These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser.
Recycling rates have been stagnant for years. One big reason? Properly sorting crowded conveyor belts covered in a grimy array of glass, metal, and plastic is tricky and labor-intensive. AMP Robotics has a solution: the Cortex-C, a compact and adaptable robot for recycling facilities. Paired with AMP’s AI-backed computer “vision” system, it can correctly identify, say, a specific strawberry company’s plastic clamshell. “What’s powerful about AI is its ability to handle ambiguity and imprecision,” says CEO Matanya Horowitz. The robot’s speed and accuracy could also lower sorting costs.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Eyewitness Accounts From the Trump Rally Shooting
- Politicians Condemn Trump Rally Shooting: ‘No Place for Political Violence in Our Democracy’
- From 2022: How the Threat of Political Violence Is Transforming America
- ‘We’re Living in a Nightmare:’ Inside the Health Crisis of a Texas Bitcoin Town
- Remembering Shannen Doherty, the Quintessential Gen X Girl
- How Often Do You Really Need to Wash Your Sheets?
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox