Apple has unveiled a new robot, three years in the making and until now top secret. It does not make dinner, give directions, read minds or contemplate its existence. With 29 robotic arms the so-called Liam prises apart iPhones in 11 seconds, fragmenting and sorting the gadget’s precious components for reuse.
The process, artistically demonstrated here, rescues aluminium, nickel, copper, cobalt and the conflict mineral tungsten with a reported 97% success rate. Currently only iPhone 6S models are being dismantled but Apple hopes to deconstruct other devices in the future as well.
