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| WPI Assistant Professor Berk Calli will work with students on a project to develop robotics technologies for recycling centers. From left, James Akl, Fadi Alladkani, Arianna Kan, Kyle Heavey, Mikayla Fischler, Calli and Snehal Dikhale. |
A robotics scientist at Worcester Polytechnic Institute will lead a team of researchers at three universities on a project to develop robotics technology that could help recycling center workers sort waste in a safer, cleaner, and more profitable manner.
Berk Calli, assistant professor in the computer science department and robotics engineering program at WPI, and eight other researchers will use $2.5 million in funding from the National Science Foundation’s Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier program for the four-year project, which will include building a mock recycling line at WPI.
The aim is to develop robotics technology that could be deployed at waste recycling facilities to make them more efficient, but also to improve conditions for workers who sort mixed recyclables by hand...
Under the collaborative research project, Calli will lead teams at WPI, Yale University, and Boston University. WPI assistant professor of computer science Jacob Whitehill is a co-principal investigator.
“This grant will provide opportunities to study how human workers and robots can work together collaboratively in a physically challenging work environment,” Whitehill said. “Material recycling facilities are not only an important workplace in their own right for environmental reasons, but they also can serve as a research model for how humans and technology can cooperate in the future of work."
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About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a purpose-driven community of educators and researchers, has been the global leader in project-based learning for 50 years. An impact maker for higher education and the world, WPI prepares confident, competent problem solvers with a project-based curriculum that immerses students in authentic, real-world experiences.
Source: WPI News
