A former tech entrepreneur has turned his talents to solving the problem of electronic waste.
His robots will help carefully disassemble devices and separate usable components for reuse, rather than sending the entire device off for recycling. This achieves a double effect – less raw material is needed for new devices and less waste is created.
The startup’s leader, Rob Lawson-Shanks, has recently been funded by some of the biggest names in venture capital. Not only does he help recyclers disassemble electronics that would otherwise be thrown away, but he also works with companies like Dell to develop new devices that are easier to disassemble in the future.
Rob Lawson-Shanks, speaking to FastCompany:
I began to realize that I was contributing to the solution to this massive 60 million tonne problem of electronic waste because of the way we were designing, manufacturing and ultimately not recycling.
His company, Molg, makes and programs robots that use multiple arms and cameras with extraordinary precision to independently remove device components, unscrew fasteners and extract chips.