FINAL YEAR PROJECT SYNOPSIS

Object Deduction Based Garbage Collection Robot

Supervised by:
Engr. Sabeeh

Submitted by:
Ali Rafay (B-17731)

Department of Electrical Engineering

University of South Asia Lahore

Object Deduction Based Garbage Collection Robot

SYNOPSIS
Submitted to the faculty of the Electrical Engineering Department of the University
of South Asia Lahore in partial filament of requirements for the Degree of
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.
Final Year Project Supervisor Final Year Project Co-advisor

Department of Electrical Engineering

University of South Asia Lahore

Declaration
I declare that the work contained in this synopsis is my own, except where explicitly stated
otherwise. In addition this work has not been submitted to obtain another degree or professional
qualification.

Signed:
Date:
 • Abstract

The world today faces major garbage crisis- the product of rapid economic growth,
overcrowding, poor urban planning, corrosive corruption and political dysfunction. The present
tried and tested methods of garbage collection have so far been proven ineffective. And the
world today is looking at smarter ways of overcoming the garbage collection problem. This
paper presents the Garbage Collector robot for foot path using Arduino microcontroller. The
robot is built on a metallic base of size 50x40 cm which is powered by battery of 12V, 7.5Ah.
The robot movement is controlled by programming the Arduino. The robot is designed to collect
Garbage at foot path, public places (parks, schools and colleges), mostly cemented paths and
beach. The robot cannot be used on muddy surfaces. The robot is built in such a way that, when
it is started it will move on the path defined in the program. When it encounters the obstacle,
depending on the conditions applied in the program the bot proceeds with further motion and
then robot picks up the garbage.

1. Introduction

Garbage is the major problem not only in cities but also in rural areas of world. It is a major
source of pollution. Many cities alone generate more than 100 million tons of solid waste a year.
.

There are already different type of garbage collection robots [1-3] like Robo-dumpster which
mainly aims at collecting garbage from full cans and dispose it designated area and Dust cart
which is designed to navigate through urban areas avoiding static and dynamic obstacle and
waste door to door. These robots which are in use have various disadvantages like high
implementation cost, not user friendly and aims at only collecting filled dustbins but not on
collecting mechanism, etc.

Also, Municipal solid waste workers (MSWWs) or refuse collectors, universally expose too
many work related health hazards and safety risks, notably allergic and other diseases of the
respiratory system.

Health impacts could also entail musculoskeletal, gastro intestinal and infectious diseases as well
as injuries caused by work-related accidents.

Hence to overcome this major problem of waste collection Autonomous Garbage Collection
robot is developed. It aims at providing automatic control to collect the garbage. It differentiates
between static and dynamic obstacle and move accordingly as it programmed. It basically
consists of sensors at different levels to detect the dynamic obstacle. It also disposes the garbage
to a pre-specified place. If the trash bin is filled, it will be detected and the garbage will be
disposed.

2. Literature review
Until recently, robots were mainly used in factories for automating production processes. In the
1970s, the appearance of factory robots led to much debate on their influence on employment.
Mass unemployment was feared. Although this did not come to pass, robots have radically
changed the way work is done in countless factories. This article focuses on how the use of
robotics outside the factory will change our lives over the coming decades.

New robotics no longer concerns only factory applications, but also the use of robotics in a
more complex and unstructured outside world, that is, the automation of numerous human
activities, such as caring for the sick, driving a car, making love, and killing people. New
robotics, therefore, literally concerns automation from love to war. The military sector and the
car industry are particularly strong drivers behind the development of this new information
technology. In fact they have always been so. The car industry took the lead with the
introduction of the industrial robot as well as with the robotisation of cars. The military,
especially in the United States, stood at the forefront of artificial intelligence development, and
now artificial intelligence is driven by computers and the Internet.

In relation to household robots, we see a huge gap between the high expectations concerning
multifunctional, general-purpose robots that can completely take over housework and the
actual performance of the currently available robots, and robots that we expect in the coming
years. In 1964, Medith Wooldridge Thring predicted that by around 1984 a robot would be
developed that would take over most household tasks and that the vast majority of housewives
would want to be entirely relieved of the daily work in the household, such as cleaning the
bathroom, scrubbing floors, cleaning the oven, doing laundry, washing dishes, dusting and
sweeping, and making beds. Thring theorised that an investment of US$5 million would be
sufficient for developing such a household robot within ten years. Despite a multitude of
investments, the multifunctional home robot is still not within reach. During the last ten years,
the first robots have made their entry into the household, but they are all ‘one trick ponies’ or
monomaniacal specialised machines that can only perform one task. According to Bill Gates
may be on the verge of a new era, when the PC will get up from the desktop and allow us to
see, hear, touch and manipulate objects in places where we are not physically present.
3. Methodology
In the present paper, the design of garbage collector robot uses engineering method. In sequence,
the method is identification of the needs required. Then these needs are analysed to get specific
components. These components are later integrated to get the desired output. The basic
methodology is as shown in figure .The operation of the robot can be classified into three main
categories. They are motion control of the robot, garbage collection and disposal of garbage.

• Locomotion of the Robot

The robot can travel in the predetermined path by using a combination of motors, drivers, and
sensors connected to the Arduino. This system consists of four geared motors of 30rpm each,
motor drivers and three ultrasonic sensors. The ultrasonic sensors act as input to the Arduino.
The motors are connected to the output of the Arduino through the drivers. The ultrasonic
sensors detect the obstacles and the motors are made to rotate based on the pre-programmed
instructions in the Arduino.

• Garbage Collection
The robot Garbage collection system consists of a set of rotating blades mounted on a shaft
connected to the motors. The mechanism will not operate for entirety of the vehicle operation
and will rotate only for predetermined set of conditions. The rotating blades may be made of
galvanised iron or stainless steel to suit outdoor applications as well as durability. The main aim
of the mechanism is to collect garbage which is of similar dimensions to that of juice cartons,
plastic bottles, crushed papers, and all light items whose height is between 5 to 20cms.
Mechanism is mounted on the front side of the base with an appropriate ground clearance. Two
motors are mounted on the two sides of the shaft and is connected to Arduino to perform rotating
mechanism. The collection mechanism is built is such a way as to suit public places like gardens,
bus stands, footpaths. When the sensor detects static obstacle, the mechanism rotates and the
garbage is pushed into a bin which is placed right behind the mechanism. The robot keeps
collecting the garbage until it reaches certain height in the bin. Once the bin is filled the collected
garbage is disposed to a selected place.

• Disposal of Garbage
This action is done using tilting mechanism. The speed of the motor attached to shaft is kept at
nominal value to get proper rotating action to move the garbage right into the bin. This is just a
prototype and hence the mechanism used can pick only above-mentioned garbage. The
mechanism can be changed according to the place where it is being used
4. Objectives

The objective of the project is to achieve the garbage collected efficiently and effectively. The
robot moves in a constant speed. The garbage gets detected when it is at 20cm from the trash.

5. Problem Statement
Our goal in this project was to create a prototype automatic household cleaning robot capable of
targeting specific objects, collecting them with a robotic arm, and depositing them in a
receptacle. Current commercial cleaning robots, like the Roomba, are only capable of cleaning
dust and small particles off the floor using random movement. We aimed to make the robot more
intelligent in its cleaning procedure and make it capable of picking up larger pieces of garbage.
To solve this problem, we determined the general components necessary for the robot to be able
to complete its goals. A robotic arm is necessary to collect and deposit garbage of considerable
size. Navigation was also needed to move the robot to search for and collect garbage as well as
to avoid obstacles and return to the receptacle. Image processing is also necessary to differentiate
obstacles from targets. Finally, interfacing was also required in order to seamlessly integrate
these components together. Additionally, certain constraints were placed on our project to
prevent the system from becoming unrealistic. A major concern was the strength and control of
the robotic arm. The actuators that act as the joints of the robotic arm must be able to detect the
position of the actuator with accuracy in precision. Accurate actuators are necessary in order to
move the robotic arm as planned so we sought actuators that could find its position 100% of the
time with no resistance.

In order for the robot to search for targets a distance away from the robot, the image processing
of the robot must be able to recognize objects at least 4 feet away. In addition, the robot is
required to operate in real-time or semi-real-time. This requirement dictates that the robot must
not stop and hang up frequently. We assumed that the bottleneck of processing speed would be
on the image processing because image processing requires significant amount of processing
power. Therefore, we required that the image processing must be capable of running on the robot
Our goal in this project was to create a prototype automatic household cleaning robot capable of
targeting specific objects, collecting them with a robotic arm, and depositing them in a
receptacle. Current commercial cleaning robots, like the Roomba, are only capable of cleaning
dust and small particles off the floor using random movement. We aimed to make the robot more
intelligent in its cleaning procedure and make it capable of picking up larger pieces of garbage.
To solve this problem, we determined the general components necessary for the robot to be able
to complete its goals. A robotic arm is necessary to collect and deposit garbage of considerable
size. Navigation was also needed to move the robot to search for and collect garbage as well as
to avoid obstacles and return to the receptacle. Image processing is also necessary to differentiate
obstacles from targets. Finally, interfacing was also required in order to seamlessly integrate
these components together.

Additionally, certain constraints were placed on our project to prevent the system from becoming
unrealistic. A major concern was the strength and control of the robotic arm. The actuators that
act as the joints of the robotic arm must be able to detect the position of the actuator with
accuracy in precision. Accurate actuators are necessary in order to move the robotic arm as
planned so we sought actuators that could find its position 100% of the time with no resistance.
In order for the robot to search for targets a distance away from the robot, the image processing
of the robot must be able to recognize objects at least 4 feet away. In addition, the robot is
required to operate in real-time or semi-real-time. This requirement dictates that the robot must
not stop and hang up frequently. We assumed that the bottleneck of processing speed would be
on the image processing because image processing requires significant amount of processing
power. Therefore, we required that the image processing must be capable of running on the robot
with a processing speed of at least 5 images processed every 4 seconds.In addition, constraints
were placed on the operating environment to allow for consistent and controlled tests. Adequate
and stable lighting had to be present in the environment to produce consistent, clear images for
the camera to capture. In addition, the target objects were limited to soda cans that must be
empty or closed; else during arm retraction the can would spill its contents onto the robot itself.
Obstacles also need be a certain height so that patterns on the ground could be ignored. For our
prototyping purposes, we created stages that were of limited size and with an accessible target
and receptacle to allow the AGCR to complete its task without running out of batteries or
indefinite roaming.. Adequate and stable lighting had to be present in the environment to produce
consistent, clear images for the camera to capture. In addition, the target objects were limited to
soda cans that must be empty or closed; else during arm retraction the can would spill its
contents onto the robot itself. Obstacles also need be a certain height so that patterns on the
ground could be ignored. For our prototyping purposes, we created stages that were of limited
size and with an accessible target and receptacle to allow the AGCR to complete its task without
running out of batteries or indefinite roaming.
6. Block Diagram
7. Working and Circuitry

Some of the system requirements of the project are listed below:

Motor driver circuit is used for the motion of the robot.

Power supply as to get sufficient power for the motor.

The robot requires a motion controlling unit i.e. Arduino Uno kit with adapter.

Automatic motion of robot is obtained by using sensors in the navigation system.

Metallic structure of the robot.

Other auxiliary circuits are added as per the requirements.

Arduino Uno is the controller that coordinates the functionalities of the three stages to meet the
real-time requirements.

Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. It has 14 digital input/output
pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator, a
USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything needed
to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it
with an AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started.

8. Design of the Robot

A rectangle metal sheet of size 50 X 40 cm is taken as base of the robot. Four wheels are
attached with geared motors to the base. The motors are of 30rpm each to move the bot to
accurately detect the garbage. The mechanism of the bot has four which of are placed at an angle
of 90 degrees from each other. The blades are fixed to a shaft. The blades rotate along with the
shaft to collect the garbage. A curved metal sheet is placed below the blades so that the garbage
is properly directed to the collecting box placed on the base. The collecting box has a tilting
mechanism so that the garbage collected can be disposed to a specified place. There is another
level on the base.
9. Flow chart
 10. Scope of reasearch

The Garbage and recycling pickup work is physically demanding and it exposes workers to many
occupational hazards. This project is designed to fulfil the task of collecting garbage from certain
places and then dispose it at a single place from where the garbage will then be taken for disposal
or process of recycling. To build an automatic trash robot using Arduino microcontroller which
detects and collects the paper and plastic items automatically and process it. So, this reduces the
requirement of manual clearance of plastic waste.

11. Significance of study

The objective of the project was achieved to some extent. The garbage collected efficiently and
effectively. The robot moves in a constant speed. The garbage gets detected when it is at 20cm
from the trash. The project is still in progress to achieve the optimised results with few more
modifications.

12. Features and Applications

• They can provide waste management services to the people moving around.
• It moves towards the person who wants to use it and detects that person with his waving
hand motion.
• They provide a smart way of replacing paid labor by cleaning the area around.
• They can act as portable smart guide for visitors at any new location.
• They can pick up the trash fallen on floor using the robotic arm provided

13. References

[1] Saravana Kannan G, Sasi Kumar S, Ragavan R, Balakrishnan M, “Automatic Garbage

Separation Robot Using Image Processing Technique”, International Journal of Scientific and
Research Publications, Volume 6, Issue 4, April 2016.
[2] Hesham Alsahafi, Majed Almaleky, “Design and Implementation of Metallic Waste
Collection Robot”, SEE2014 Zone I Conference, April 3-5, 2014, University of Bridgeport,
Bridgpeort, CT, USA.

[3] Osiany Nurlansa, Dewi Anisa Istiqomah, Mahendra Astu Sanggha Pawitra, Member, IACSIT
“AGATOR (Automatic Garbage Collector) as Automatic Garbage Collector Robot Model”
International Journal of Future Computer and Communication, Vol. 3, No. 5, October 2014.

[4] Available:http://www.oceanconservancy.org/who-we
are/newsroom/2013/ocean-conservancys-internationalcoastal cleanupannounced-for-september-
21.html. (1-2014)

[5] N. Kelly, “A Guide to Ultrasonic Sensor Set Up and Testing

Instructions,” Limitations, and Sample Applications. [Online].