One significant risk that could jeopardize our project is the trapdoor not working. Specifically, since our group is not very experienced with mechanical hardware, including this component in our project is a risk. If the door does not work, then there is no way to prevent people from putting the wrong waste into the bin, even if our model classifies the trash correctly. Therefore, to mitigate this risk, we have started researching this mechanical portion from the very introduction of this idea, and have simplified it as much as possible. While initially we were planning on using a conveyor belt and pushing the waste into the “correct” bin, we ultimately decided to reduce this plan to a simple downwards opening trap door to limit the number of mechanical components required. Additionally, this risk is being managed by our team members searching up videos to see real working examples of the trapdoor, looking up and comparing the necessary and possible components that could work to operate the door, and looking for swing lid garbage cans as a contingency plan that would eliminate the need for us to build the actual trapdoor but just to add extra components (lock that would prevent the lid from opening) to have the mechanism work as desired.
Compared to our proposal presentation, some design changes we made include figuring out a more detailed design for the trapdoor (ie. adding an actuator and using the servo as a supporting lock), deciding to use a neopixel rather than 2 separate color LEDs to avoid confusion, and adding an ultrasonic sensor to know when the bin is full. These changes were made based on our research in attempting to fine tune our design, as well as based off of some of the questions/comments asked by peers during the presentation.
Schedule wise, we are on track. This next week we will need to continue fine tuning our design (hardware and software wise), defining specific parts that we need and having better, quantifiable plans/goals going forward. We could be further in setting up the ML model training,
Our project includes considerations for the education, safety, and cleanliness of the students that will be using Dr. Green recycling bin. Students are learning recycling rules in their local area, the bin will be safe for students and be made of a safe plastic material, with a slow open/close speed. Cleanliness is a component that we are still working on, but the material will be easily cleanable.