Use Cases

Positioning of Waste Containers on a Disposal Plant

February 16, 2018 By Gina Wurms disposal/recycling, logistics |Bluetooth Low Energy|, |LoRa|, |Ultrasound|, |server based| 0

A municipal waste disposal plant wants to improve the planning of garbage disposal by optimizing waste management. Accordingly, the waste containers should no longer be emptied according to a rigid plan, but depending on their actual and current filling level.

At a glance

client-based solution (smartphone app):

2D/3D building maps
indoor and outdoor navigation within the disposal plant

server-based solution:

level measurement of waste containers
dashboard display over the most economical route to full containers

Problem definition

On the site of a municipal waste disposal facility there are numerous refuse containers that have to be emptied again and again. For example, the routes are usually very uneconomical, since the waste disposal forces do not know which containers are actually almost full and which are not.

Solution

Ultrasonic sensors are mounted on the inside of the waste container lids to determine the level. If the container is over 80% full, a notification will be sent out and the location of the affected waste container will be displayed on a dashboard or in the app. At the same time, employees are shown the most economical route between the full containers. This improves the quality of waste collection and saves unnecessary distances, time and resources.

Technical implementation

LoRa/BLE tags are attached to each waste container of a disposal facility. An ultrasonic sensor is coupled to each of these LoRa/BLE tags, which measures the distance to the waste without contact and independent of the material. If the waste reaches a previously determined level, the LoRa/BLE tag sends a signal to the LocAware platform^®. Through the beacons attached to the walls of the plant, the LoRa/BLE Tag simultaneously transmits the position data of the respective waste container. The information can be retrieved by the employees via an app or a web interface. At the same time, they receive the best route to the containers in question.

The advantage of data transfer via LoRaWAN is the problem-free and above all wireless installation of LoRa/BLE tags in the infrastructure. The hardware is battery-powered (> 1 year) and has a long range. Since no real-time information is required, LoRa's typical latency times of 30 seconds to 5 minutes are no problem.