $42,483 per year for 3.5 years, and six Honours scholarships valued at $10,000 over one year.
Working closely with Southern Cross University and the project partners, the students will be exposed to multidisciplinary expertise spanning education, AI, business and engineering.
"This is an amazing chance for students who are interested in being part of cutting-edge industries driven by artificial intelligence (AI)," said project co-investigator Dr Aaron Thornton, who is both a Senior Lecturer at Southern Cross University and a Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO.
"They'll get top-notch training in the latest AI methods from CSIRO, be mentored by leading researchers from universities, and work closely with industry partners on real-world projects. It's a unique opportunity to dive into the exciting world of AI and gain hands-on experience in the circular economy."
Professor Rose expressed his enthusiasm for the innovative outcomes expected from the collaborations. "One of the ideas we have been exploring is using AI to identify diverse waste materials at the time of collection," said Professor Rose.
"One major challenge in waste management is the incorrect sorting of materials into the wrong channels. The question is, can we improve efficiency at the source by training AI to recognise different types of waste and ensure they are automatically directed to the correct recycling channels?"
Professor Rose is also Academic Lead of the University's ReCirculator , which works with industry partners to recover resources from waste streams and convert them into new marketable products.
