ERI launches new ‘Soar’ internal system

Integrated information technology and electronics asset disposition (ITAD) and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company ERI, Fresno California, has launched a new internal system, called Soar, to harness proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology innovations to further enhance operational efficiency in electronics recycling.

ERI says Soar uses its proprietary optical character recognition (OCR) technology to highlight text on a picture, allowing the user to easily make selections during the receiving process. The second phase of the Soar platform, driven by AI and machine learning, provides automated selections of the appropriate text from the OCR scans of images, the company says, eliminating the need for user decision-making.

The company says Soar moves the overall receiving process of assets such as desktops, laptops and other electronic devices to a near-automated experience where the user has minimal interaction with the data. The technology streamlines the intake process procedure, requiring the user to take a photo of the device. ERI adds that the proprietary cloud-based software, Optech, does the work from there, printing a coded tag for the user to stick to the device.

“We are proud to be pioneering a new realm of efficiency for the electronics recycling industry with Soar,” ERI Chairman and CEO John Shegerian says. “We expect that this innovative system will once again increase efficiency gains by approximately 50 percent or more and further improve the accuracy of captured data. We are taking a process that was already best-in-class and taking it to a whole new level of excellence.”

The first iteration of Soar initially was launched in April. ERI claims the proprietary concept it designed immediately improved receiving times of ITAD equipment coming through its warehouse doors. It says that, originally, a small number of workstations were set up to test and gain feedback on the Soar platform, but now the company has more than 50 stations deployed across the U.S. in its facilities.

ERI says nationwide efficiency improvements have reached around 250 percent, while also increasing accuracy. The company will continue to make enhancements to the system.

The company says it works with all of its partners to increase the volume of material captured within a closed loop and is the recipient of an overall ‘A’ rating from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circulytics tool, which measures progress toward a circular economy.