High school students apply AI to invent a garbage sorting line

Applying knowledge to solve practical problems

The product of Nguyen Thanh Vinh and Tran Khai Tuan won first prize in the scientific research competition of Cau Giay district (Hanoi), and was displayed and performed at the STEAM Festival organized by Nguyen Sieu Secondary and High School recently.

Sharing about this model, Nguyen Thanh Vinh said that when the garbage is put into the chain, the sensor above will detect and take a picture, sending it to the AI ​​model attached to the circuit board. This tool quickly classifies them into one of the groups: paper and cardboard, glass, metal, plastic and other garbage. From there, the wiper on the conveyor belt automatically sweeps the garbage into the corresponding bin. The time from when the sensor receives the signal, AI analyzes and classifies the garbage is only about 1-2 seconds.

Talking about the birth of this product, Nguyen Thanh Vinh said: “About a year ago, I started to have the idea of ​​building a model to classify recycled household waste. This came from the fact that I saw that household waste was not classified, families were throwing all kinds of waste into the same trash can. I found out that this was wasting a lot of recycled waste and causing difficulties in waste treatment as well as seriously affecting the environment. Last summer, I invited Tuan to study and research with me. In September 2024, we started to build the model under the guidance of our homeroom teacher.”

How to turn the idea into reality was a big challenge for Vinh and Tuan. According to Tran Khai Tuan, the concept of AI was quite new to him and he did not know how to use AI. At that time, Tuan also did not know how to build an AI model that could self-learn and self-control the waste sorting line according to Vinh's proposed idea.

“How to make a production line that is scientific, modern and optimized in practice to process and classify a lot of waste at the same time. I have researched and found the right technology, circuit boards, chips, cameras, motors, and cheap materials to make it,” Tran Tuan Khai shared.

As the originator of this idea and knowledgeable about AI, Nguyen Thanh Vinh said that the biggest difficulty is the process of collecting and processing data, it is necessary to build a large enough data set, ensuring diversity in environment, light and shooting angle. In addition, integrating AI with the hardware system is also important. Because AI runs on Raspberry Pi, but needs to communicate with Arduino to control servo motors, it is necessary to optimize data transmission between components, ensuring low latency and fast response.

Together with Vinh and Tuan to overcome these challenges is the companionship of the family. Ms. Mai Thi Thanh Oanh, mother of Nguyen Thanh Vinh said: “When Vinh presented this idea to me, I also analyzed the challenges as well as the feasibility of the product. And he also raised the issue of sorting waste with robots and AI. But when I learned that sorting waste with robots is very expensive, and AI is beyond the reach of a middle school student.”

However, as a person working in the technology field, Ms. Thanh Oanh understands the desire to conquer challenges to have the desired product. To help her child's dream take flight, Ms. Thanh Oanh encouraged her child to present it to the homeroom teacher and the school.

“Without the support of teachers and the school, the children could not have completed this product. Especially the homeroom teacher always guided meticulously and encouraged the children to overcome difficulties,” said Ms. Thanh Oanh.

To help her children gain more knowledge about AI, Ms. Thanh Oanh also connected with experts in this field so that Vinh and Tuan could gain more knowledge about product optimization. Vinh and Tuan's father both supported by searching for materials.

“It was very difficult to buy PVC conveyor belts because the manufacturing facility only made large conveyor belts for large factories, not small ones. Vinh’s father went to the manufacturing facility to have them made and brought the conveyor belt home that night so that his son could finish the product on time,” Ms. Thanh Oanh recalled.

Besides passion, support from family and school, knowledge is still the foundation for Vinh and Tuan to complete the product. According to Nguyen Thanh Vinh, at school we are taught 2 integrated programs: the program of the Ministry of Education and Training and the Cambridge program, at the same time we are taught accelerated IGCSE, including Computer Science to help us gain more background knowledge to create this product.

Dreaming of a Generation Mastering AI

At the Secondary and High School, besides students like Vinh and Tuan, there are also students who won Gold medals at world programming competitions. That is Pham Ngoc An, a student of class 6CI5, who excellently won the Gold Medal in the Programming category of the International STEM Olympiad 2025 with a perfect score of 100/100.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, Principal of Nguyen Sieu Secondary and High School, said: “We started implementing the STEAM Education Program very early, nearly 10 years ago, through festivals to inspire students’ passion. It is time for the school to incorporate semiconductor technology into the curriculum because AI and semiconductor chips have entered our lives, as well as affecting the global economy. The school is always updating technology, and in the future, it is expected to introduce a semiconductor technology program integrating subjects.”

While many high schools in Hanoi are still hesitant about introducing technology programs, there are schools that have organized playgrounds right from kindergarten and primary school through games.

According to Ms. Minh Thuy, the children seem to be playing a game but are interacting with robots to give them tasks and command them… Even at preschool age, there are tournaments for 4-8 year olds around the world and Vietnamese students have participated. The older they get, the more passionate they are about technology. When AI develops strongly, children can grasp and master it, not let AI lead them.

Students have access to new technology through foreign languages, which is a method that Nguyen Sieu Secondary and High School has implemented for many years.

“English is not only a communication tool, but students also use academic English to search for the latest documents in the world,” said Ms. Minh Thuy.

Identifying teachers as the key factor for students to have passion in any field, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy said: “The school not only trains teachers to improve their professional skills but also trains teachers in English. At the same time, we build a source of young teachers with skills in technology and English to lead a generation of students to confidently approach science and technology in a systematic and quick way.”

With the spirit of lifelong learning, Ms. Minh Thuy believes that technology can replace humans but emotional intelligence cannot and that is what students need to be equipped with to master technology and spread humanistic values ​​to the community. Like Vinh and Tuan, not only do they apply AI to create products, but more importantly, their products are meaningful to the community and protect the environment in a practical way.

According to Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong, to modernize education and other fields in general, it is necessary to create breakthroughs through science, technology, and digital transformation. The current context is favorable for bringing AI into general education when the Party and State have implemented Resolution 29 on fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and recently Resolution 57 on science and technology development. At the same time, he emphasized, "The key is to focus on training teachers and managers, focusing on students."

Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong has assigned the Department of General Education to advise on the faster and stronger integration of AI into the curriculum, first of all in the subjects of Information Technology and Technology at the secondary level. At the same time, the Departments of Education and Training need to proactively train and develop teachers to use this tool.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/giao-duc/hoc-sinh-pho-thong-ung-dung-ai-sang-che-day-chuyen-phan-loai-rac-20250328151519733.htm