Compactor safety system with electromagnetic sensing

A method of operating a compactor system comprising a container body, a packer, and an actuator configured to operate the packer to compact refuse within the container body, the method comprising:

• receiving sensor data generated by an electromagnetic sensor device that is configured to detect objects near the compactor system,
• determining that the sensor data indicates a detected object;
• classifying the detected object as a non-refuse object based on the sensor data;
• determining that the non-refuse object is likely inside the container body;
• and
• in response to determining that the non-refuse object is likely inside the container body, controlling the actuator to prevent compaction of the refuse by the packer.

A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations for operating a compactor system comprising a container body, a packer, and an actuator configured to operate the packer to compact refuse within the container body, the operations comprising:

• receiving sensor data generated by an electromagnetic sensor device that is configured to detect objects near the container body,
• determining that the sensor data indicates a detected object;
• classifying the detected object as a non-refuse object based on the sensor data;
• determining that the non-refuse object is likely inside the container body;
• and
• in response to determining that the non-refuse object is likely inside the container body, controlling the actuator to prevent compaction of the refuse by the packer.