Architecture for determining the cleanliness in shared vehicles using an integrated machine vision and indoor air quality-monitoring system

Abstract

In an attempt to mitigate emissions and road traffic, a significant interest has been recently noted in expanding the use of shared vehicles to replace private modes of transport. However, one outstanding issue has been the hesitancy of passengers to use shared vehicles due to the substandard levels of interior cleanliness, as a result of leftover items from previous users. The current research focuses on developing a novel prediction model using computer vision capable of detecting various types of trash and valuables from a vehicle interior in a timely manner to enhance ambience and passenger comfort. The interior state is captured by a stationary wide-angled camera unit located above the seating area. The acquired images are preprocessed to remove unwanted areas and subjected to a convolutional neural network (CNN) capable of predicting the type and location of leftover items. The algorithm was validated using data collected from two research vehicles under varying conditions of light and shadow levels. The experiments yielded an accuracy of 89% over distinct classes of leftover items and an accuracy of 91% among the general classes of trash and valuables. The average execution time was 65 s from image acquisition in the vehicle to displaying the results in a remote server. A custom dataset of 1379 raw images was also made publicly available for future development work. Additionally, an indoor air quality (IAQ) unit capable of detecting specific air pollutants inside the vehicle was implemented. Based on the pilots conducted for air quality monitoring within the vehicle cabin, an IAQ index was derived which corresponded to a 6-level scale in which each level was associated with the explicit state of interior odour. Future work will focus on integrating the two systems (item detection and air quality monitoring) explicitly to produce a discrete level of cleanliness. The current dataset will also be expanded by collecting data from real shared vehicles in operation.