ETON
Intelligent Electronic Trash Bin
Type: Teamwork of 4
Direction: Product Design
Year: 10.2019 - 02.2020
Location: University of Applied Sciences Potsdam (Germany)
Award: Final list of Siemens Home Appliances Design Award 2020
Background: In an accelerated society, everything is always available – we buy tonnes of it and are left with an abundance of waste. All this to the harm of our home: planet earth. Waste separation is a responsibility that should apply to everyone in the world. Therefore we need a design, which will allow trash to be properly processed and transport volumes to be reduced – no matter where you live or your level of knowledge.
SIEMENS Target Group
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Technology and design-driven Strive for success.
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Only the best without compromise.
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Permanent interest in the latest trends.
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Prefer premium service.
Design Goal
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Waste sorting
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Reduce waste production
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Reduce the volume of waste
Idea
A smart home is the primary trend of home life in the future. Considering Siemens‘ customer position and the design goals, our initial concept is to design an intelligent household trash can with automatic waste sorting and packaging function. Users will achieve a simplified, clean, and sustainable lifestyle at home.
Design Concept
We tried to design an intelligent, integrated waste sorting and packaging system to achieve our goal. Users can get more information about the trash they produce by using the supporting app.
We named the product ETON. ETON will collect waste in three categories: plastic, paper, and non-recyclable. Because we thought that in the future, waste materials would be less categorized to achieve global sustainable development. For example, plastic packaging will be replaced with paper as much as possible, and all the remaining plastic packaging will be made of 100% recyclable.
Once the waste enters ETON, it goes through scanning - identifying - shredding - sorting, and collecting. Storage of garbage in pieces reduces emptying the cans while the pieces can be vacuum-packed after drying for the user to remove.
Final Form
Trash Sorting & Packaging System
The waste is first identified and sorted through a scanning space with motion sensors to ensure that several pieces of trash are crushed one by one. Then the shredded waste is sorted into the corresponding pipes and dried as it is blown into the trash box by hot air. The integrated vacuum system is able to package the shredded pieces in an easily removable way.
Integrated into Smart Home
A smart home is the megatrend of the future, which Siemens is also working on. We designed a mobile app for ETON to be integrated into the intelligent home system. After a discarded item is scanned in ETON, it will be automatically added to your shopping list, which you can check in the app. There you can also find your food and packaging consumption. By using the accompanying app, people will achieve conscious supermarket shopping and resource conservation.
In addition to that, Users can check ETON status in the app, which is also shown in the display on the machine, including the status of the trash boxes and cutter blades.
Prototype
