Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Mühendislik ve Mimarlık Fakültesi Dergisi (Dec 2023)

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE FOR WASTE MATERIAL COLLECTION AND FIRE DETECTION

  • Burak Guzeltepe,
  • Ersin Molla,
  • Orkun Aydın,
  • Ferhat Karadağ,
  • Ömer Nezih Gerek,
  • Hakki Ulaş Ünal

DOI
https://doi.org/10.31796/ogummf.1233759
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 31, no. 3
pp. 801 – 807

Abstract

Read online

Autonomous vehicles are becoming increasingly popular in a variety of applications, including waste collection and fire detection. In this work, we present the design and implementation of an autonomous vehicle for these tasks in urban environments. The vehicle is equipped with sensors and control algorithms to navigate, detect and collect plastic bottle wastes, and detect fires in real-time. The system uses an off-the-shelf, small-sized, battery-operated vehicle, a simple conveyor belt, and a vision-based, computerized system. Machine learning (ML-) based vision tasks are implemented to direct the vehicle to waste locations and initiate the waste removal process. A fire detection and alarm system are also incorporated, using a camera and machine learning algorithms to detect flames automatically. The vehicle was tested in a simulated urban environment, and the results demonstrate its effectiveness in waste material collection and fire detection. The proposed system has the potential to improve the efficiency and safety of such tasks in urban areas.

Keywords