Solving community problems via robotics & automation | Yusuf Jasny | TEDxZahiraCollege
Overflowing waste management creates significant environmental and public health crises, which the speaker addresses by presenting three types of smart bins equipped with IoT technology. These smart bins monitor fill levels, temperature, and location, automatically alert owners via mobile apps, and even feature obstacle avoidance for industrial collection, thereby reducing emissions and preventing disease spread.
## Speakers & Context
- Speaker is an individual who self-developed skills in robotics, automation, and IoT projects.
- Topic addressed is the critical challenge of waste management in modern society.
## Theses & Positions
- Overflowing bins cause severe public nuisances, contributing to dirty streets, bad odors, and negative impacts on health and the environment.
- Environmental pollution from waste (air and water) affects all ecosystems and human health, negatively impacting tourism and investment.
- Traditional waste collection methods are inefficient, contributing to massive fuel waste and $\text{CO}_2$ emissions because collection scheduling is unpredictable.
- The proposed solution, using smart bins, addresses contamination risks, reduces emissions, and improves sanitation, supporting the UN SDGs.
- Skill development and innovation are accessible to anyone with interest, regardless of age or existing skillset, through self-learning resources.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Waste management:** The process of dealing with waste, facing issues like overflowing bins.
- **Cross-contamination:** Risk of transmitting diseases and viruses (like $\text{CoV}-2019$) from dirty bin lids or contents.
- **Water pollution:** Waste entering water bodies, changing composition and affecting aquatic life.
- **IoT (Internet of Things):** Technology enabling remote monitoring of bins via a mobile application.
- **Smart bins:** Three types (domestic, industrial, CTI) loaded with advanced waste management and smart features.
- **Waste collecting point:** Designated spot where the industrial smart bin automatically returns after depositing collected trash.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Disease Transmission:** Touching and opening dirty bin lids can spread skin and blood infections, or viruses like $\text{CoV}-2019$.
- **Inefficient Collection:** Fuel waste occurs because collection frequency is based on schedule, not actual bin fill rate ($\text{CO}_2$ emissions result).
- **Smart Bin Monitoring:** The mobile application allows remote tracking of trash level, temperature, and location (including Bin ID).
- **Smart Bin Alerting:** Includes a fire alarming system (buzzer/LEDs) and communication via WhatsApp and email when full or on fire.
- **Smart Bin Functionality:**
* *Industrial use bin:* Features a line-following system with obstacle avoidance to autonomously move to the waste collection point and return.
* *All smart bins:* Feature an automated open and closing system.
- **Contribution to SDGs:** Smart bins specifically contribute to Sustainable Cities and Communities, Climate Action, Good Health and Well-being, and Industry Innovation and Infrastructure.
## Named Entities
- $\text{CoV}-2019$ — Example virus transmitted via dirty bins.
- **United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)** — Framework supporting the solution's impact.
## Numbers & Data
- Fuel waste example: A collector going 500 meters to collect a single bin might burn $\approx 30$ units of fuel.
- Varying fill rate: Trash bin levels change daily, sometimes at 80%, sometimes overflowing.
## Examples & Cases
- **Health/Ecology Example:** Flies visiting garbage can contaminate food served at a lunch buffet.
- **Efficiency Example:** A trash collector going 500 meters for a single bin burns $\approx 30$ units of fuel; if done daily for thousands of bins, waste is massive.
- **Waste Volume Example:** Millions of tons of food are being wasted for garbage trucks.
- **Smart Bin Implementation:** Industrial bins can autonomously navigate to a designated waste collecting point and return.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Smart Bins:** Three types developed: domestic, industrial, and CTI.
- **Mobile Application:** Manages remote monitoring, including trash level, temperature, and location for all bin types.
- **Location Tracking Feature:** Available on CTI (industrial) use bins.
- **Fire Alarming System:** Includes a buzzer/LED alert for both monitoring and on-site awareness.
- **Communication Protocols:** WhatsApp and email alerting systems.
- **Navigation Systems:** Line following system and obstacle avoidance for industrial bins.
- **Mapping Integration:** Google Maps integrated for location tracking.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Alternative to Smart Bins:** Manual collection schedules, which are prone to over-servicing (fuel waste) or under-servicing (overflow).
- **Alternative to smart bins (in theory):** The speaker notes that innovative solutions can be found for current world problems, suggesting a technological alternative is possible.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The speaker notes that sometimes the lid of a bin is too dirty for people to touch, forcing them to leave trash on top or beside the bin.
## Methodology
- The speaker built the smart bins through self-development gained from robotics, automation, and IoT projects.
- The system relies on remote sensor data transmission (IoT) to inform optimal waste collection logistics.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Implement smart bins using IoT and robotics to create clean, healthy, and attractive urban spaces.
- Focus on self-learning and skill acquisition as the means to developing innovative, real-world solutions.
## Implications & Consequences
- **Environmental:** Preventing overflowing bins reduces $\text{CO}_2$ emissions, lessens water pollution, and reduces fuel consumption/noise pollution.
- **Public Health:** Eliminates pathways for disease transmission from bins and prevents adverse respiratory effects from air pollution.
- **Socioeconomic:** Keeps cities attractive to tourists and investment by maintaining high sanitation standards.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"Overflowing wasteband is an ideal groundbreaking for bacteria insects and vermin."*
- *"The flies that visit the garbage may be the same flies that roam around your lunch buffet and drop their offsprings on your plate."*
- *"Touching and opening a lid of the bin causes some problems such as cross contamination diseases and viruses like covet 19 can be transmitted when we touch and open the bin."*
- *"I just spoke about one bit there might be thousands of bins with these problems in a country so just imagine how much full is being wasted and carbon dioxide is emitted to our society."*
- *"The this bin has the automated open and closing system all the details of a bin remotely through the mobile application that have developed."*
- *"Smart beam contributes towards four united nations sustainable development goals sustainable cities and communities climate action good health and well-being and industry innovation and infrastructure."*
- *"we are not born with loaded skills we have to load it so you can self learn even at home there are many tutorials and courses available in online for free."*