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 waste management


Garbage Vulnerable Point Monitoring using IoT and Computer Vision

Kumar, R., Lall, A., Chaudhari, S., Kale, M., Vattem, A.

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

This paper proposes a smart way to manage municipal solid waste by using the Internet of Things (IoT) and computer vision (CV) to monitor illegal waste dumping at garbage vulnerable points (GVPs) in urban areas. The system can quickly detect and monitor dumped waste using a street-level camera and object detection algorithm. Data was collected from the Sangareddy district in Telangana, India. A series of comprehensive experiments was carried out using the proposed dataset to assess the accuracy and overall performance of various object detection models. Specifically, we performed an in-depth evaluation of YOLOv8, YOLOv10, YOLO11m, and RT-DETR on our dataset. Among these models, YOLO11m achieved the highest accuracy of 92.39\% in waste detection, demonstrating its effectiveness in detecting waste. Additionally, it attains an mAP@50 of 0.91, highlighting its high precision. These findings confirm that the object detection model is well-suited for monitoring and tracking waste dumping events at GVP locations. Furthermore, the system effectively captures waste disposal patterns, including hourly, daily, and weekly dumping trends, ensuring comprehensive daily and nightly monitoring.


Integrating Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence with Energy-Efficient Robotic Arms for Waste Sorting

Kure, Halima I., Retnakumari, Jishna, Nwajana, Augustine O., Ismail, Umar M., Romo, Bilyaminu A., Egho-Promise, Ehigiator

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

-- This paper presents a novel methodology that integrates trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) with an energy - efficient robotic arm for intelligent waste classification and sorting. By utilizing a convolutional neural network (CNN) enhanced through trans fer learning with MobileNetV2, the system accurately classifies waste into six categories: plastic, glass, metal, paper, cardboard, and trash. The model achieved a high training accuracy of 99.8% and a validation accuracy of 80.5%, demonstrating strong lea rning and generalization. A robotic arm simulator is implemented to perform virtual sorting, calculating the energy cost for each action using Euclidean distance to ensure optimal and efficient movement. The framework incorporates key elements of trustwort hy AI, such as transparency, robustness, fairness, and safety, making it a reliable and scalable solution for smart waste management systems in urban settings. I. INTRODUCTION As cities grow and industries expand, managing waste effectively has become a major global issue.


iTrash: Incentivized Token Rewards for Automated Sorting and Handling

Ortega, Pablo, Ferrer, Eduardo Castelló

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

As robotic systems (RS) become more autonomous, they are becoming increasingly used in small spaces and offices to automate tasks such as cleaning, infrastructure maintenance, or resource management. In this paper, we propose iTrash, an intelligent trashcan that aims to improve recycling rates in small office spaces. For that, we ran a 5 day experiment and found that iTrash can produce an efficiency increase of more than 30% compared to traditional trashcans. The findings derived from this work, point to the fact that using iTrash not only increase recyclying rates, but also provides valuable data such as users behaviour or bin usage patterns, which cannot be taken from a normal trashcan. This information can be used to predict and optimize some tasks in these spaces. Finally, we explored the potential of using blockchain technology to create economic incentives for recycling, following a Save-as-you-Throw (SAYT) model.


FinRobot: AI Agent for Equity Research and Valuation with Large Language Models

Zhou, Tianyu, Wang, Pinqiao, Wu, Yilin, Yang, Hongyang

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

As financial markets grow increasingly complex, there is a rising need for automated tools that can effectively assist human analysts in equity research, particularly within sell-side research. While Generative AI (GenAI) has attracted significant attention in this field, existing AI solutions often fall short due to their narrow focus on technical factors and limited capacity for discretionary judgment. These limitations hinder their ability to adapt to new data in real-time and accurately assess risks, which diminishes their practical value for investors. This paper presents FinRobot, the first AI agent framework specifically designed for equity research. FinRobot employs a multi-agent Chain of Thought (CoT) system, integrating both quantitative and qualitative analyses to emulate the comprehensive reasoning of a human analyst. The system is structured around three specialized agents: the Data-CoT Agent, which aggregates diverse data sources for robust financial integration; the Concept-CoT Agent, which mimics an analysts reasoning to generate actionable insights; and the Thesis-CoT Agent, which synthesizes these insights into a coherent investment thesis and report. FinRobot provides thorough company analysis supported by precise numerical data, industry-appropriate valuation metrics, and realistic risk assessments. Its dynamically updatable data pipeline ensures that research remains timely and relevant, adapting seamlessly to new financial information. Unlike existing automated research tools, such as CapitalCube and Wright Reports, FinRobot delivers insights comparable to those produced by major brokerage firms and fundamental research vendors. We open-source FinRobot at \url{https://github. com/AI4Finance-Foundation/FinRobot}.


Garbage Segmentation and Attribute Analysis by Robotic Dogs

Xu, Nuo, Liao, Jianfeng, Meng, Qiwei, Song, Wei

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Efficient waste management and recycling heavily rely on garbage exploration and identification. In this study, we propose GSA2Seg (Garbage Segmentation and Attribute Analysis), a novel visual approach that utilizes quadruped robotic dogs as autonomous agents to address waste management and recycling challenges in diverse indoor and outdoor environments. Equipped with advanced visual perception system, including visual sensors and instance segmentators, the robotic dogs adeptly navigate their surroundings, diligently searching for common garbage items. Inspired by open-vocabulary algorithms, we introduce an innovative method for object attribute analysis. By combining garbage segmentation and attribute analysis techniques, the robotic dogs accurately determine the state of the trash, including its position and placement properties. This information enhances the robotic arm's grasping capabilities, facilitating successful garbage retrieval. Additionally, we contribute an image dataset, named GSA2D, to support evaluation. Through extensive experiments on GSA2D, this paper provides a comprehensive analysis of GSA2Seg's effectiveness. Dataset available: \href{https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/hellob/gsa2d-2024}{https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/hellob/gsa2d-2024}.


Sorting of Smartphone Components for Recycling Through Convolutional Neural Networks

Becker, Álvaro G., Cenci, Marcelo P., da Silveira, Thiago L. T., Veit, Hugo M.

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

In a report released by the United Nations University (UNU) in 2020, the global generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) was estimated at 53.6 million tons annually, or 7.3 kg per capita, with WEEE being the fastest-growing solid waste stream in recent years (from 9.2 million tons in 2014 to a projected 74.7 million tons annually by 2030) [1]. The context of WEEE generation also includes a high degree of informality in end-of-life management, with only 17.4% being properly documented and disposed of through formal means, primarily due to technological challenges in collection and recycling faced by the actors involved in this process [1]. From this scenario, the report emphasizes that recycling is a fundamental strategy for minimizing the environmental and societal impacts of the WEEE generation, as it is an essential component of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development under the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and Goal 14 (Life Below Water). Over the past decade, there has been a concentration of scientific efforts to find recycling solutions for WEEE. Typically, methods established in the metallurgical industry are adapted for WEEE processing. It is the case of the company Umicore, considered a global benchmark in the field, which has its processes based on copper and lead metallurgy, adding only 15% of WEEE to the primary ores and recovering only the most precious metals, such as gold and silver [2, 3].


AI startup aims to revolutionize waste management with state-of-the-art system that sorts garbage

FOX News

Some might say A.I. is garbage, but it's actually helping humans in several ways – even helping them organize just that. Young innovators Ian Goodine and Ethan Walko have developed the AuditPRO, a patent-pending waste auditing system powered by A.I. that "allow[s] businesses to gather real-time data about their waste stream composition" and is used just like a regular waste bin, according to the company rStream Recycling's website. The company rStream is a startup founded by Goodine and Walko to explore such A.I. and robotics technology for waste management and compost collection purposes. The AuditPRO is just some of its technology. According to the "All Things Considered" podcast, it uses thousands of images to train the program to organize garbage "more efficiently than humans."


An Artificial Intelligence-based Framework to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the Context of Bangladesh

Hasan, Md. Tarek, Shamael, Mohammad Nazmush, Akter, Arifa, Islam, Rokibul, Mukta, Md. Saddam Hossain, Islam, Salekul

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Sustainable development is a framework for achieving human development goals. It provides natural systems' ability to deliver natural resources and ecosystem services. Sustainable development is crucial for the economy and society. Artificial intelligence (AI) has attracted increasing attention in recent years, with the potential to have a positive influence across many domains. AI is a commonly employed component in the quest for long-term sustainability. In this study, we explore the impact of AI on three pillars of sustainable development: society, environment, and economy, as well as numerous case studies from which we may deduce the impact of AI in a variety of areas, i.e., agriculture, classifying waste, smart water management, and Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. Furthermore, we present AI-based strategies for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are effective for developing countries like Bangladesh. The framework that we propose may reduce the negative impact of AI and promote the proactiveness of this technology.


MWaste: A Deep Learning Approach to Manage Household Waste

Kunwar, Suman

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Computer vision methods have shown to be effective in classifying garbage into recycling categories for waste processing, existing methods are costly, imprecise, and unclear. To tackle this issue, we introduce MWaste, a mobile application that uses computer vision and deep learning techniques to classify waste materials as trash, plastic, paper, metal, glass or cardboard. Its effectiveness was tested on various neural network architectures and real-world images, achieving an average precision of 92\% on the test set. This app can help combat climate change by enabling efficient waste processing and reducing the generation of greenhouse gases caused by incorrect waste disposal.


Design of a Smart Waste Management System for the City of Johannesburg

Komane, Beauty L., Mathonsi, Topside E.

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Every human being in this world produces waste. South Africa is a developing country with many townships that have limited waste resources. Over-increasing population growth overpowers the volume of most municipal authorities to provide even the most essential services. Waste in townships is produced via littering, dumping of bins, cutting of trees, dumping of waste near rivers, and overrunning of waste bins. Waste increases diseases, air pollution, and environmental pollution, and lastly increases gas emissions that contribute to the release of greenhouse gases. The ungathered waste is dumped widely in the streets and drains contributing to flooding, breeding of insects, rodent vectors, and spreading of diseases. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to design a smart waste management system for the city of Johannesburg. The city of Johannesburg contains waste municipality workers and has provided some areas with waste resources such as waste bins and trucks for collecting waste. But the problem is that the resources only are not enough to solve the problem of waste in the city. The waste municipality uses traditional ways of collecting waste such as going to each street and picking up waste bins. The traditional way has worked for years but as the population is increasing more waste is produced which causes various problems for the waste municipalities and the public at large. The proposed system consists of sensors, user applications, and a real-time monitoring system. This paper adopts the experimental methodology.