Urban Machine is a start-up leading the way in sustainable wood recovery. The US-based company uses artificial intelligence and robotics to remove metal fasteners from waste wood generated by construction and demolition projects, transforming it into high-quality wood products.
Although a significant amount of this material can be recovered, metal fasteners embedded in wood are often broken, corroded, or difficult to access. As a result, converting waste wood into a usable, high-quality resource is both labour-intensive and costly. In the United States alone, such waste, which very often ends up in landfills, amounts to 37 million tonnes per year.
Urban Machine's patented devices remove nails, staples, and screws, while, at a later stage, a metal detector ensures that the wood is free of metal. The use of artificial intelligence allows for precise calculation of the quantity and quality of wood recovered at each site. Builders, contractors, architects, and demolition companies can hire Urban Machine's metal extraction robot for on-site projects, thereby reducing the impact on local landfills.
In 2022, Urban Machine successfully secured an initial funding round led by Lower Carbon Capital and supported by Google Ventures. In 2024, the company was a finalist for the Built by Nature award. Additionally, the Oakland-based firm is preparing to expand into six US metropolitan areas with a fleet of 12 systems by the end of next year.
Name:
Urban Machine
Website:
Sector:
Wood reuse
Plus:
Machines that remove metal fasteners from wood waste to reuse it as valuable timber
Features:
Waste wood recovered through the use of artificial intelligence and robotics
This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano
Cover image: Alex Jones, Unsplash