AI for People is a non-profit organisation that works to narrow the knowledge gap between technology experts and civil society, with a view to shaping artificial intelligence around human and societal need, rather than tech for tech’s sake. This year’s international Conference for AI for People (CAIP21)  has the theme: Towards Sustainable AI, addressing ways we can move towards greater ecological integrity and social justice in the entire life cycle of AI systems.

National College of Ireland is represented at this conference during the 2pm session on Saturday November 20th. MSc in Data Analytics student, Abhishek Padalkar, joins Dean of the School of Computing, Dr Pramod Pathak, and Vice Dean, Dr Paul Stynes, to present An Object Detection and Scaling Model for Plastic Waste Sorting.

There are many different kinds of plastic. Before plastic waste can be sent for recycling or other waste-handling options, it must be correctly categorised – all the Polypropylene in one batch, for example, all the High-Density Polyethylene in another, and so on.

At the moment, there are a number of technologies used to detect and sort plastics. NCI research proposes an optimal model: a Scaled-Yolov4-CSP model outperforms current state-of-the-art detection and scaling models by 21%. 

Dr Paul Stynes notes: “NCI has a track record of innovation and invention, with a long focus on using technology for good. We are a student-centred college, and proud of the work our students do, particularly at Masters’ level. CAIP21 is timely, with COP26 so recently in the news. Technology can very much be a positive contributor to the conversation around climate change, but only if it is sustainable.”

You can access the full CAIP21 programme here - AI for People encourage non-technology experts to attend, as well as academics.