A robotic waste sorter will soon be working on landfills in the suburbs of Moscow. The robot will sort household waste, instantly determining whether or not the discarded item is recyclable.
The robot has been invented by Ivan Plotnikov from the Institute of High Energy Physics. The Foundation for Assistance to Innovations has allocated a RUR 500,000 ($7,650) grant for the development of the project. The engineer will have to produce a fully working robot in two years, RIAMO reports.
The robotic sorter will use a self-learning algorithm based on data from its video equipment. The footage from its camera will be transmitted to an object-recognizing program. The machine will be able to sort household waste, using the available information on the recycling of various materials. For example, plastic bottles will be placed in a separate container and sent to processing plants.