Smart waste trucks map road repair priorities

Waste trucks fitted out with high-resolution cameras and GPS sensors are being used to identify roads, signage and bus shelters that require maintenance.

The project, which uses a 5G network and the Internet of Things (IoT), is a research collaboration between Swinburne University of Technology and Brimbank City Council in Australia.

The stereo vision and depth cameras attached to the garbage trucks will collect 3D perception data at a rate of 900 megabits per second. The data captured from the cameras and sensors will be sent in real-time to a cloud-based system that can create a map of assets that are in need of repair.

Maintenance teams will be able to get information directly on their phones and upload proof of maintenance performed on the spot.

Could halve costs

Brimbank council is responsible for maintaining around 900 kilometres of road, and spends an estimated AUS$15 to AUS$20 million (US$10 million to US$14 million) on this every year.

The partners say using sensor-laden waste trucks could save up to 50 percent on asset auditing costs, reducing the time it takes to identify, document and fix issues, and removing the need for manual reporting and auditing.

Brimbank Mayor Jasmine Nguyen commented: “Residents have told us via the Community Survey that improving the appearance of Brimbank’s roads, road signs, bus stop shelters and roadside spaces is a high priority.

“This innovative 5G-based project offers us a quicker and more efficient way to identify which assets need maintenance, and to get the information to the work crews. Simply put, this project will help Council respond faster to assets that need maintenance.”

Global solution

The initiative is supported by AUS$1.18 million (US$840,000) in funding from the Federal Government’s Australian 5G Innovation Initiative.

Associate Professor Prem Prakash Jayaraman, Director of Swinburne’s Factory of the Future and Digital Innovation Lab, said the project aims to “demonstrate a solution that can be used in cities across Australia and around the world.”

It is not the first time waste trucks have been used for collecting more than rubbish. The City of Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama developed a waste truck-mounted camera system to detect blight-related issues such as dilapidated property, abandoned vehicles, litter, illegal parking and dumped furniture. Meanwhile, Shreveport in Louisiana hacked together ‘Wi-Fi sensors’ and sent them out on garbage trucks to help the city better understand connectivity gaps.