Engineering Commons^™

Toilet Alarms: A Novel Application Of Latrine Sensors And Machine Learning For Optimizing Sanitation Services In Informal Settlements, Phillip Nicholas Turman-Bryant, Taylor Sharpe, Corey L. Nagel, Lauren Stover, Evan A. Thomas

Systems Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The cost-effectiveness and reliability of waste collection services in informal settlements can be difficult to optimize given the geospatial and temporal variability of latrine use. Daily servicing to avoid overflow events is inefficient, but dynamic scheduling of latrine servicing could reduce costs by providing just-in-time servicing for latrines. This study used cellular-connected motion sensors and machine learning to dynamically predict when daily latrine servicing could be skipped with a low risk of overflow. Sensors monitored daily latrine activity, and enumerators collected solid and liquid waste weight data. Given the complex relationship between latrine use and the need for servicing, an …