INESC TEC participates in mobilising agenda for the sustainable use of plastic packaging

Researching algorithms for visual information processing and packaging quality control in the pharmaceutical industry; this is INESC TEC’s mission within the scope of the Sustainable Plastics Mobilising Agenda, led by the Logoplaste Innovation Lab and the Portuguese Plastics Industry Association (APIP), and funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) – namely in one of the projects part of said agenda: Neutro.bottle.

INESC TEC is one of the entities part of the Neutro.bottle project, which aims to develop new polymers for packaging in the pharmaceutical industry. In collaboration with the company Neutroplast, INESC TEC will explore algorithms for visual information processing, for quality control purposes. The goal is to use the technology to detect defects in packaging, while contributing not only to improve the production process, but also to adopt a more efficient use of raw materials.

According to Pedro Carvalho, INESC TEC researcher leading the project, the team will analyse image capturing strategies and research image processing and computer vision algorithms to automatically detect a set of defects in the packaging. “The goal is to benefit from visual information collected as sampling to assess how these algorithms can be integrated into the production process”, explained the researcher.

The technology will be tested with existing information at Neutroplast, and it is expected to improve the production of plastic packaging in the pharmaceutical industry. “The integration of quality control mechanisms in the production chain, including in early stages, can contribute to a more efficient use of raw materials, reducing waste and consequently costs and environmental impact”, said Pedro Carvalho, claiming that the technology may be adapted to other areas of activity.

Neutro.bottle is one of the projects included in the Sustainable Plastics Mobilising Agenda. This Agenda aims at developing technologies that can contribute to the production and use of plastic packaging in a more efficient and sustainable way. Led by Logoplaste Innovation Lab and APIP, it brings together a consortium of 50 partners, with an investment of almost €40M.

The INESC TEC researcher mentioned in this news piece is associated with INESC TEC.