---
_id: '6790'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Manual waste monitoring is a labor-intensive process that can lead to unnecessary
trips and overflowing waste bins due to fixed inspection schedules. Existing automated
systems rely on static sensors installed inside each bin, which are difficult
to scale and have not yet gained wider acceptance. Micro aerial vehicles (MAVs)
can address this problem by carrying the necessary sensors to different locations
as needed. This paper presents an MAV-based solution for automated waste bin monitoring.
RGB images captured by the MAV are processed by a CNN to estimate fill levels
without the need for in-bin sensors. The CNN is trained on a custom dataset of
simulated waste bins and evaluated with respect to dataset performance and in
a real application scenario. A mobile application enables operators to configure
bin locations and monitor the process in real time. The MAV is controlled by a
reinforcement learning policy and autonomously navigates to each bin location.
The evaluation demonstrates that the CNN achieves reliable performance on both
simulated and real images, and that the integrated system autonomously completes
full inspection cycles. Overall, the proposed system offers a scalable and cost-efficient
alternative for sustainable waste management.
author:
- first_name: André
full_name: Kirsch, André
id: '229807'
last_name: Kirsch
- first_name: Jan
full_name: Rexilius, Jan
id: '245736'
last_name: Rexilius
orcid: 0000-0002-4579-214X
orcid_put_code_url: https://api.orcid.org/v2.0/0000-0002-4579-214X/work/208820721
citation:
alphadin: 'Kirsch, André ; Rexilius,
Jan: Vision-Based Autonomous Waste Bin Fill-Level Monitoring with a Micro
Aerial Vehicle. In: 22nd International Conference on Intelligent Environments
(IE), 2026'
ama: 'Kirsch A, Rexilius J. Vision-Based Autonomous Waste Bin Fill-Level Monitoring
with a Micro Aerial Vehicle. In: 22nd International Conference on Intelligent
Environments (IE). ; 2026. doi:10.1109/IE69249.2026.11539031'
apa: Kirsch, A., & Rexilius, J. (2026). Vision-Based Autonomous Waste Bin Fill-Level
Monitoring with a Micro Aerial Vehicle. In 22nd International Conference on
Intelligent Environments (IE). Lissabon, Portugal. https://doi.org/10.1109/IE69249.2026.11539031
bibtex: '@inproceedings{Kirsch_Rexilius_2026, title={Vision-Based Autonomous Waste
Bin Fill-Level Monitoring with a Micro Aerial Vehicle}, DOI={10.1109/IE69249.2026.11539031},
booktitle={22nd International Conference on Intelligent Environments (IE)}, author={Kirsch,
André and Rexilius, Jan}, year={2026} }'
chicago: Kirsch, André, and Jan Rexilius. “Vision-Based Autonomous Waste Bin Fill-Level
Monitoring with a Micro Aerial Vehicle.” In 22nd International Conference on
Intelligent Environments (IE), 2026. https://doi.org/10.1109/IE69249.2026.11539031.
ieee: A. Kirsch and J. Rexilius, “Vision-Based Autonomous Waste Bin Fill-Level Monitoring
with a Micro Aerial Vehicle,” in 22nd International Conference on Intelligent
Environments (IE), Lissabon, Portugal, 2026.
mla: Kirsch, André, and Jan Rexilius. “Vision-Based Autonomous Waste Bin Fill-Level
Monitoring with a Micro Aerial Vehicle.” 22nd International Conference on Intelligent
Environments (IE), 2026, doi:10.1109/IE69249.2026.11539031.
short: 'A. Kirsch, J. Rexilius, in: 22nd International Conference on Intelligent
Environments (IE), 2026.'
conference:
end_date: 2026-06-18
location: Lissabon, Portugal
name: 22nd International Conference on Intelligent Environments (IE)
start_date: 2026-06-15
date_created: 2026-03-06T12:30:43Z
date_updated: 2026-06-16T10:10:34Z
department:
- _id: '102'
doi: 10.1109/IE69249.2026.11539031
keyword:
- Waste monitoring
- Waste level estimation
- MAV navigation
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- url: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11539031
project:
- _id: A827C0AA-C7DA-11E9-B0AE-1F4CB252D58D
name: Institute for Building Intelligence
publication: 22nd International Conference on Intelligent Environments (IE)
publication_status: published
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
record:
- id: '6993'
relation: other
status: submitted
status: public
title: Vision-Based Autonomous Waste Bin Fill-Level Monitoring with a Micro Aerial
Vehicle
type: conference
user_id: '229807'
year: '2026'
...
---
_id: '5771'
author:
- first_name: André
full_name: Kirsch, André
id: '229807'
last_name: Kirsch
- first_name: Jan
full_name: Rexilius, Jan
id: '245736'
last_name: Rexilius
orcid: 0000-0002-4579-214X
orcid_put_code_url: https://api.orcid.org/v2.0/0000-0002-4579-214X/work/179122389
citation:
alphadin: 'Kirsch, André ; Rexilius,
Jan: An Easy-to-Use System for Tracking Robotic Platforms Using Time-of-Flight
Sensors in Lab Environments. In: Castrillon-Santana,
M. ; De Marsico, M. ; Fred, A. (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the
14th International Conference on Pattern Recognition Applications and Methods
. Setúbal, Portugal : Science and Technology Publications, 2025'
ama: 'Kirsch A, Rexilius J. An Easy-to-Use System for Tracking Robotic Platforms
Using Time-of-Flight Sensors in Lab Environments. In: Castrillon-Santana M, De
Marsico M, Fred A, eds. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on
Pattern Recognition Applications and Methods . Setúbal, Portugal: Science
and Technology Publications; 2025. doi:10.5220/0013110500003905'
apa: 'Kirsch, A., & Rexilius, J. (2025). An Easy-to-Use System for Tracking
Robotic Platforms Using Time-of-Flight Sensors in Lab Environments. In M. Castrillon-Santana,
M. De Marsico, & A. Fred (Eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International
Conference on Pattern Recognition Applications and Methods . Setúbal, Portugal:
Science and Technology Publications. https://doi.org/10.5220/0013110500003905'
bibtex: '@inproceedings{Kirsch_Rexilius_2025, place={Setúbal, Portugal}, title={
An Easy-to-Use System for Tracking Robotic Platforms Using Time-of-Flight Sensors
in Lab Environments}, DOI={10.5220/0013110500003905},
booktitle={ Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Pattern Recognition
Applications and Methods }, publisher={Science and Technology Publications}, author={Kirsch,
André and Rexilius, Jan}, editor={Castrillon-Santana, Modesto and De Marsico,
Maria and Fred, Ana Editors}, year={2025} }'
chicago: 'Kirsch, André, and Jan Rexilius. “ An Easy-to-Use System for Tracking
Robotic Platforms Using Time-of-Flight Sensors in Lab Environments.” In Proceedings
of the 14th International Conference on Pattern Recognition Applications and Methods
, edited by Modesto Castrillon-Santana, Maria De Marsico, and Ana Fred.
Setúbal, Portugal: Science and Technology Publications, 2025. https://doi.org/10.5220/0013110500003905.'
ieee: A. Kirsch and J. Rexilius, “ An Easy-to-Use System for Tracking Robotic Platforms
Using Time-of-Flight Sensors in Lab Environments,” in Proceedings of the 14th
International Conference on Pattern Recognition Applications and Methods ,
Porto, 2025.
mla: Kirsch, André, and Jan Rexilius. “ An Easy-to-Use System for Tracking Robotic
Platforms Using Time-of-Flight Sensors in Lab Environments.” Proceedings of
the 14th International Conference on Pattern Recognition Applications and Methods
, edited by Modesto Castrillon-Santana et al., Science and Technology Publications,
2025, doi:10.5220/0013110500003905.
short: 'A. Kirsch, J. Rexilius, in: M. Castrillon-Santana, M. De Marsico, A. Fred
(Eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Pattern Recognition
Applications and Methods , Science and Technology Publications, Setúbal, Portugal,
2025.'
conference:
end_date: 2025-02-25
location: Porto
name: 14th International Conference on Pattern Recognition Applications and Methods
(ICPRAM)
start_date: 2025-02-23
date_created: 2025-02-28T13:04:18Z
date_updated: 2026-03-17T15:29:22Z
department:
- _id: '102'
doi: 10.5220/0013110500003905
editor:
- first_name: 'Modesto '
full_name: 'Castrillon-Santana, Modesto '
last_name: Castrillon-Santana
- first_name: Maria
full_name: De Marsico, Maria
last_name: De Marsico
- first_name: 'Ana '
full_name: 'Fred, Ana '
last_name: Fred
keyword:
- Tracking
- Robot
- Drone
- MAV
- External
- Time-of-Flight
- LiDAR
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: https://www.scitepress.org/Papers/2025/131105/131105.pdf
oa: '1'
place: Setúbal, Portugal
project:
- _id: A827C0AA-C7DA-11E9-B0AE-1F4CB252D58D
name: Institute for Building Intelligence
publication: ' Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Pattern Recognition
Applications and Methods '
publication_identifier:
isbn:
- ' 978-989-758-730-6'
issn:
- 2184-4313
publication_status: published
publisher: Science and Technology Publications
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: ' An Easy-to-Use System for Tracking Robotic Platforms Using Time-of-Flight
Sensors in Lab Environments'
type: conference
user_id: '229807'
year: '2025'
...