Fully Automatic Pet Sheet Disposal System Using Image Processing

In recent years, more and more people have been keeping pets. Many zoonotic diseases now exist, and it is possible to become infected with zoonotic diseases from pets. One of the routes of infection is through excrement. Therefore, we have developed a device that automatically folds pet sheets. This system consists of two parts: a camera part that detects excrement and a part that processes the excrement. When the system recognizes that the pet has defecated through image processing, it automatically folds the pet sheet along the creases and opens the lid of the trash can for disposal. When the pet gets on the device to defecate, the system saves the image taken just before as a background, and when the pet gets off the device after defecating, the system recognizes the excrement and folds the left and right sides of the pet sheet, then the top and bottom. Then, the pet sheet is lifted to the front of the trash can and the lid of the trash can is opened using a DC motor. Finally, the pet sheet is thrown into the trash can, and the operation is completed by returning the arm and the trash can lid to their initial positions. The success rate of the experiment was 100% for the recognition of excrement and 100% for the disposal of excrement.