Robots for Waste Management and Recycling

Abstract:

The increasing global waste crisis and the growing demand for effective recycling solutions have prompted the adoption of robotic systems in waste management. The use of robotics has revolutionized the process of automation in the sorting of waste, recovery of materials and waste transportation. Robots are becoming more efficient and eliminating or reducing human workers in unsafe areas, due to the employment of advanced artificial intelligence (AI), machine vision, and automation that are being used to increase sorting precision. The current paper addresses the interest of robotics in waste management and recycling processes, analysing how this field is represented in robotic arms, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), and drones that sort, collect, and clear up the environmental messes. The paper also speaks about the advantages of robotics in waste management, which are higher rates of recycling, enhanced security, reduced costs, and the disadvantages of high initial costs, technological restraints and the possibility of labour replacement. To demonstrate practical examples, the success stories of waste management robots, like Zen Robotics Recycler, AMP Robotics, as well as the Ocean Cleanup project, are considered through the lens of case studies. The future of waste management is dependent on further establishment and implementation of the use of robotic systems and is based on the assumption that it can offer a sustainable, efficient and environmentally-friendly waste management venture.