AUTHOR=Saenz José , Felsch Torsten , Walter Christoph , König Tim , Poenicke Olaf , Bayrhammer Eric , Vorbröcker Mathias , Berndt Dirk , Elkmann Norbert , Arlinghaus Julia TITLE=Automated disassembly of e-waste—requirements on modeling of processes and product states JOURNAL=Frontiers in Robotics and AI VOLUME=11 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/robotics-and-ai/articles/10.3389/frobt.2024.1303279 DOI=10.3389/frobt.2024.1303279 ISSN=2296-9144 ABSTRACT=

Automated disassembly is increasingly in focus for Recycling, Re-use, and Remanufacturing (Re-X) activities. Trends in digitalization, in particular digital twin (DT) technologies and the digital product passport, as well as recently proposed European legislation such as the Net Zero and the Critical materials Acts will accelerate digitalization of product documentation and factory processes. In this contribution we look beyond these activities by discussing digital information for stakeholders at the Re-X segment of the value-chain. Furthermore, we present an approach to automated product disassembly based on different levels of available product information. The challenges for automated disassembly and the subsequent requirements on modeling of disassembly processes and product states for electronic waste are examined. The authors use a top-down (e.g., review of existing standards and process definitions) methodology to define an initial data model for disassembly processes. An additional bottom-up approach, whereby 5 exemplary electronics products were manually disassembled, was employed to analyze the efficacy of the initial data model and to offer improvements. This paper reports on our suggested informal data models for automatic electronics disassembly and the associated robotic skills.