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It sounds like the big component missing out of this plan is the sorting component; we don't yet have robots capable of looking at a big pile of arbitrary junk
by maxander 10y ago
It sounds like the big component missing out of this plan is the sorting component; we don't yet have robots capable of looking at a big pile of arbitrary junk and picking out the useful bits, let alone ones capable of intelligently tearing down an iPhone. Once robotics does have that sort of capacity though, I'd bet this sort of recycling scheme would be more likely than other commenters suggest- replacing skilled human labor with robotics has a track record of making unexpected things economically viable.
- delinka 10y agoHow well does this[1] fit the bill (tearing down an iPhone)? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AYshVbcEmUc https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AYshVbcEmUc
- maxander 10y agoFairly well, actually- thanks for pointing that out. I'd be curious to see if this actually gets rolled out in force! I mentioned iPhones as a random example, of course, since while they probably represent a disproportionate amount of recycled-electronics' value they're still a small fraction of the whole. Ideally, a robot would be capable of figuring out how to break down an unfamiliar device autonomously, without the specialized movements and programming that seems to have gone into that particular example.
- choonway 10y agoProblem is, it's optimized for tearing down iPhones and nothing much else. I think this fits the bill better. Deep Learning + Robotics. Only problem is what is the energy costs going to be like? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaF43Ze1oeI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaF43Ze1oeI
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]