Communications of the ACM
AI-Powered Robots Replace Recycling Center Workers in Finland
Several ZenRobotics heavy picker robots are helping sort wood from plastic and metals from stone. Twelve robotic arms help capture valuable pure materials to boost recycling rates.
Credit: ZenRobotics
A new recycling facility near Helsinki, Finland, can process as much as 120,000 metric tons of construction waste per year with the help of robots.
The facility employs 12 robotic arms from ZenRobotics to sort wood, plastic, metal, and stone waste.
The robots, which can lift up to 30 kilos (66 lbs.), could better identify valuable materials in the waste stream.
Said ZenRobotics' Harri Holopainen, "The key thing for these robots is that they actually identify the waste objects on the belt. They look at each and every object that comes on the belt and then figure out whether it's wood, whether it's wood that has some nails in it, tiles, or concrete, and then they put it in the correct chute for later processing."
The robots are equipped with cameras, a three-dimensional sensor system, a metal detector, and an artificial intelligence-powered brain that recognizes over 350 different types of waste and determines the best gripping point for each item.
From EuroNews
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