Prototype development for intelligent robotic sorting and taping of button cell batteries

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Alkaline batteries in all shapes and sizes are used in many applications and comprise 78% of all batteries sold**into the Canadian market every year. Alkaline (non-rechargeable) and Lithium-Ion (rechargeable) batteries**contain Zinc and rare Earth metals such as Lithium, Cadmium, and Nickel. If these batteries are recycled**responsibly, they will provide new sources for fertilizing agricultural fields, save energy and resources, protect**the environment, and divert waste from landfills.**However, considering the volume and variety of waste batteries, automated systems require the ability to sort**these batteries by chemistry in order to ensure proper recycling. Sorting results in better control over**environmental outcomes as separated battery types can be processed by the best specialty recyclers using**technology designed for recycling specific battery chemistries.**The objective in this project is to develop a working prototype system to automatically sort the button cell**batteries into rechargeable and non-rechargeable streams and tape the rechargeable batteries for safety reasons.**The automated process is expected to considerably increase the throughput, causing increased efficiency and**productivity rates, compared to the current manual process.