20 Dec 2024

Smart Sensors to Reduce Installation Solid Waste

Abstract: Sensors were deployed by the research team in interior waste bins at Army installation buildings to collect data on waste generation at the source. The sensors were designed to provide granular data on waste generation that stakeholders can use to make informed decisions about solid waste man-agement. Each sensor costs about $300 to fabricate, but bulk fabrication may bring costs down. Sensors were deployed at dining facilities, offices, and barracks, which typically had higher waste volumes. Dining facilities were deemed to be the most useful application because at the other build-ings, waste management either varies significantly or much of the waste is carried out directly to exterior waste bins. This technology shows promise but could be improved in areas such as sensor fit, sensor robustness, battery life, data storage, and clock accuracy. The highest return on investment would be found in areas with high costs for waste hauling and landfills. In areas with low waste management costs, this technology may not result in costs savings.

2 Sep 2021

Spatial and Temporal Variance of Soil and Meteorological Properties Affecting Sensor Performance—Phase 2

ABSTRACT: An approach to increasing sensor performance and detection reliability for buried objects is to better understand which physical processes are dominant under certain environmental conditions. The present effort (Phase 2) builds on our previously published prior effort (Phase 1), which examined methods of determining the probability of detection and false alarm rates using thermal infrared for buried-object detection. The study utilized a 3.05 × 3.05 m test plot in Hanover, New Hampshire. Unlike Phase 1, the current effort involved removing the soil from the test plot area, homogenizing the material, then reapplying it into eight discrete layers along with buried sensors and objects representing targets of interest. Each layer was compacted to a uniform density consistent with the background undisturbed density. Homogenization greatly reduced the microscale soil temperature variability, simplifying data analysis. The Phase 2 study spanned May–November 2018. Simultaneous measurements of soil temperature and moisture (as well as air temperature and humidity, cloud cover, and incoming solar radiation) were obtained daily and recorded at 15-minute intervals and coupled with thermal infrared and electro-optical image collection at 5-minute intervals.