5 ms·

I hope to see robots like this - or not humanoid at all - at the recycling centers sorting. There is no reason for humans to work there.

ofrzeta 8y ago
There is. It is much harder to categorise materials.
- java-man 8y ago
  these robots may not be limited to narrow band of human vision. multi-spectral cameras, RF, magnetic, xray backscatter, Geiger counter.
  - gammatrigono 8y ago
    And humans won't?
  - ofrzeta 8y ago
    That's a valid remark, although it is very general. For instance Geiger counters might not help with the actual problem of sorting in recycling centers. I would be interested in the actual available sensors for discerning the materials in question, say between a glass bottle and a plastic bottle. Are there sensors that can discern between Polyethylene, Polypropylene etc. ?
    - java-man 8y ago
      I would say differences in IR absorption might be used, for example, [0] [0] https://www.osapublishing.org/jnirs/viewmedia.cfm?uri=jnirs-10-4-247 https://www.osapublishing.org/jnirs/viewmedia.cfm?uri=jnirs-...
slapshot 8y ago
Single stream recycling is largely solved. Unsurprisingly, humanoid form factors aren't optimized for conveyor flows of materials. Lots of gates, air puffers, filters, size categorizers, etc. Maybe you could add an arm at the end, but there's no reason for the legs and torso of a humanoid robot. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODu2kbpVSXg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODu2kbpVSXg
- java-man 8y ago
  Thank you for posting this video! Very interesting. As for robots, I was envisioning a sort of multi-tentacle thing that hangs over the conveyor, with multiple cameras and manipulators that can quickly extend, grab a piece, and drop it into an appropriate bin. No need to have a humanoid form of course.
Yetanfou 8y ago
The humans who found jobs at those recycling centres might not cheer on you for automating away yet another job opportunity for them. Eventually there won't be any 'simple' jobs left while the supply of 'simple-job' people is unlikely to dwindle. What are they going to do then?
- java-man 8y ago
  I am sure there are better things to do than sort garbage, no? For starters, someone has to maintain those robots :-)

ofrzeta 8y ago

There is. It is much harder to categorise materials.

java-man 8y ago
these robots may not be limited to narrow band of human vision. multi-spectral cameras, RF, magnetic, xray backscatter, Geiger counter.
- gammatrigono 8y ago
  And humans won't?
- ofrzeta 8y ago
  That's a valid remark, although it is very general. For instance Geiger counters might not help with the actual problem of sorting in recycling centers. I would be interested in the actual available sensors for discerning the materials in question, say between a glass bottle and a plastic bottle. Are there sensors that can discern between Polyethylene, Polypropylene etc. ?
  - java-man 8y ago
    I would say differences in IR absorption might be used, for example, [0] [0] https://www.osapublishing.org/jnirs/viewmedia.cfm?uri=jnirs-10-4-247 https://www.osapublishing.org/jnirs/viewmedia.cfm?uri=jnirs-...

slapshot 8y ago

Single stream recycling is largely solved. Unsurprisingly, humanoid form factors aren't optimized for conveyor flows of materials. Lots of gates, air puffers, filters, size categorizers, etc. Maybe you could add an arm at the end, but there's no reason for the legs and torso of a humanoid robot. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODu2kbpVSXg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODu2kbpVSXg

java-man 8y ago
Thank you for posting this video! Very interesting. As for robots, I was envisioning a sort of multi-tentacle thing that hangs over the conveyor, with multiple cameras and manipulators that can quickly extend, grab a piece, and drop it into an appropriate bin. No need to have a humanoid form of course.

Yetanfou 8y ago

The humans who found jobs at those recycling centres might not cheer on you for automating away yet another job opportunity for them. Eventually there won't be any 'simple' jobs left while the supply of 'simple-job' people is unlikely to dwindle. What are they going to do then?

java-man 8y ago
I am sure there are better things to do than sort garbage, no? For starters, someone has to maintain those robots :-)