US 12,747,097 B2 · Waste collection management apparatus and method, a waste collection vehicle, and a method for analyzing waste

Abstract

Using a waste management apparatus mounted on a waste collection vehicle, images of the waste dumped into a hopper are acquired. Objects are detected and a class is assigned to each object in a predefined classification e.g. using an AI module. New objects are determined amongst the detected objects and information about the new objects are sent to a remote server, where each new object is mapped to an expected type of waste collection tour, suing a mapping table where sorting rules are stored. An actual type of waste collection tour is obtained, and a rate of waste contamination is calculated for a given location of the waste collection vehicle during a given waste collection tour as a function of the number of new objects identified, which classes are mapped with an expected type of waste collection tour other than the actual type of the given waste collection tour.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A waste management apparatus to be mounted on a waste collection vehicle equipped with at least one optical sensor configured to acquire images of waste entering the waste collection vehicle, the waste management apparatus comprising at least one memory and at least one processor configured to process at least part of the acquired images to:

detect one or more objects,
for each object detected in a given image, provide at least a class in a classification of objects,
determine, amongst the detected objects, new objects entering the waste collection vehicle, and
determine from the acquired images a type of entrance into the waste collection vehicle, wherein the type of entrance is one of:
manual entrance, entrance from a bin lifted by the waste collection vehicle, entrance from a bin lifted manually, or entrance from a container discharged into the waste collection vehicle, wherein the container is a street container or a container at a drop off point;
send to a remote server information about the new objects, the information comprising at least the class of a new object, a time and a location of the waste collection vehicle when the new object entered the waste collection vehicle, wherein the type of entrance is included in the information sent to the remote server.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Waste collection management apparatus and method, a waste collection vehicle, and a method for analyzing waste

Life of this patent

Waste collection management apparatus and method, a waste collection vehicle, and a method for analyzing waste

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14