Artificial Intelligence paired with Robotics

Robotics and Artificial Intelligence is constantly improving. Even in modern MRFs, the implementations of them are becoming more prominent. Oftentimes, near the end of the sorting process, visual AI systems will be installed with hundreds of small high pressure nozzles to blow streams of air in order to filter smaller materials. However, this is the furthest extent of the use of robotics and AI within MRFs.

My preposition is the replacement of assembly line workers who hand pick the contaminants out of the assembly line. The standard argument against this replacement is that it would reduce the amount of jobs for humans. Although this is true for that one facility, there would also be jobs that open up for software engineers along with mechanics who would be maintaining these machines. So although you are losing the lets say 20 people on the line, 10 jobs open up that have higher pay and better working conditions.

When working on the line you have to be vigilant at all times. Your sole purpose is to find and throw out trash. This means that you’re in a hot and smelly facility where you perform a tedious job for hours on end. This is a low skill job, meaning that anyone can do it. This type of job receives less compensation for their work than a coder or mechanic because it's easier to replace. This is why human assembly workers should be replaced.

The overall trend in the trash industry is the reduction of people actively searching out jobs. This is a huge problem because it creates a shortage of workers across the country making one of the biggest industries run by few people. By swapping humans for robots in an already declining recruiting industry we help lessen the burden on the industry as a whole. This also plays into more people going for computer science and mechanical engineering degrees, which would be the actual people replacing the workers.

Robotic claws stationed where each human would have been, driven by AI visually identifying the contaminants would be how I solve the problem. Computers are able to compute things much faster than humans, pair this with them being able to work at a constant rate during the whole day, we build a more efficient system where less contaminants are brought in. This would also allow for a greater variance of trash being brought and possibly sorted.