Waste Container Impurity Detection With Dual-Stage Camera Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing waste disposal systems are unable to accurately detect contaminants in waste containers before their contents reach the waste collection room, leading to potential contamination and inefficiencies in recycling processes.
Innovation Solution
A waste disposal system equipped with a dual-camera setup, where a first camera captures top-view images of waste container contents before emptying and a second camera records a sequence of images during emptying, utilizing a neural network for image analysis to identify contaminants and prevent their entry into the waste collection room.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If optical analysis is performed only after wastes are distributed on a surface in the vehicle, then the system can identify wrong sorting, but contaminants cannot be prevented from entering the waste collection room and the vehicle requires significant modifications
Solution Approach 1:
The first camera records images of waste container contents in the receiving position before the container is moved to the emptying position. This preliminary detection allows contaminants to be identified early, enabling prevention measures to be taken before wastes enter the waste collection room, thereby improving measurement precision without requiring complex modifications to the vehicle structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a data processing unit that serves as an intermediary between the camera system and the emptying device. This unit processes images, identifies contaminants, and can trigger prevention mechanisms, thereby achieving accurate contaminant detection without requiring direct complex modifications to the vehicle's core structure
2Loss of time
If a camera system records waste contents before emptying, then contaminants can be detected early, but the system requires additional cameras and processing capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The camera system is segmented into two specialized cameras with distinct functions: the first camera records images of waste container contents in the receiving position for preliminary detection, while the second camera records during the emptying process. This segmentation allows each camera to be optimized for its specific temporal stage, achieving early detection without requiring a single complex all-purpose system
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically switches between different recording modes based on the waste container's position and state. The first camera operates when the container is stationary in the receiving position, while the second camera operates during the dynamic emptying process. This dynamic approach optimizes detection timing without requiring continuous operation of a single complex camera system
Data Source
AI summary
A waste disposal system for contaminant detection in waste containers, includes a disposal vehicle having a waste collection room, an emptying device, adapted to receive a waste container in a receiving position and move it to an emptying position in which the contents of the waste container are emptied into the waste collection room, and a camera system, adapted to detect the contents of the waste container, and including a first camera to record at least one image of the contents of the waste container prior to emptying in a top view and a second camera for recording a sequence of images of the contents of the waste container during the emptying, and a data processing unit for analysis of images of the first camera and/or the second camera, the analysis involving classification of the images in terms of identified contents by means of a neural network.