The solar-powered waste classification model of two students Huynh Nguyen Le Anh Thu and Nguyen Duc Anh (grade 11 Physics, Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province), is one of 10 projects that won first prize in the provincial Science and Technology competition for the 2024-2025 school year, leaving many marks in the field of environmental protection.
They are close friends, sharing a passion for scientific research. From a very early age, each of them had scientific products (teaching equipment, water and waste oil filtration systems) when they were in middle school. In high school, with the desire to create a highly practical product, creating a good solution to help protect the environment, the two continued their ideas, creating a waste classification model using solar energy.
The operating principle of the model is very simple, the waste is put into the solar power system will have a camera sensor, then through a third application to identify and classify into 3 types of organic waste, plastic waste and metal waste. The special feature of the model is that when the system identifies metal waste, it will automatically be put into the storage area, compressed, and pressed into small blocks.
Anh Thu said that the model was created based on renewable energy technology combined with a modern waste classification system. This is a field that is applied and implemented based on knowledge of physics, electrical engineering, automation, renewable energy combined with knowledge of image recognition technology using cameras through a third-party application to classify waste. The control circuit with suitable programming sets and programming applications helps to control complex processes accurately, flexibly, and can be programmed and re-established when needed.
“I find Physics very interesting. The knowledge learned from this subject can be applied very effectively in life. For example, using solar energy to generate energy, we apply the principle of converting light energy into electricity through solar panels. This process is described by the photoelectric effect, in which sunlight acts on the surface of a semiconductor material (usually silicon), creating an electric current. This is a basic physical principle in renewable energy systems,” Anh Thu said.
Duc Anh is interested in using Physics knowledge to calculate the lifting and pressing indexes of pistons in the metal waste compression conveyor system. “We have used the formula accurately, thereby purchasing the appropriate type of waste compression piston, helping to save costs in the process of solving the problem of waste compression, increasing the area for receiving waste inside the storage area,” Duc Anh said.
Initially, the two students only used an optical sensor to identify and classify waste. Then, with the feedback from teachers and experts, they improved the model, which took about a year. The day of testing the model was the most exciting day of the whole process. A week before the school competition, the model's optical sensor system could only identify metal materials, except for black metal. Immediately after that, Anh Thu and Duc Anh switched to an artificial intelligence camera device, the system recognized and classified black metal but had to be correct according to the pre-installed image. This is also what both students want to improve for the product, if they want to develop the model into a commercial product.
The more the initial idea developed, the higher the difficulty, making the students tired and wanting to give up at times, but thanks to their determination and the support and encouragement from the teachers, both students confidently continued to make the product. Teacher Le Thi Ngoc Hanh - the project's instructor said that Duc Anh and Anh Thu cooperated well, divided the work according to their strengths, discussed and agreed on the implementation plan from the beginning until the model was completed.
Ms. Hanh assessed that if the model product is applied in practice, it will have the potential to be widely applied, save energy and costs, improve waste management efficiency and promote the recycling process. The project not only solves current environmental and energy problems, but is also in line with the trend of developing green technology and automation in the future, contributing to raising awareness of environmental protection.
To create the product, outside of class time, the two students allocated appropriate time, discussed, directly participated in calculating, processing, and assembling the model. “We thank our families and teachers for always supporting us, because some of the materials for the project were very expensive, we did not have enough money to buy them, and had to borrow them to complete the product,” Duc Anh shared.
Mr. Huynh Ba Loc, Vice Principal in charge of Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, said that in the 2024-2025 school year, the school has 12 projects participating in the provincial Science and Technology competition. 100% of the projects won prizes, including 5 First prizes. This result is due to the early and careful preparation of the students and teachers of the school. In terms of the students' science and technology products, all have high scientific content. In each topic, the students clearly demonstrate their passion and creative research in science, along with the support of the school's teachers who have experience in this field.
According to VNA
Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/cong-nghe/hoc-sinh-lop-11-sang-tao-mo-hinh-tu-dong-phan-loai-rac-thai-dung-nang-luong-mat-troi/20250221101028950
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