PICVISA MACHINE VISION SYSTEMS SL

Their core work

PICVISA is a Spanish SME that designs and manufactures industrial machine vision systems for automated material sorting in recycling and waste management. Their core product is optical sorting equipment — camera-based systems that identify and separate specific materials (glass, plastics) from mixed waste streams on conveyor lines. They combine hardware (sensors, cameras, actuators) with image processing software to deliver turnkey sorting solutions for recycling facilities. In EU research, they act as the technology provider and integrator, contributing their proprietary vision systems to larger waste-chain and circular economy projects.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

PICVISA entered H2020 leading a glass-specific optical sorting project (SEEGLASS, 2016), where they were clearly the originator and main technology developer. Almost immediately, they joined a larger plastic waste consortium (PlastiCircle, 2017), suggesting they were actively broadening their optical sorting platform from a single material (glass) toward multiple waste streams. The trajectory points from proprietary single-material sorter toward a more versatile machine vision platform applicable across the recycling sector — a natural expansion for a technology SME with a proven base product.

PICVISA appears to be expanding their core optical sorting technology from glass to broader waste fractions, positioning themselves as a cross-material machine vision provider for the recycling industry.

How they like to work

PICVISA both leads and joins consortia: they coordinated SEEGLASS (their own technology at the center) and contributed as a specialist partner in PlastiCircle (a broader system where their sorter was one component). With 21 unique partners across 9 countries from just two projects, their network is notably wide for their size. This suggests they are an open collaborator willing to work with diverse partners rather than a closed technology developer.

Despite only two projects, PICVISA has built a network of 21 partners spanning 9 European countries — an unusually broad reach for a small SME. Their participation in both an SME Instrument project (where they led) and a larger Innovation Action consortium suggests they are comfortable operating at different scales.

What sets them apart

PICVISA occupies a very specific niche: industrial machine vision applied specifically to material sorting in recycling — not general automation, not laboratory vision systems. As a small Spanish company that successfully coordinated an EU Innovation project, they have demonstrated the ability to manage cross-border R&D while keeping their technology at the center. For a consortium needing optical sorting hardware integrated with waste management systems, they bring both the technology and the project management experience that most hardware SMEs lack.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SEEGLASS
  PICVISA coordinated this EUR 1.2M SME Instrument Phase 2 project — the most demanding EU funding instrument for SMEs — confirming they had a market-ready optical glass sorting product with strong commercial potential.
• PlastiCircle
  A large Innovation Action (2017–2021) covering the full plastic packaging waste chain, where PICVISA's inclusion signals industry recognition of their sorting technology beyond glass.