Garbage Collector

Inspiration

Our group noticed that the way trash is collected in Los Angeles is very inefficient. It is not optimized to collect trash in an efficient manner (e.g. it doesn't check whether the trash can is full or not). Therefore, my group built a trashcan sensor that detects whether the trash can is full in order to help create the best routes for garbage collecting.

What it does

The trashcan sensor detects whether the trash can is full by measuring the distance between the trash and itself. The sensor is placed at the top, pointing downwards.

How we built it

We used the Arduino platform in order to measure the distance between the trash and sensor, and the mobile Blynk app in order to read the distances.

Challenges we ran into

We ran into difficulties trying to implement a website displaying the data. We did not know how to post the data from Arduino to Google Firebase, and then post that data to a Javascript file. As a result, we had to display our data on Blynk.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of using new platforms in Arduino and Blynk and creating a new application using those apps.

What we learned

We learned how Arduino works and what it does.

What's next for Garbage Collector

The next step for Garbage Collector is to implement a website that collects data from Arduino and displays it on a website. After that step is completed, we would implement an optimized route for trash collection. Using our sensor, trash collectors would be able to detect when trash cans are full and create routes that only collect full trash cans.