(CNN) -- A recycling robot could help address the
escalating global waste problem, according to Finnish technology company
ZenRobotics.
The ZenRobotics Recycler
(ZRR) is an intelligent robot which separates construction materials on a
conveyer belt, plucking out recyclable materials and depositing them in
bins for collection. The robot is designed to replace manual sorting,
which can be dangerous and frequently prohibitively expensive.
Worldwide, the
construction and demolition sector is thought to contribute over one
third of all waste. The U.S. alone contributes a staggering 325 million
tons of waste every year, and the UK produces another 120 million tons.
While household and
municipal waste has fallen in recent years across the developed world,
Waste Watch -- a not-for-profit sustainability organization based in the
UK -- suggests that over 80% of all human waste that potentially could
be recycled currently goes into landfill.
ZenRobotics founder Jufo
Peltomaa notes that the problem is equally severe across the EU: "In the
EU alone there's 900 million tons of construction and demolition waste.
If you were to convert that to the average sized car, the queue would
go 45 times around the globe."
Peltomaa and his team at
ZenRobotics constructed the ZRR to help deal with this problem. "It's a
really difficult job for robots and machine learning systems to do,"
says Peltomaa. "There are currently no such systems in the world, so our
system is the first."
The ZRR identifies
different types of waste using a process called "sensor fusion." By
analysing the data, the sensors sort through objects on a conveyor belt
and distribute them into surrounding chutes. The sensor fusion system
uses a range of technologies including weight measurement, 3-D scanning,
tactile assessment and spectrometer analysis, which measures how much
light reflects from various different materials.
ZenRobotics believes its
creation will help ease the burden of the repetitive and dangerous job
of waste filtration, which is currently done manually.
"Currently, construction
and demolition waste is handled by manual pickers," says Peltomaa.
"That's a pretty good solution, but it's hazardous for your health.
There are poisonous materials, sharp and heavy materials, plus asbestos
etc."
In the EU alone there's 900 million tons of construction and demolition waste
Jufo Peltomaa, ZenRobotics Founder
Jufo Peltomaa, ZenRobotics Founder
Peltomaa says that the
idea for a recycling robot came to him when he had stayed up late
watching a documentary on the Discovery Channel, in which a B52 bomber
was crushed and recycled. The waste was placed onto a conveyor belt
attended to by "bored-looking" employees picking through the rubble.
Peltomaa says he
immediately noticed two things: "First of all it's really dangerous to
be there because the process is really hazardous (and) second that the
technology (we) had was a perfect fit. So we decided to do robotic
sorting."
The ZRR's sensor fusion
system works through a complex analysis procedure conducted once items
are put onto the conveyor belt. The robot's sensors gather data, which
is sent across to the bespoke artificial intelligence system, christened
by the team as the "ZenRobotics Brain."
The brain assesses each
object's material (wood, metal, stone, etc.) and decides what to do with
it. Commands are then issued to the robotic arm, which picks up the
objects and deposits them in the
appropriate bin, ready for collection.
Renowned industrial
designer Stefan Lindfors says he believes the robot could contribute to
global efforts to improve recycling, but adds that the real problem is
something significantly more fundamental: "there should be less waste
for us to have to sort to begin with."
