In university dormitories, maintaining hygiene is essential for health, comfort, and academic productivity. However, trash is often left unattended because bins are located in fixed positions that may be far from users. This can be particularly disruptive for students engaged in focused work or those with temporary mobility limitations (e.g., injuries), leading to unsanitary living conditions.
To address this issue, we propose TrashDash, an autonomous smart trash bin. TrashDash remains in a standby position when not in use. When the user issues a voice wake-up command, the system activates and begins searching for a predefined hand gesture. Upon detecting the gesture, TrashDash estimates the user’s hand location using multi-sensor fusion (camera, UWB, and ToF) and autonomously navigates to that position. After the user disposes of the trash, a voice end command signals task completion, and the bin returns to its standby location. This interaction enables convenient, touch-free disposal without disrupting the user’s workflow.