A new dog-like robot nicknamed VERO is causing a stir after researchers demonstrated its ability to detect and collect one of the most pervasive types of litter on various terrains — all with an assist from artificial intelligence.
As detailed by Interesting Engineering, researchers at Genoa's Italian Institute of Technology have designed a first-of-its-kind vacuum-cleaning robot that could greatly reduce the effort and time it takes to remove litter from recreation areas, including toxic cigarette butts.
Plastic pollution is a significant problem worldwide, spurring innovators to develop solutions to clean up the harmful waste. Some efforts focus on stopping litter before it enters the oceans, while other initiatives aim to reduce single-use plastic use or repurpose collected items.
However, cigarette butts pose perhaps one of the greatest threats.
One study found that 4.5 trillion cigarettes have become litter, making them one of the most common types of plastic waste. Microplastic contamination and the generation of heat-trapping gases like methane aren't the only factors to worry about with them, either. The butts also leach cancer-linked heavy metals like arsenic (once used in rat poisons) into our environment.
Now, this often hard-to-reach toxic trash may have a formidable opponent in VERO, which stands for "vacuum-cleaner-equipped robot." Whereas most robots have wheels and struggle to navigate narrow paths, beaches, and stairs, making it infeasible for them to help with cleanup efforts, VERO can efficiently maneuver these spaces with its four legs.
In a video, the team revealed that two depth cameras aid VERO's vision. Once it spots a piece of litter, it can walk over to it, activate the vacuum, and step on it to pick it up.
The process sounds simple enough, but as Interesting Engineering points out, the real magic occurs thanks to an AI-based detection system.
"What is truly novel is that the system uses a convolutional neural network to spot litter and then employs a planner to quickly figure out the best way to gather all the detected objects," the publication wrote.
According to the team's study in the Journal of Field Robotics, the timing of the litter removal is controlled by a visual-servoing procedure — basically, it uses real-time feedback from its sensors to complete its mission — and the robot can perform without stopping movement.
Ultimately, researchers found that VERO was successful in six different types of outdoor terrains. IEEE Spectrum reports that the team believes the robot could have other applications as well, as the first to execute various tasks with its appendages simultaneously.
Potential uses include infrastructure inspections, seed-planting or crop-spraying, and nail and rivet placement during construction projects.
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