EYEfi Smart Sensors give councils the information they need to improve waste management, save money and help keep rubbish off the streets

Australia’s growing population poses a challenge for councils. Smart and sustainable solutions are needed to better manage waste, especially in busy urban environments. Thanks to new internet-connected devices, smart sensors are starting to transform the world of waste and asset management for the better.

Home-grown technology company EYEfi is leading this change with its Internet of Things (IoT) product suite. EYEfi’s Smart Sensor system, for example, is improving the way City of Melbourne’s waste services manage rubbish collections, by utilising EYEfi sensors located in street bins across the CBD that automatically monitor bin fill levels, using ultrasonic sensors and the cloud-based application.

The sensors can also be optioned with GPS and are ideal for public space bins and various sized rear-lift and front-lift commercial bins.

The system generates dynamic data on fill rates, fill profiles and other key metrics that helps ensure bins are positioned in the best locations to service demand. This in turn enables performance improvements and greater efficiency of the bin network and waste collections.

“The system provides entirely new data and intelligence for customers on their bin networks,” EYEfi Managing Director Simon Langdon says.

Each sensor can also provide alerts to waste management teams when waste in a bin reaches a particular level, eg, 80%. The platform automatically calculates dynamic collection schedules and navigational information and delivers this to drivers on their smartphone, so collections can be executed in the most efficient way.

“The system’s proactive alerting features enable waste services to prevent rubbish overflowing onto streets and into drains and waterways, before it becomes a problem,” Langdon explains. “It also enables a more transparent and productive service while reducing operational costs.”

Apart from sensors for waste management, EYEfi also has its next generation range of IoT smart sensors approaching release that will cover a variety of real-world sensing scenarios.

“The small, robust, networked sensors and smart cameras will be able to accurately monitor many different scenarios, such as the water levels in roadside pits to warn response crews, visual analysis of street foliage encroaching on power lines to keep maintenance teams informed, or the waste levels in bulk or skip bins to provide alerts to waste services,” says Langdon.

The IoT sensors augment EYEfi’s well-established Spatial Video product suite, which offers the seamless integration of video, spatial and mapping using fixed, mobile and airborne platforms, allowing for the rapid assessment and response to a wide range of emergency scenarios such as bushfire management, emergency and incident response.

“Solving problems for customers is what innovation is all about,” Langdon says. “Our technologies deliver entirely new capabilities in the area of intelligence gathering and situational awareness, making people, assets and infrastructure safer and work flow processes smarter, faster and more cost-effective. This is particularly relevant for government organisations that need to carefully manage assets and infrastructure while balancing tighter budgets with increasing public expectations of their services.”

Organisations can combine all of their remote monitoring needs within the one cloud platform, using EYEfi’s GPS-enabled smart cameras on emergency management vehicles or mobile platforms, while EYEfi’s spatially enabled cameras and sensors can be located on fixed towers or infrastructure to enable powerful, real-time intelligence gathering capabilities.

You can arrange a demo of EYEfi’s products or find out more about the possibilities for your organisation by visiting www.eyefi.com.au or emailing smartsensor@eyefi.com.au.