We are an independent group of undergraduate researchers, called the ZerO Waste Anteaters (ZOWA), who are passionate about technology-based zero waste management. We are recruiting volunteers who want to work on our zero waste project called ZotBins and make a difference for the environment. ZotBins is a smart waste bin system that collects data to help make waste management more efficient and to promote zero waste.
Our web and mobile engineers are dedicated to ensuring ZotBins is accessible to our end users. This team is responsible for building the ZotBins web and mobile app: the web app provides functionality to help facilities management in cultivating a sustainable campus, while the mobile app seeks to engage users in more environmentally-conscious practices. Members of this group are comfortable working on building an application end-to-end, and have experience with UI/UX design. Common tasks include designing aesthetically-pleasing user interfaces, web development, and mobile app development (Android and iOS).
Computer Vision researchers are responsible for developing and implementing the image recognition algorithms for our waste image dataset, including image classification and image localization. The algorithms are used in our ZotBins mobile app as well as the physical Smart Bins hardware. Our daily work may include waste image collections, data labeling, data preprocessing, and algorithms development & implementation.
The systems subgroup work on what the engineers dub the “Zotbins Core” of the physical Smart Bins. Currently they’re creating an RTOS application on an ESP-32. This application collects useful metrics such as weight, fullness, and usage. There’s also a Jetson Nano side project, which deploys Waste Recognition’s PyTorch model onboard, eliminating latency of calling the backend. Common tasks include programming microcontrollers, collaborating with other subgroups (Hardware and API), and creating diagrams to build our infrastructure.
The hardware subgroup builds our physical Smart Bins. The hardware and electrical engineers work with microcontrollers, sensors, and PCBs to design robust, cost-efficient prototypes capable of collecting waste weight, bin fullness, and other useful metrics. Common tasks include circuit and PCB design, power draw analytics, and manufacturing bin prototypes.
Backend developers are responsible for building and maintaining APIs to bridge the gap between the low level IoT edge devices and the high level user applications. This position works closely with the database, so some of the tasks include developing necessary API endpoints and researching for an optimal way to receive and store time-series sensor data from our Smart Bins.
