Waste management system having service confirmation

Abstract

A system is disclosed for managing waste services performed by a service vehicle. The system may have at least one sensor disposed onboard the service vehicle and configured to generate a first signal indicative of a waste service being completed by the service vehicle. The system may also have a computing device in communication with the at least one sensor. The computing device may be configured to determine, based on the second signal, that the waste service has been performed. The computing device may also be configured to selectively generate an electronic response based on performance of the waste service.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for managing waste services performed by a service vehicle, comprising:
 at least one sensor disposed onboard the service vehicle and configured to generate a first signal indicative of a waste service being completed by the service vehicle; and   a computing device in communication with the at least one sensor and configured to:
 determine, based on the first signal, that the waste service has been performed; and 
 selectively generate an electronic response based on performance of the waste service. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor includes at least one of a force sensor, a motion sensor, an acoustic sensor, a proximity sensor, and an optical sensor. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device is configured to determine that the waste service has been performed based on a comparison of the first signal with known data corresponding to expected waste services normally performed by a service vehicle. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the computing device is configured to determine that the waste service has been performed when the first signal represents a vibration having a particular characteristic. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the particular characteristic includes frequencies corresponding with at least one of a type of the service vehicle, a size of the service vehicle, a configuration of the service vehicle, a type of a receptacle serviced by the service vehicle, a size of the receptacle, and a configuration of the receptacle. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:
 determine that the service vehicle has stopped; and   to selectively activate the at least one sensor only when the service vehicle has stopped.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , further including a locating device disposed onboard the service vehicle and configured to generate a second signal indicative of a location of the service vehicle, wherein the computing device is in further communication with the locating device and configured to determine based on the second signal that the waste service has been performed at a target location. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:
 receive a schedule of stops to be completed by the service vehicle at a plurality of known customer locations;   make a determination that the service vehicle cannot complete a waste service at one of the plurality known customer locations based on the second signal and the schedule of stops; and   selectively adjust the schedule of stops based on the determination.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the service vehicle is a first service vehicle; and   the computing device is further configured to selectively adjust the schedule of stops for the first service vehicle by removing the waste service from the schedule of stops and selectively adding the waste service to a schedule of stops corresponding to a second service vehicle.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the computing device is further configured to adjust the schedule of stops by:
 rescheduling the waste service; and   adjusting a schedule of remaining stops within the schedule of stops to account for rescheduling of the waste service.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the computing device is configured to determine that the service vehicle cannot complete the waste service at the one of the plurality known customer locations based on the location of the service vehicle being outside of a distance to the one of the plurality of known customer locations. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computing device is further configured to continuously adjust the distance based on at least one of a movement direction of the service vehicle, a speed of the service vehicle, and a time at which the waste service is to be completed at the one of the plurality of known customer locations. 
     
     
         13 . A method for managing waste services performed by a service vehicle, the method comprising:
 generating a first signal indicative of a waste service being performed by the service vehicle;   determining, based on the first signal, that the waste service has been performed at a target location; and   selectively generating an electronic response based on performance of the waste service.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the first signal is one of a force signal, a motion signal, an acoustic signal, an image signal, and a proximity signal; and   determining that the waste service has been performed includes determining that the waste service has been performed based on a comparison of the first signal with known data corresponding to expected waste services normally performed by a service vehicle.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the known data includes a vibration having a particular characteristic. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , further including determining that the service vehicle has stopped, wherein generating the first signal includes generating the first signal only when the service vehicle has stopped. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , further including:
 generating a second signal indicative of a location of the service vehicle;   receiving a schedule of stops to be completed by the service vehicle at a plurality of known customer locations;   making a determination that the service vehicle cannot complete a waste service at one of the plurality known customer locations based on the second signal and the schedule of stops; and   selectively adjusting the schedule of stops based on the determination.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein:
 the service vehicle is a first service vehicle; and   selectively adjusting the schedule of stops includes selectively adjusting the schedule of stops by removing the waste service from the schedule of stops and selectively adding the waste service to a schedule of stops corresponding to a second service vehicle.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein making the determination that the service vehicle cannot complete the waste service includes making the determination based on the location of the service vehicle being outside of a distance to the one of the plurality of known customer locations. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer readable medium containing computer-executable programming instructions for performing a method of waste management by a service vehicle, the method comprising:
 generating a first signal indicative of a location of the service vehicle;   determining that the service vehicle has stopped based on the first signal;   generating a second signal only when the service vehicle has stopped that is indicative of a waste service being completed by the service vehicle, the second signal being one of a force signal, a motion signal, and an acoustic signal;   determining that the waste service has been performed at a target location based on the first signal and based on a comparison of the second signal with known data corresponding to expected waste services normally performed by a service vehicle;   selectively generating an electronic response based on performance of the waste service;   making a determination that the service vehicle cannot complete a waste service at one of a plurality known customer locations based on the first signal; and   selectively adjusting a schedule of stops for the service vehicle based on the determination.