5G and IoT technologies to smarten Australia’s waste trucks
An interconnected network of garbage trucks could be the new frontline in repairing local roads, thanks to a collaboration between Brimbank City Council in Victoria and academia.
A 5G collaboration between Brimbank City Council and Swinburne University of Technology in Australia is using high-resolution cameras and GPS sensors attached to waste trucks to rapidly detect road and roadside assets that require maintenance.
The project, in a metropolitan area of Melbourne, is supported by $1.18m in federal government funding and aims to demonstrate how 5G and the internet of things (IoT) can support smart cities around Australia.
Rich data
The rich data captured from the connected devices will be sent in real-time to a cloud-based system that can create an easy-to-use map of assets that require maintenance, such as road signs, bus shelters or damaged roads.
It is hoped the technology will drastically reduce the time it takes to identify, document and fix issues, removing the need for costly manual reporting and auditing, and saving up to 50 per cent of asset auditing costs.
“Residents have told us via the community survey that improving the appearance of Brimbank’s roads, road signs, bus stop shelters and roadside spaces is a high priority,” said mayor councillor Jasmine Nguyen.
She added: “This innovative 5G-based project offers us a quicker and more efficient way to identify which assets need maintenance, and to get the information to the work crews. Simply put, this project will help Council respond faster to assets that need maintenance.”
“Council is pleased to be working with Swinburne University and Optus on this ground-breaking project. Our project will also lead the way for other councils considering 5G based solutions for road and roadside asset condition monitoring.”
The stereo vision and depth cameras attached to the garbage trucks will collect 3D perception data at a rate of 900 megabits per second. For comparison, average mobile download speeds in Australia in 2020 were around 43 megabits per second.
To add extra complexity, the garbage trucks travel across every street in the council area each week and need to transmit the data in real-time while moving at varying speeds.
This makes the environment perfect for testing the capabilities of the super-fast 5G network, while also helping maintenance teams work more effectively.
As part of the project, maintenance teams will be able to get information directly on their phones and upload proof of maintenance performed on the spot.
With more than 900km of road under maintenance and an estimated $15m to $20m spent annually maintaining and improving road and roadside assets in Brimbank alone, it is hoped…