According to the latest concepts, waste is a visible face of inefficiency in terms of material utilization. Waste handling is a major concern, especially since improper waste treatment causes increased environmental deterioration. The last few decades have seen the emergence of new measures to handle waste effectively, but most of them are not flawless.

For instance, "Zero waste", an innovation of the 1990s in waste handling, emphasizes planning for the elimination of waste rather than managing waste. The growth of tourism as one of the largest industries in the world calls for effective waste management measures.  

Waste management typically involves numerous technical, climatic, environmental, demographic, socio-economic, and legislative parameters. Such complex nonlinear processes are challenging to model, predict and optimize using conventional methods. AI techniques have recently gained momentum in offering alternative computational approaches to solve solid waste management (SWM) problems. AI has efficiently tackled ill-defined problems, learned from experience, and handled uncertainty and incomplete data.  

AI technology deals with designing computer systems and programs capable of mimicking human traits such as problem-solving, learning, perception, understanding, reasoning, and awareness of surroundings. AI models such as artificial neural networks (ANN), expert systems, genetic algorithms (GA), and fuzzy logic (FL) have the capability to solve ill-defined problems, configure complex mapping, and predict results.

In this scenario, the Meghalaya government introduced AI to solve the state's growing waste problems. The state has adopted AI-powered robotic technology to keep its tourist hotspot, Umiam Lake, free of pollutants. 

Significant tourist destination 

Umiam Lake is a significant tourist attraction in Meghalaya state. The tourism department of Meghalaya has developed this place into a recreation spot. It is an artificial lake with a fantastic view is located around 10 Km from Shillong.

Apart from being a tourist spot, it is a source of power generation, potable water, fishing and irrigation. Recently, Meghalaya has been experiencing waste management issues, which heightened due to the influx of tourists. To tackle this issue, the Meghalaya state government introduced AI-powered techniques to manage waste. 

Functioning of the model 

The AI-enabled robotic boat collects huge quantities of garbage dumped in the lake. Compared to manual labour, this process is effective and less time-consuming. The model is an unmanned robot that functions using the power of a battery. It is designed to collect plastic waste on the shoreline and in waterways. 

The model's batteries are charged using solar panels at the on-land docking station, and the boat can be run autonomously or guided by a remote operator.

Novel initiative 

The project comes under the Meghalaya government's Smart Village initiative, under which the AI-enabled robotic boat was recently deployed in collaboration with a global non-profit organization called Smart Village Movement and Hong King-based technology firm Clearbot after a week-long demonstration.  

The SVM aims to empower rural people through digital technologies and open innovation platforms to access global markets. 

According to Tulelam Laloo, Director of Operations for the initiative in Meghalaya, such models will create standard processes to handle waste promptly, making operations more efficient than conventional ones. These technologies must be leveraged to a great extent to address the growing menace of waste in general but particularly help scale such operations to similar locations and bring back a thriving ecology and magnificent touristic experiences.

In their social media post, CM Conrad K Sangma called the initiative a 'landmark step towards advancing waste management practices, an innovative demonstration featuring an AI-Integrated marine robotic boat for floating waste collection took place at Kyndong Rella in the Mawdun Area of Umiam Lake'. 

Source: India Times