Now in its fifth year, the Microsoft Imagine Cup Junior 2024 provides a platform for students aged 5-18 to showcase their talents on a global stage. Five Sixth Form students from Tanglin entered the new ‘AI for Good’ category. This global competition attracted over 800 entries from more than 100 countries, and the team "Exhausted Dreamers," comprising Krishiv K, Isaac L, Yash J, Aarin R, and AJ R, emerged as one of the top 10 winning teams.

For their entry, the students focused on the multi-billion dollar car recycling industry which is known for its inefficiencies, with companies prioritising the recovery of iron while losing valuable metals like manganese and chromium. Mining these metals generates significant greenhouse gas emissions and consumes vast amounts of energy. However, studies reveal that up to 99% of these alloys could have been recycled from scraps.

‘The Exhausted Dreamers’ project addresses inefficiencies in recycling processes by preventing the loss of these critical metals. Using computer vision and machine learning, they developed an automated system that sorts car parts in real-time, maximising recyclability and reducing environmental impact. This innovative approach not only tackles a key sustainability challenge but also demonstrates the transformative power of AI in creating a greener future.

Each team member took on a specialised role, contributing to the project's success while honing valuable skills:

• Krishiv: "I focused on developing the AI model, and created two applications—one to decompose video into frames and another to process the frames through the machine learning model.
• Isaac: "I designed and built the robot arm, optimising it for industrial use. This task improved my CAD and simulation skills.”
• Yash: "I programmed the robot arm, which taught me about the interaction between software and hardware and the importance of uniform coding practices to become a more adaptable programmer."
• Aarin: "I designed the website that processes the input and output. This helped me enhance my web design skills, focusing on making the app more professional and interactive."
• AJ: "In addition to helping program the robot arm, I integrated Redis and RabbitMQ, which taught me the importance of procedural abstraction and other key functions.”

This award-winning project goes beyond making recycling more efficient—it redefines how we approach car parts and their recycling potential. It also highlights how AI can revolutionise business sustainability by saving resources and reducing environmental impact.