Waste Management System Using GPS Tracking for User Association
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current waste management systems face challenges in efficiently associating refuse bins with their corresponding users during collection, especially in retrospectively implementing charge-based systems, as they require costly and labor-intensive RFID tags or replacement of existing bins with communication devices.
Innovation Solution
A waste management system that uses a GPS tracker unit on collection vehicles to record geographic coordinates and weight data during lifts, comparing these parameters with pre-recorded user data to identify and charge users without the need for smart devices on each bin, utilizing a central server for dynamic matching and scoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If RFID tags are incorporated on each bin to identify users, then accurate user association is achieved, but system cost and labor intensity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses GPS coordinates as a digital copy or representation of the bin's physical location. Instead of putting RFID tags on bins, the system creates a virtual identifier (GPS coordinate) that can be matched against a database of registered user locations, achieving identification without physical electronic tags on each bin
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces GPS coordinates and a central database as intermediary elements between the bin and the user identification system. The collection vehicle's GPS tracker records coordinates, which then serve as a mediator to query the central database for user information, eliminating the need for direct RFID communication between vehicle and bin
2Adaptability or versatility
If RFID tags are retrofitted on existing bins to implement charge-based collection, then user association capability is added, but resource consumption and implementation cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-registering users and their bin locations in a central database before actual collection operations begin. GPS coordinates of bins are pre-recorded and associated with user accounts, so during collection the vehicle simply needs to query the database with recorded coordinates rather than reading tags from each bin
Solution Approach 2:
The GPS tracking system serves multiple functions: it tracks the collection vehicle's location for route optimization, records bin locations for user identification, and provides data for billing calculations. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate RFID infrastructure
3Measurement precision
If bins are replaced with new bins incorporating communication devices, then user identification capability is achieved, but implementation cost and labor increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of putting identification devices on the bins (traditional approach), the patent inverts the approach by using the collection vehicle's existing GPS system to record bin locations and then matching those coordinates against a central database of registered users. The identification capability moves from the bin to the collection vehicle and central system
Data Source
AI summary
A waste management system for associating a collected refuse bin with a corresponding user of that bin. The system comprises a GPS tracker unit on-board a collection vehicle for recording the GPS co-ordinates of each refuse bin during refuse collection therefrom by the collection vehicle. A central server is configured for communication with each of a plurality of collection vehicles so that the GPS co-ordinates of each refuse bin collected during a refuse collection may be communicated to the central server. The server is further configured to effect a datastore lookup for comparing the GPS co-ordinates of the collected refuse bins with pre-recorded geographical data of a plurality of users for associating each refuse bin to a corresponding user.