ReUseTex – Automated Textile Sorting

The goal of this project is to research a fully automated sorting process for used textiles using mechanical processes and deep learning-based image processing models. This process will sort textiles into different clothing categories and detect gross soiling and damage in order to separate these items for fiber-to-fiber recycling. Consequently, material cycles in the clothing industry can be closed through the reuse and recycling of used textiles.

Project Consortium

  • Saubermacher AG (Consortium Lead)
  • TU Graz - Institute of Visual Computing
  • Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT)
  • BB Mechatronics & Automation
  • KNAPP AG
  • Walter J. Thomsen, Resolut Consulting

Project Duration

2025 - 2028

Dissemination

Poster Presentations:
  • Ensemble-Enhanced Semantic Segmentation for Efficient Waste Recycling, M. Akbari Moafi & H. Possegger, In Proc. of the International Conference on Image Processing (ICIAP), 2025
  • Towards Fully Automated Textile Sorting for Reuse, N. Kirillova & H. Possegger, Presented at the International Computer Vision Summer School (ICVSS), 2026

Project Funding

This project is funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI) and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG).