Testing the idea behind SØPL
On this webpage, we provide insights as to how we came up with our SØPL-idea, as well as how we tested to see if our idea would work in real life.
How our idea came to life
The idea behind SØPL came to life after several creative brainstorming sessions regarding how to best contribute to reduced climate change. After eliminating several other ideas, we saw the greatest potential of a recycling machine based on artificial intelligence.
However, our main concern with presenting the idea was related to feasibility. The use of advanced machine learning technology to recognize waste objects might prove as too big of a hurdle for it to be a feasible idea. Therefore, we decided to test if we could build a prototype to validate SØPL's feasibility.
As our test was executed successfully, the prototype confirms that the idea behind SØPL is feasible. The goal is to use this technology to provide information that can be used to sort waste objects into the correct waste bin. By combining an artificial technology-based recycling machine with a cellphone App, we truly believe consumers will feel encouraged to recycle correctly and thus contribute to reduced climate change.
Prototype
In order to create a prototype, we reached out to an acquaintance with competence and skills related to machine learning. This enabled us to successfully test our main idea, which is illustrated in the video below.
Description of the video:
- First, we used a Raspberry Pi connected with a camera to recognize the object using Google's machine learning algorithms. In this specific test, we used a remote control.
- Then, as the program starts to run, the camera takes a picture of the object, which is then sent via the internet for processing.
- The result comes back as text with information about what the object is, as well as the different categories it belongs to.
- In this case, we received information stating that the object is in fact a remote control, belonging to the following categories: "technology", "electronic device" and "gadget".