First OPTAINER® prototype designed to clean Type E containers allowed us to have a working prototype with a complete control system to operate the robotic arm to clean and dry the containers in a single movement. Main benefits of using Optainer is to use cold water what saves energy and reduce the CO2 emissions, and not only that but the fact that the system uses less water than traditional washing systems and being a single clean and dry movement also saves time in the cleaning process and can reduce bacterial colonies significantly with only 1 washing cycle. Second upgraded OPTAINER® prototype still keeps these main features but go belong. This improved prototype allows cleaning Type C containers and can be tuned with an Artificial Intelligence program that allows the AI container-number recognition. The possibilities of this first step AI are game changing and are not limited to our washing installation. A container can be tracked everywhere so that it is possible to log e.g. which dock it has been loaded into the truck, or even when it has entered and left the shop. We just need a camera on the place where we want to identify it. The AI can also recognize a dirty or broken container, so that the cycle time can be even more efficient. AI for a dirty container is crucial, as for some customers, only every 5th time a box needs to be cleaned. And in case a broken container is recognized by the AI, the system will not allow it to enter the logistic chain and thus it is impossible that a broken container damages the heart of the automatic chain conveyor system. This means that in combination with a well-working AI-recognition, the Optainer® will not be a bottleneck in the logistic chain. OPTAINER® prototype 2 includes a door-open mechanism and a paper removal system. These additional systems make the OPTAINER® more flexible and adaptable to different needs from potential end users.
Thanks to the Horizon 2020 project, we already managed to sell Optainers® to a new customer for a total amount of € 1.539.000. Next to that we have a framework contract with another customer for 10 double units with the possibility to upgrade to the Optainer®-technology for each unit, good for € 260.000. Although we were heavily challenged during the roll-out of the project due to the Covid-pandemic with the travel restrictions and the lack of components, we are happy to state that all our critical milestones were achieved. During the project, we needed to shift a part of the dissemination towards artificial intelligence and the building of 3 prototypes, where originally 1 prototype was foreseen. The AI can also be sold separately and could be useful for other applications. Prototype 1 convinced the customer to allow us to install a tailor-made prototype 2 to a logistic center for the long-term testing period. As time was catching up with us, it was necessary to build a 3rd working prototype that was able to move and this has been successfully shown on the IFFA trade fair in Frankfurt in May 2022. We are on speaking terms with different huge retailers for the Optainer®-project. We can conclude that the future for the Optainer® is very promising and that the market is eager to adopt this CO² and drinking water saving technology.
