Our team began brainstorming ideas for the midterm project.
For our midterm project, we proposed creating a garbage bin that would emit unsettling sounds and reject waste thrown into it. People often assume the problem of waste ends when they toss something in a bin, regardless of proper sorting.
First, we needed to use a sensor to detect when trash had been thrown into the bin. We tested three options:
Photoresistor
The photoresistor proved completely unresponsive in our tests. We spent over an hour staring at the serial plotter, repeatedly covering and uncovering the sensor—like amateur astronomers searching for meaning in a starless sky.
IR Sensor
The SHARP IR sensor presented its own challenges. We discovered that IR sensors are sensitive to interference from ambient light sources, including ceiling fixtures and sunlight through windows.
Ultrasonic Sensor
The ultrasonic sensor proved to be our best option. We only needed basic object detection—essentially a binary "present or not present" reading. The sensor was straightforward to set up and reliably detected when objects crossed its path. This made it our final choice.
In the lab