Sorting waste

Sorting of waste by robots may soon eliminate dumping sites in France. One of the companies that have developed such a system is Pellenc. The robot has a sensing system to separate various types of household packaging, including glass and plastic bottles, cardboard cartons and aluminium cans. Waste is tipped onto a conveyor belt which brings it, item by item, to the robot stations. A video camera determines the location, shape and transparency of the object, which is picked up by a robot arm with a suction cup. Sensors in the cup identify metal objects by testing for electrical conductivity, glass items by impact analysis, and plastic objects by infrared rays. The object is then placed in the appropriate recycling bin.