Project description
High-speed, contactless sorting for a greener future
Sorting is a critical process in agriculture, with a growing market projected to reach EUR 2.9 billion by 2030. However, current methods, such as pneumatic and gravity sorters, are limited by cost and precision. AcoustoFab’s ultrasonic phased array system offers a high-speed, contactless, and precise alternative, addressing both food demand and climate challenges. The ERC-funded AcoustoSort project aims to advance sorting technology for the seed industry by validating its speed, accuracy, and efficiency, while developing commercially viable prototypes. This contactless approach also has potential in recycling, for example, in extracting copper from solar panels, improving efficiency and reducing waste. Through acoustic manipulation, AcoustoFab seeks to create a sustainable and intelligent approach to industrial automation.
Objective
Sorting on conveyor belts is a fundamental process across industries, ensuring efficiency and quality in pharmaceutical labs, recycling, and agriculture. In agriculture, precision seed sorting is critical, driving a €2.9B global market growing at 4.5% CAGR through 2030. However, current pneumatic sorters are high-maintenance and costly, gravity sorters lack precision for similar-density seeds, and robotic pick-and-place systems, though precise, are too slow and expensive for industrial-scale operations.
AcoustoFab is introducing a step-change in sorting technology through its patented ultrasonic phased array transducer system, which uses precisely controlled sound waves to manipulate and eject seeds from a conveyor belt. Unlike traditional methods, this high-speed, contactless approach enables multi-category sorting, eliminates mechanical wear, and reduces operational costs. Originally developed under the ERC Advanced Grant “Interfaces” for interactive media applications, our acoustic manipulation technology has unexpectedly revealed a high-impact opportunity in AgriTech, unlocking new levels of precision and efficiency in seed sorting.
Rising global food demand, climate change-driven variability in seed quality, and increasing sustainability regulations make high-precision, low-waste sorting solutions more critical than ever. This proof-of-concept funding will allow us to advance and benchmark our technology against seed industry KPIs, validating its speed, accuracy, and efficiency while developing prototypes that demonstrate industry feasibility and commercial potential.
Beyond agriculture, our contactless sorting technology can revolutionize high-purity metal recovery in recycling, such as copper extraction from solar panels, enhancing efficiency and reducing waste. Leveraging acoustic manipulation, AcoustoFab is therefore on a mission to pioneer a more scalable, sustainable, and intelligent approach to industrial automation.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-POC
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
E11DU LONDON
United Kingdom
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.