MIT’s recycling sorting robot can ‘feel’ the difference between materials | TechCrunch

MIT’s recycling sorting robot can ‘feel’ the difference between materials | TechCrunch
RoCycle is, naturally, short for “recycling robot,” the latest offering out of MIT’s CSAIL lab. The pick and place ‘bot utilizes a unique combination of sensors to help distinguish the material differences of objects in order to sort them ahead of the recycling process. Built on top of a Rethink Robotics Baxter, the system utilizes a Teflon gripper with built in sensors that are capable of determining an object’s makeup based on size and stiffness. It’s not completely perfect just yet.