Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have developed robots with a sense of touch that can sort recycling by distinguishing between different materials. The robots, which are made from carbon nanotubes, were able to distinguish between two types of plastic in one test run.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have developed robots with a sense of touch that can sort recycling by distinguishing between different materials. The robot, called RoCycle, has a series of sensors that can identify objects with 85% accuracy when the objects are motionless, and 63% accuracy when they are on a conveyor belt.