Drone-Guided Refuse Collection Routing for Inaccessible Containers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refuse collection vehicles face inefficiencies due to customers often placing refuse containers in inaccessible configurations, leading to incomplete or extended pickups, which waste time and resources.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing drones equipped with GPS and sensors to survey refuse containers along a collection route, providing status data to a controller that adjusts the refuse vehicle's route and billing accordingly, ensuring standard pickups and minimizing non-standard interventions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If refuse vehicles collect refuse without preliminary surveillance, then collection service is provided, but operational efficiency decreases due to incomplete or extended pickups
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary surveillance of refuse containers using drones before the refuse vehicle arrives. The controller receives status data from sensors about container accessibility and position, then adjusts the route plan in advance. This preliminary action allows the vehicle to avoid unnecessary stops or delays at locations where containers are inaccessible, thereby improving operational efficiency and reducing time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where sensor data from the drone is transmitted to the controller, which then modifies the route plan based on the status of refuse containers. This real-time feedback mechanism enables dynamic route optimization, allowing the vehicle to adapt to changing conditions and avoid inefficiencies caused by inaccessible containers, thus improving productivity and reducing time loss.
2Productivity
If drones surveil refuse containers along the route, then route planning is optimized, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a controller as an intermediary that receives status data from drone sensors and processes this information to generate optimized route plans. This intermediary component simplifies the overall system architecture by centralizing the decision-making logic, allowing the complex tasks of data processing and route optimization to be handled by a dedicated controller rather than requiring complex integration between all system components.
3Productivity
If the controller adjusts the route based on container status, then incomplete pickups are reduced, but measurement precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor on the drone is designed to perform multiple functions: detecting the presence of refuse containers, determining their position relative to the vehicle path, assessing their orientation, and identifying obstacles. This multi-functional sensor reduces the need for multiple specialized sensors, thereby maintaining measurement precision while simplifying the system and improving pickup completion rates through comprehensive status monitoring.
Data Source
AI summary
A refuse vehicle system includes a refuse vehicle, a drone, and a controller. The drone includes a GPS and a sensor configured to provide data relating to a status of refuse within a scan area. The controller is configured to receive data from the sensor of the drone, determine the status of refuse within the scan area based on the data from the sensor of the drone, and at least one of generate a route for the refuse vehicle based on the status of refuse within the scan area, modify a route for the refuse vehicle based on the status of refuse within the scan area, and provide a signal to the refuse vehicle regarding the status of refuse within the scan area.