That MIT paper on AI sorting trash changed how I think about recycling

Read this paper from some MIT researchers last night. They trained an AI to sort recycling by just looking at items on a conveyor belt. 95% accuracy rate compared to the 70% most human sorters get. What got me is the cost too. They claim the whole setup runs under $200 in hardware. A camera and a cheap computer basically. I used to dump half my recycling in the trash because I could never figure out what goes where. This thing knows by material and shape in real time. Made me wonder how many of my plastic containers the local center just throws away anyway. Anyone know if any cities have actually tried this setup yet?

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sage_moore371mo ago

The $200 price tag is wild honestly, hope more places actually try it out.

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carter.joseph1mo ago

Gotta wonder how much of that $200 is just the brand tax vs actual hardware costs. Maybe if a smaller company like Pine64 or something picked up the concept they could shave it down.

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juliarodriguez1mo ago

$200 and I'd probably still find a way to burn my toast with it. My luck the thing would have a built-in tutorial mode and I'd manage to brick it within the first five minutes. But yeah, hopefully someone with actual manufacturing knowhow gives it a shot at a lower price point. Pine64 would be a good fit since they already do the whole open source hardware thing.

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