Sensor-Guided Robotic Disassembly for Electronic Device Recovery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices, such as hard drives, often reach the end of their life and are discarded without the opportunity for reuse or recycling, leading to waste and inefficiency in raw material consumption.
Innovation Solution
A computerized demanufacturing system that uses sensors to collect data on electronic devices and automatically disassembles them using robotic agents, allowing for the separation and potential recycling of components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If electronic devices are destroyed and disposed of at end of life, then disposal is simple and quick, but opportunity for reuse and recycling is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically segments electronic devices into individual components and subcomponents through robotic disassembly. Sensors detect device features and generate disassembly sequences that systematically separate devices into reusable parts, enabling material recovery while maintaining disposal efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automated recovery of valuable materials from electronic devices by disassembling them into components that can be sorted and recovered. The robotic system identifies and separates recoverable materials from waste, converting what would be total loss into partial or full material recovery.
2Loss of substance
If automated disassembly systems are implemented, then component recovery and recycling is enabled, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs universal sensors and effectors that can handle multiple device types and disassembly operations. The sensor system detects various device features while the robotic effectors perform diverse manipulation tasks, reducing the need for device-specific components and simplifying the overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensor data from the devices themselves to generate disassembly sequences, allowing the devices to essentially guide their own disassembly. The sensor information about device features is directly translated into manipulation instructions, reducing the need for external programming and complex control systems.
3Manufacturing precision
If sensor data collection and correspondence identification are performed, then accurate automated manipulation is achieved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system collects sensor data and identifies correspondences between device features and effectors before the actual disassembly begins. This preliminary processing allows the robotic system to plan the entire disassembly sequence in advance, executing precise manipulations without real-time decision delays during the disassembly process.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for automated device disassembly includes, at a computerized demanufacturing system, receiving a target electronic device for disassembly. Using a set of one or more sensors of the computerized demanufacturing system, a set of sensor data is collected that quantifies one or more physical properties of the target electronic device. Based at least in part on the set of sensor data, correspondences are identified between one or more effectors of the computerized demanufacturing system and one or more interactable elements of the target electronic device. The interactable elements are automatically manipulated using the one or more effectors to at least partially disassemble the target electronic device.