Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things in Instrumentation and Control in Waste Biodegradation Plants: Recent Developments

Abstract

In recent times, millions of researches have been directed to exploring the potentials of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT). With enhanced capabilities offered through the integration of artificial intelligence, big data, and the cloud, the future might be descending into a new era defined and determined by artificial intelligence and Internet of Things. Across various jurisdictions and socio-political systems, the perspective on artificial intelligence technologies is rapidly converging. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, in a statement published on 4 September 2017 by the Verge, had stated unequivocally that “Artificial intelligence is the future and that the nation that leads in artificial intelligence research would certainly dominate in global affairs.” Thus, it appears that every facet of governance including environmental management is very likely to be redefined by artificial intelligence and allied technologies. In today’s traditional and highly urbanized cities, waste management has remained a matter of great concern among decision makers and public sector operatives. In the past, a number of traditional approaches such as incineration, concentration and subsequent deposition in landfills, recycling, gasification, etc. had been employed but are becoming increasingly unsustainable owing to side-effects they pose ranging from secondary pollution, diseases and epidemics, high cost of maintenance, climate change, etc. The quest for sustainable, safer, and eco-friendly alternatives coupled with current advances in nanotechnology, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and internet of things, soft systems such as biodegradation plants that utilize microbial agents under controlled conditions, have become a more prospective alternative compared to customary channels. This chapter adopts a swift narrative and analytical approach in articulating the critical and recent advances in the exploitation of artificial intelligence and internet of things technologies in the design, deployment, and management of waste biodegradation plants.