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AI and IoT for smarter waste management
CategoriesSustainable News

AI and IoT for smarter waste management

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: The European Commission recently warned France that, as a nation, it lags “far behind on its targets for recycling household waste and (…) it will have to step up efforts considerably to achieve them.” Helping the country close the gap between its goals and reality is French waste management technology company Akanthas. 

Akanthas calls waste a ‘resource’ and combines Internet of Things (IoT) hardware with artificial intelligence (AI) analysis to identify, categorise, and more efficiently manage it. The company’s intelligent, AI-powered digital waste production and management platform helps organisations reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill.

Co-founder and CEO Viviana Contreras told Springwise that the system helps companies reduce their waste transport needs by 15 per cent a year and improves the sorting of their waste by 20 per cent. Currently focused on businesses, including heavy industry, Akanthas creates custom KPIs for waste management companies, recycling centres, construction and demolition companies, asphalt plants, manufacturers, and retail brands.  

For waste management companies, the platform identifies sorting errors, flags cross-contamination and tracks the effectiveness and efficiency of pickup locations, driving routes, and fill rates. One sensor can monitor up to four containers, and the AI-powered image analysis blurs human faces so the focus is on the waste. The data gathered by the system lets organisations better allocate their vehicles and pickup times and work more closely with customers to support them in taking the most sustainable actions.  

For industrial spaces and construction sites, the system is customised for the materials being generated, including liquid and toxic waste, and monitors volumes to ensure that pickups are booked for the right times to keep a space safe. The system also generates automatically required reports and certifications.  

Akanthas is already working with Veolia and Bouygues Travaux Publics, among other waste management companies in France. Now in the process of closing a €2.5 million funding round, Akanthas plans to use the capital to expand the availability of its system globally.  

Other innovations in Springwise’s Library that are also working on cutting waste and improving waste management include AI food scanners and real-time communication between waste generators and disposal companies.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

IoT sensors for hyper-local natural disaster insights
CategoriesSustainable News

IoT sensors for hyper-local natural disaster insights

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: As locations around the world battle increasingly severe weather events, outdoor sirens, mobile texts, and television notices are common ways of notifying communities of impending disaster. The lethal fire on Hawaii’s Maui Island is an example of a time when planned emergency alerts did not work. With more than 400 outdoor alarms available for use, the fire moved so quickly that disaster management teams didn’t have time to activate them. 

One way of improving safety for residents is to install more local environment trackers, making it possible to generate super-specific alerts before a threat runs out of control. Aurassure, a Bhubaneswar-based environmental technology company, is building an extensive network of informed, connected citizens and neighbourhoods to provide real-time weather and ecosystem data for a variety of uses. 

Using a system of smart environmental monitoring devices with wireless sensors for networking, Aurassure tracks meteorological data, including wind direction and speed, humidity, temperature, and rainfall. The Internet of Things (IoT) system also tracks other essential urban information such as noise levels, the amount of UV light present, and the presence of gases and particulates in the air. And for residents living in close proximity to bodies of water,  

All sensors are customisable so that areas can track exactly what they need, and a dashboard presents information in easy-to-grasp visuals to help make it easy to spot changes over time and identify areas of potential high risk. The sensors are also usable in a variety of locations and are easily mounted on existing infrastructure. Depending on local facilities, there are different ways for a neighbourhood to transmit data to the cloud, and information is viewable on the web and via a mobile app.  

The company’s goal is to provide policymakers, urban planners, and communities with accurate, robust data on which to base ecosystem improvements. 

From portable power stations for grid independence to building-level flood alerts, Springwise’s database includes examples of innovators around the world seeking ways to predict, cope with, and thrive after monumental changes are wrought by natural disasters.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Automating city insights with IoT
CategoriesSustainable News

Automating city insights with IoT

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Cities are responsible for around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions, part of which can be attributed to inefficient road transport networks. Indeed, according to UK startup Route Konnect, the UK’s roads are up to 30 per cent inefficient. 

To tackle this problem, Route Konnect has developed technology that anonymously analyses video feeds to provide real-time insights into the ways in which people move across space – whether in a vehicle or on foot. These insights can then be used to make planning decisions that improve air quality or optimise traffic flow. 

What sets Route Konnect apart is the fact that it does not rely on privacy-infringing technologies such as facial or automatic number plate recognition. Instead, it works by analysing flows across multiple cameras, matching the paths travelled by people and vehicles across different camera views. 

Each of the ‘heuristics’ Route Konnect uses to analyse flows is less powerful on its own than technologies like facial recognition. But combined, they create a system with an accuracy rate of 98 per cent.

In the archive, Springwise has spotted other innovations working to optimise urban planning, including one platform helping to decarbonise cities and a ‘1-minute city’ design.

Written By: Amanda Simms

Reference

An algae-powered microprocessor could be used for IoT devices
CategoriesSustainable News

An algae-powered microprocessor could be used for IoT devices

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: By 2035 there are expected to be one trillion Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices. Finding the most effective and sustainable way to power all these devices is a key challenge for innovators and researchers alike. Algae are one potential power source, and researchers from the University of Cambridge recently put it to the test.

The Cambridge team built a small microprocessor similar in size to a AA battery. This system was made of common, inexpensive and largely recyclable materials, and used a non-toxic and widespread species of algae called Synechocystis as its source of power. The algae naturally harvest energy from the sun through photosynthesis, producing a tiny electrical current that powers the microprocessor.

In a study published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science the researchers found that the algae could power the microprocessor continuously for a year using nothing but ambient light and water.

One of the surprising findings of the study was that the algae continued to produce a current in periods of darkness, even though they need light to photosynthesise. The researchers suggest that this happens because the algae continues to process some of the food it creates through photosynthesis even when there is no light.

Unlike batteries, the algae-based system actually creates energy rather than simply storing it. “The growing Internet of Things needs an increasing amount of power, and we think this will have to come from systems that can generate energy, rather than simply store it like batteries,” explains Professor Christopher Howe in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Biochemistry, joint senior author of the paper. “Our photosynthetic device doesn’t run down the way a battery does because it’s continually using light as the energy source,” he adds.

Other recent algae innovations spotted by Springwise include giant algae-filled ponds that sequester carbon, smart bioplastic made using algae, and t-shirts dyed using black algae.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

1st June 2022

Email: jg533@cam.ac.uk

Website: bioc.cam.ac.uk

Reference

IoT system tracks real-time energy consumption
CategoriesSustainable News

IoT system tracks real-time energy consumption

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: It’s often easiest to understand something when it is made visible. Tunisian company Wattnow is using that premise to help businesses and individuals maximise the efficiency of their energy usage. The Wattnow platform provides a visual monitoring system for all energy points in a building. This system makes it easy to see where the most use is occurring. With hourly, daily, weekly, and annual comparisons, owners of a Wattnow system can see how a space’s consumption varies.

Available in either wired or wireless versions, the smart meters track energy use in both single and three-phase power systems. The algorithm-driven platform helps users save money and reduce pollution by identifying ways to consume energy more efficiently and by sending early alerts when maintenance is needed.

The plug-and-play system connects to an online dashboard accessible via both mobile and desktop, making it easier to respond to queries or alerts while on the go. And the AI puts together predictions for future use patterns, which owners can track against planned improvements to their systems and processes.

A variety of measurements can be recorded by the meters, allowing owners to get a full picture of the energy consumption of a building or space. Pricing for the service is available on request and based on a selection of case studies, including Tunisian Saoudi Bank and Carrefour.

Making resource use more efficient is the goal of many projects spotted by Springwise, from city-wide urban heat vulnerability assessments to a modular solar energy system that scales up and down as needed.  

Written by: Keely Khoury

6th May 2022

Website: wattnow.io

Contact: wattnow.io/contact-us-2/

Reference