SoCool

Inspiration

Our team has observed that an obstacle to current recycling efforts is the inability and reluctance to properly differentiate between different materials. We hope that our creation will help alleviate this obstacle in households and encourage proper recycling.

What it does

Our recycling bin prototype automatically sorts trash into metal and non-metal.

How we built it

Our prototype uses a Arduino sensor that can detect electrical currents. A positive reading will trigger a motor to rotate one way and unload the metal object into the bin for metals. A negative reading will cause the motor to rotate the other way, unloading it into another bin for non-metals.

Challenges we ran into

Our initial plan was to use a magnetic field sensor when a metal object passes through and disrupts the magnetic field. However, the sensor was not sensitive enough to detect changes. We also discovered that most cans are coated with another material to prevent the aluminium from oxidising. This makes it difficult for the can to conduct electricity in various areas and challenging to detect current.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We managed to find a way to detect current flow in aluminium cans in our prototype design. The aesthetics of our prototype is also appealing to children and may inspire them to be interested in recycling.

What we learned

Our team learned the basics of how to use Arduino and the various sensors that it has. We also learned how to solder circuits as well as how to design and build our prototype from scratch.

What's next for SoCool

We hope to be able to use innovative ways to differentiate between other materials such as plastic, glass and paper. We also hope to think of ways to reduce the cost of our product such that it can be made an affordable and useful household product.

Built With

• arduino