Inspiration
The negative effect of litter is evident throughout all aspects of society, particularly in impoverished and poor areas of the world. It also has a significant adverse effect on the environment, taking the lives of fauna and effecting how Flora grows.
What it does
Litter Bug is an autonomous drone that can identify, fly to, and deposit trash found within it's vision.
How I built it
A Parrot drone was used in combination with a 3D printed claw. During the event, the drone was also mounted to a land-based vehicle. Video footage from the drone was used and analyzed using a Python script to control the flight of the drone/vehicle. Arduinos were used to control the motion of the claw.
Challenges I ran into
The drone encountered significant damage during flight, and efforts to incorporate a machine learning Haar Cascade classifier did not prove to be as accurate as hoped. The DC motors for the land vehicle were not as effective as hoped in providing motion.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
We used OpenCV to effectively filter litter from other background images. The ability to programmatically fly a drone is pretty amazing, and as a team we were able to pivot effectively to a land solution when the drone became damaged.
What I learned
Piloting drones are a difficult challenge considering the variables involved.
What's next for Litter Bug
Litter Bug has the potential to drastically scale as it can reduce the cost of efforts to combat litter/trash collection, minimization, and management.
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