Automatic plastics picking robot.

Abstract

Plastics is the term commonly used to describe a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that are used in a huge and growing range of applications. We use plastic products to help make our lives cleaner, easier, safer and more enjoyable. This has increased on the amount of plastics littered in our environment which is harmful especially after single use. Plastic waste pose serious environmental pollutions and health problems in humans and animals. Most plastics have an indefinite life span and will probably still be mixed in the soil of this planet thousands of years from now. The disposal and collection methods have not been very helpful in reducing in the amount of plastics littered in the environment. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an Automatic Plastics Picking Robot that was to pick plastics from the environment and place them into the bin attached onto it. This was achieved using different forms of literature and observations, requirement analysis and design of system modules, testing and validation. In this system three major functionalities have been achieved namely: Automatic picking of the plastic on the environment, automatic detecting of the level of plastics in the bin attached onto it, and alerting the user when the bin attached onto it is full of plastic waste. In conclusion, this robot will be able to reduce on the amount of the plastics dumped in the environment.