“In our business, we talk about emerging technologies and how they impact society. We’ve never seen a technology move as fast as AI has to impact society and technology. This is by far the fastest moving technology that we’ve ever tracked in terms of its impact and we’re just getting started.”
— Paul Daugherty
https://analyticsindiamag.com/robotics-ai-come-handy-waste-management-garbage-handling/
Artificial Intelligence is found in almost all sectors of life nowadays. There are robot waiters in some restaurants, robots doing surgery, and even the loveable Siri and Alexa, who most of us have in our homes. We know about self-driving cars with Artificial Intelligence technology and facial and fingerprint recognition, all done by Artificial Intelligence. So we know exactly how advanced we are in the world right now in the field of Artificial Intelligence
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Also Read : Can carbon removal save us?
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When Artificial Intelligence is such a big part of our lives, the question may arise- Why can’t we use it for waste management? The truth is that Artificial Intelligence is being used in waste management even though most people are not aware of it. AI and robots help out a lot in the waste management sector by collecting, transporting, sorting, and processing waste. This is beneficial to us because they can take care of all sorts of waste, from medical waste to hazardous waste.
As the worldwide population increases, the total amount of waste generated every day also increases making it a huge nuisance for all of us. The waste management facilities can’t keep up with all these increasing waste problems and they need all the help they can get. This is where AI comes into use.
There are many intelligent bins being put to use around the world. These bins come with sensors that make use of the Internet of Things (IoT). These bins inform the people who come to collect waste whether that trash can is full or not. This makes their jobs easier because they only need to collect waste from the bins that are full and don’t need to waste time checking each bin. This helps in the optimization of the waste collecting process.
Some bins use computer vision annotation and machine learning algorithms to distinguish between different kinds of waste, enabling them to sort out the waste into separate parts within the bin itself, making the processing and sorting of waste easier. These bins are connected with an app that shows users where the nearest available bin is so that they don’t have to keep driving in search of a bin.
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Read Also : Recycling For Profit: How This Hyderabad Woman Is Creating New Frontiers In Urban Waste…
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Most bins are still the normal ones which contain all the different sorts of wastes. These wastes are taken to a waste management facility and sorting them by hand is a very tedious process. There can be a recyclable waste, non-recyclable waste, plastic waste, paper waste, and so on. Using AI, the waste can be sorted faster and unlike humans, they can sort more waste per minute and don’t need to take a break either, making the waste sorting process more efficient.
https://makeasmartcity.com/2017/10/03/ai-and-the-future-of-waste-management/
Using AI in the waste management sector is both times effective and cost-effective. It makes sure that the peoples’ work is not too much because it consists of repetitive checking of all the different kinds of waste. AI reduces the need for manual labor and makes sure that everything is sorted into correct piles before it is sent for processing. Using AI, some companies have started contemplating cleaning up space debris by using space-grade polymeric foam.
As of now, AI robots can sort up to 160 pieces of waste per minute while the average human worker can only sort up to 30 to 40 pieces of waste. Being human can also mean that we get tired easily but these machines can work non-stop, sorting waste that keeps coming on a conveyor belt without even the slightest pause. If the waste arrives in the management plant already sorted by the smart waste bins, then the work is reduced even more.
Even though AI is very helpful in sorting waste, it still needs some help from humans. A group of highly trained individuals has to mark what kind of waste the machine needs to sort and the different kinds of waste there are using annotations. Even after the machine is given all this information, there is still a chance that it could make a mistake. So there should be some attendees watching over the separation process.
As awareness about waste management increases, people will be more willing to start using smart bins and AI in sorting and managing waste in order to reduce their carbon footprint. Even so, if the technology is too complicated, many people will not be willing to adopt those methods. So, it is necessary that a cheap and easy solution is put forward to help with our waste crisis as soon as possible.
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Read Also : Situation of Waste Management Start-ups in India
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All of us might be familiar with the popular Disney movie, Wall-E. The movie starts by showing us a planet filled with a million truckloads of waste. A single robot, called Wall-E, goes around the planet collecting waste and putting it away. That planet was Earth in the future. Not a human in sight but all overtaken by waste. Humans were forced to leave the planet because of the harsh conditions of the planet. This is going to be our future if we don’t take action soon.
https://theclimatelemon.com/environmentalism-in-wall-e/
The movie clearly shows how Artificial Intelligence can help us in making this change as soon as possible. The makers of the movie may have been on to something. Maybe AI is the future of our waste management problem. There are already growing mountains of waste all around our planet. Unless we are very careful, we may soon need to go live in space as well.
-Sharon Ajith -31/05/2021
Tags: #descendants, #ecofriendly, #environment, #garbage, #getgreengetgrowing, #gngagritech, #greenstories, #junk, #nature, #plastic, #Pollution, #recycle, #recycling, #reuse, #rubbish, #sustainability, #trash, #waste, #wastemanagement, #zerowaste
