Using artificial intelligence to recycle valuable buildings materials

On 14 February 2020, a new Flanders Circular (Vlaanderen Circulair) project, called ‘The Demolition Guide’ (Sloopwijzer), was successfully launched. VITO experts in circular economy and remote sensing have developped the demolition guide in close cooperation with partners Immoterrae and stakeholders VCB, Tracimat, FLOOW2.

The Demolition Guide automatically recognises materials in the façades of buildings. By applying deep learning and Artificial Intelligence to photos of buildings, the system assesses which materials were used to construct the façade and makes a recommendation as to whether the building elements would yield more value if they were demolished selectively.

In this way, the Demolition Guide helps companies and owners to reuse or recycle valuable building materials.

(Info on the Demolition Guide)