Robots learn to mine trash for treasure

摘要

Wood, concrete, metal, plastic and glass - everything rumbles into the maw of a million-dollar robot. As it passes along a conveyor, the rubble is scanned and anything of value plucked from the trash by a mechanical arm. It's a painstaking job-but a simple one. Now such robots are about to get a lot smarter. In the recycling industry, waste materials are typically crushed and torn into tiny pieces to make them easier to sort. The mixture is then dumped into a pool where wood and plastic float, and metal and rock sink.