Systems and methods for detecting and picking up a waste receptacle

A method for detecting and picking up a waste receptacle comprising:

• a) capturing an image with a camera;
• b) generating a pose candidate based on the image;
• c) verifying whether the pose candidate matches a template representation;
• d) if and only if the pose candidate matches the template representation, calculating a location of the waste receptacle;
• and,
• e) moving an arm mounted on a waste-collection vehicle in response to the calculated location of the waste receptacle.

A method for creating a representation of an object, comprising:

• a) capturing a plurality of images of the object at a plurality of angles and depths;
• b) deriving gradient information corresponding to the boundary of the object based on the plurality of images;
• c) obtaining pose information corresponding to the plurality of angles and depths;
• d) deriving pose metadata based on the pose information;
• and,
• e) composing a template representation corresponding to the object based on the gradient information and the pose metadata.