The present invention relates to a system and method of selling goods or services, or collecting recycle refuse using mechanized mobile merchantry, comprising positioning, by self-propelling, at least one of a mechanized mobile merchantry within a geographical boundary, allowing interaction with consumers, and effectuating selling of goods or services, or collection of recycle refuse with consumers. Other exemplary embodiments can include signaling a mechanized mobile merchantry with a consumer's mobile device to direct the merchantry to self-propel to the consumer's location, and utilizing usage logs and algorithms to optimize functionality of a fleet of merchantry and reposition the merchantry, as necessary, within a geographical boundary, to increase sales and consumer convenience. The present invention also relates to a waste collection system with option to deliver new food and beverage items includes a customer service robot comprising a slave computer and one or more waste receptacles to collect waste material. The customer service robot includes at least one robotic arm having at least three degrees of motion to facilitate collection from, e.g., tables and the like. The customer service robot is also capable of interfacing with a recycling unit and a master computer to control disposal of the collected waste.

A method for efficiently and automatically requesting waste collection services through the use of mobile communication devices is disclosed. The method utilizes a fill-level sensor or fill-level sensors attached to dumpsters of various sizes. The fill-level sensor is configured to monitor a dumpster's capacity in terms of waste volume. Whenever the volume reaches a predetermined fill-level set by the generator, an automatic collection request is sent out to at least one hauler capable of carrying out the collection.

A method of a pricing scheme and a bidding process for waste collection services comprising: providing a waste management service, determining a price for the waste collection services, providing a bidding process for a hauler to participate in the waste collection services, and selecting a hauler based on the bidding process.

A process for a pre-acquisition auction for recycled electronic devices is disclosed herein. A plurality of pre-acquisition purchase prices are established with each of the plurality of pre-acquisition purchase prices established for a recycled electronic device in a predetermined condition, and each of the pre-acquisition purchase prices established by a winning bid from a bidder of a plurality of bidders for a recycled electronic device.

Systems and methods for detecting a waste receptacle, the system including a camera for capturing an image, a convolutional neural network, and processor. The convolutional neural network can be trained for identifying target waste receptacles. The processor can be mounted on the waste-collection vehicle and in communication with the camera and the convolutional neural network configured for using the convolutional neural network. The processor can be configured for using the convolutional neural network to generate an object candidate based on the image; using the convolutional neural network to determine whether the object candidate corresponds to a target waste receptacle; and selecting an action based on whether the object candidate is acceptable.

An embodiment relates to a trash collection device comprising a trash receptacle with a unique identification and an opening to receive a class of trash; an identification scanner for recognizing a user; a trash item counter; a fill level sensor; a display configured to interact with the user; a compactor; a solar panel configured to charge a battery; a data communicator configured to communicate date to a cloud storage; a processor configured to generate incentive for the user; wherein the trash collection device is configured to be modular and configurable to connect with another similar trash collection device to enable to collect additional trash class and is configured to interact with each other through a common software. The device, method and system are further used to generate recycling analytics by using the stored data to provide incentives to users and to facilitate planning of downstream operations.

A method and system for marking and encoding recyclability includes material identification markers to enable a robot with computer vision capability to properly identify and distinguish between various materials. The material identification markers could include marks or symbols to describe a recyclable item or material. The material identification markers may be incorporated into the design of the item, printed on the item or label, or placed in any other way as this is a vision-based system. Further, the material identification markers may be visible or invisible to the human eye.

A system is disclosed for managing waste services. The system may have a locating device configured to generate a signal indicative of a location of a service vehicle on a roadway, a communication device, and a controller in communication with the locating and communication devices. The controller may be configured to determine a side of the roadway at which a first target location is currently being serviced by the service vehicle, and to determine based on the signal from the locating device a proximity of the service vehicle to a second target location at which the waste services are to be performed. The second target location may be on the same side of the roadway as the first target location. The controller may also be configured to automatically provide via the communicating device an estimated time of arrival to a customer corresponding to the second target location, based on the proximity.

A system optimizes the organization of components for the manufacture of wood products. The system includes memory devices and processing devices operatively coupled to the memory device, wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to execute computer-readable computer program code to receive a plurality of job orders for distinct wood products having varying components; optimize cutting of all components for the plurality of job orders to minimize waste of source materials, thereby resulting in a plurality of components for the plurality of job orders; track each component electronically in order to identify each component at a final cutting machine location; and affix a unique indicator on each component indicating both a receptacle and a receptacle portion corresponding to each component, thereby optimizing organization of all the components by at least one of job, distance from machine to receptacle, and distance from receptacle to assembly location.

A system is disclosed for managing waste services by a service vehicle. The system may have a locating device configured to generate a location signal indicative of a location of the service vehicle, a sensor configured to generate a service signal indicative of a waste service being performed by the service vehicle, an input device, and a processing unit in communication with the locating device, the sensor, and the input device. The processing unit may be configured to make a determination that the service vehicle has made a plurality of service stops based on the location and service signals, and to automatically generate at least one service route including the plurality of service stops. The processing unit may also be configured to display the at least one service route and the plurality of service stops on a map in at least one graphical user interface on the input device.