Extrusion International 3-2026

44 Extrusion International 3/2026 INDUSTRY NEWS Next-Generation AI Platform Launched and GAINnext™ Ecosystem Expanded TOMRA Recycling has unveiled a breakthrough AI- native platform from PolyPerception and introduced three new deep learning applications for its award- winning GAINnext™ technology. The innovations were presented at IFAT 2026 in Munich and PRSE in Amster- dam, highlighting the company’s continued focus on advancing AI driven sorting solutions. The announce- ment coincides with TOMRA increasing its investment in PolyPerception to a 51% majority stake, closing the loop between real-time stream data and physical sort- ing action. From reporting to interpreting: An AI agent for recycling PolyPerception’s new AI-agent platform marks an impressive evolution of its Waste Analyzer – an AI- powered waste analytics solution that improves sort- ing performance through end-to-end material track- ing. One of the most significant breakthroughs is the natural language interface. Operators can now 'chat' with their plant data in plain language, asking ques- tions such as “How did changing the settings on the recovery line affect our purity?”. With AI as its core, the platform understands the context and provides immediate natural language answers accompanied by data breakdowns, removing the technical barrier between complex spreadsheets and operational de- cision-making. While traditional AI tools in the industry are limited to 'reading' and reporting data, this platform also has 'writing' capabilities, enabling it to act like an agent within the plant. Rather than just observing material streams, it can actively create custom quality reports and set operational alerts in seconds based on its deep domain knowledge of the recycling process. “With the introduction of our new agent-based plat- form, recycling plants now gain a new cognitive layer,” says Nicolas Braem, CEO and Co-Founder of PolyPercep- tion. “Data is no longer just reported – it is interpreted, explained and transformed into relevant insights in a few seconds. Operators can interact naturally with their plant, ask questions, explore material behavior and re- ceive clear, actionable answers in real time.” Open data and advanced search features This groundbreaking technology provides full trans- parency by allowing recyclers to integrate plant data di- TOMRA Recycling unveils a breakthrough AI-native platform from PolyPerception for real-time data analysis Data is interpreted, explained and transformed into relevant insights in a few seconds