Automated indoor waste management system employing wavefront algorithm and received signal strength indicator values-based mobile robot

Abstract

To live is to help each other, to serve humanity, as a whole. But, in retrospection, the way waste management is being done clearly defies this. Waste management, both indoor and outdoor, is almost done manually. This is not only unhygienic, but also requires significant amount of valuable human resource to get it done. The unresolved problem of waste management is more of a hindrance in indoor environments like shopping malls, hospitals, schools, offices and homes; since, at least outdoor waste management is automated to an extent. Therefore a proposal to fully automate indoor waste management, by making the existing disposal outlets more intelligent and using a movable waste collecting robot, is discussed in this paper. The filling of the dustbin is monitored by ultrasonic sensors and if it is filled to the brim, the Arduino Nano controller transmits the data to the robot with the aid of wireless Zigbee 802.15.4 protocol. The robot is designed in such a way that it effectively tracks the location of the filled dustbin and collects the waste in its storage part. The RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value from the message received is used to identify which dustbin is full and its location based on Wave Front Algorithm.