Problem/Opportunity Identification Stage

Group 2- Jiangfei Chen, Jiaxuan Li, Xinyue Zhang, Lei Fang

Module 5: Design Thinking Project Planning

· Problem/Opportunity Identification Stage

1. What problem do you want to solve?

Waste is an integral part of our daily life and scientific waste disposal has become an urgent and tricky issue for it involves both individual and government efforts. During the process of waste disposal, one crucial step is associated with the classification of wastes. However, the problem is when the public either old or young realize the difficulty in memorizing the numerous types of wastes as well as in placing them in the exactly right bins; they have already lost the desire to be a responsible waste classifier. So, we are wondering if there are any systems or machines that could intelligently recognize the types of wastes and then complete the waste classification process? We aim at improving the efficiency of waste classification and enhance people’s willingness to be a part of environmental protection.

2. What opportunities do you see?

According to Ar, Hasan, and Mahmood (2019), waste sorting, now a legal duty, is detrimental to detect hazardous, organic, and recyclable waste to facilitate waste management; the application of data mining and AI as well as the automatic networks would be beneficial for the whole process. The opportunities for this idea planning are abundant not only in the advanced development of technologies but also in the large market. As long as there are bins either in our neighborhood communities, hotels, public parks or the commercial centers, they may need the system or automatic waste processor. In the meanwhile, such an initiative may be likely to be supported by government or nonprofit organizations for the purpose of bettering the environment.

3. What new product, service, etc. are you thinking about (general description)

We are projecting an intelligent waste classification bin. The system sets the specific waste types, material components and the visual information associated with them into the bin. Once the public throws their wastes into the bin, the bin could detect the type of them based on the image and composition etc, and then automatically classifies them.

4. Who may benefit from solving the problem?

Community residents, city citizens and our potential customers can all benefit from solving problems. Through intelligent waste sorting bins, we are committed to effectively sorting and placing all waste, so as to avoid a series of environmental problems caused by improper waste sorting. For residential communities or cities, this can effectively ensure the correct disposal of their garbage, reduce garbage discharge and pollution, and increase residents’ enthusiasm for participating in environmental protection, so that residents can live in a fresh and clean environment . At the same time, smart garbage classification is suitable for a variety of people, because whether it is the elderly or young people, it is possible to confuse the correct classification of various garbage. In some cities, wrong sorting of garbage may be punished, so the solution of this problem can help our potential customers. At the same time, the smart trash sorting bin is simple to use, and the production cycle is not long. The long-term benefits it can reap are large, and the government or non-profit organization is likely to support it, so it also has many benefits for developers and investors.

5. How will you define success? What indicators will tell you if you are successful?

We define success as more and more customers using our products, and the sales volume can maintain the growth trend, and the profit can remain stable. Because it means that our products have been recognized and loved enough. For the indicators that can define our success, the first is profit. The profitability of a company is the most basic indicator for judging the success of the company. If our company’s profit is positive, and on this basis, there is enough liquidity to deal with emergencies, which means that we are in good operation status. In addition, air pollution is also one of our indicators. Since we provide products that can correctly classify waste, to a certain extent, it can help improve air pollution and form a good operation of the environment. Therefore, when air pollution is healthy, it means that our products are successful. Finally, customer satisfaction is also our indicator. When customer needs are met and positive reviews are received from customers, it means that our products are accepted by customers and provide convenience to customers.

· Project Planning Stage

1. Create a timeline for completing each of the stages

Timeline

Write one question you have about the final project

Question about the final project

Do we need to conduct a large amount of market research when entering the prototyping and testing stage? Or The figure is just based on our speculations?

References

Ar, A. R., Hasan, S., & Mahmood, B. (2019). Automatic waste detection by deep learning and disposal system design. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science, 15(1), 38-44