For the third episode of our VGen Talents column we present Lorenzo Bianco, who together with the team composed by Nicolò Leggeri, Lucia Marrocco and Francesco Guzzetta, won the Reimagine The Future Of Transportation Challenge launched by Next on our platform.
NEXT is a modular electric vehicle that can be used as a car-sharing car, a cab but also as a bus, a last-mile goods delivery vehicle, a long-distance truck and an interchange hub for passengers and goods without transhipment in the open air. This modularity and the exchange of passengers between connected vehicles allows to solve the major problems of mobility: reduction of traffic, pollution, flexibility and drastic reduction of idle time are some of its strengths.
The objective of the Challenge was to present NEXT with new application scenarios for their innovative transportation system, elaborating a strategy that included a general description of the project, the competitive advantage in the use of NEXT compared to other vehicles and in terms of sustainability, safety, comfort and cost-effectiveness, the technical and economic feasibility of the project and the logistical management of NEXT modules, including the management of interior spaces.
As an innovative solution, Lorenzo and his team devised a system that monitors signals and manages daily waste collection through Waste Pods, modules with smart buckets inside, called Pickers, that allow the automation of the entire waste collection in the city. The Waste Pods travel a software-generated route daily, covering the total collection demand. The operational process of the Pickers is coordinated by the Waste Pods which manage every movement during the collection phase.
With their idea, Lorenzo's team found a way to apply NEXT's invented modular technology to an environmentally friendly, smart and efficient waste collection system that minimizes the travel required to collect the daily volume of waste.
We interviewed Lorenzo to learn more about the work done and his Challenge experience.
1) How did the idea of Waste Pod come about and what prompted you to present it as a solution?
"Initially I brainstormed with Nicolò, the first to join the team and my brotherly friend. We had a thousand ideas, also very out of the ordinary. Then this brainstorming met with ideas that we had heard, in particular that of Decathlon masks converted into respirators for intensive care against Covid and 3D printed valves. We started thinking about the disposal of plastic from 3D printers and from there the light bulb went on: why not do a project that follows the green model? And so we started working on a solution that would maximize the qualities of Next's vehicle from this perspective. The idea then evolved day by day, we were in the midst of an unstoppable creative moment, which also allowed us to spend those quarantine days in a more fun way."
2) How did your team come together? What was it like working together?
“Io e Nicolò siamo amici fraterni ed appena ho visto la Challenge gli ho subito proposto di partecipare in team. Grazie a lui abbiamo coinvolto anche gli altri due membri che provenivano dal Politecnico di Milano e potevano aiutarci con la parte più tech. Lavorare a distanza su un progetto così complesso è stato particolarmente sfidante perché dovevamo allinearci su così tanti aspetti in uno scenario, come quello della prima ondata Covid, in cui non eravamo affatto abituati a fare tutte quelle call e lavorare a distanza come lo si poteva essere in una corporate, soprattutto perché all’Università invece lavoravamo in gruppi in presenza. Allo stesso tempo, questo stravolgimento delle modalità operative ci ha portato anche a fare un qualcosa di non convenzionale anche nell’output, quindi alla fine è stato anche interessante, bello e ci ha permesso di approcciare al “mood corporate-covid” a gamba tesa.”
3) What did you think of the Challenge experience you participated to?
"In my opinion, the Next Challenge, up to that point, was the coolest Challenge that VGen had launched. As soon as I saw the post, published a few seconds ago, I said "I absolutely have to do it", despite the fact that I was neither an engineer nor a big fan of vehicles and therefore the Challenge wasn't exactly tailor-made for me. But the concept and the logic behind it was really unparalleled, because VGen gave the students the chance to create a research and development team for a really interesting technology, even though it's still hard to hear about today, but as soon as it becomes a little more common to think about fully green and automated public transportation, Next really has the numbers and the base to be the industry leader. So it was a unique opportunity for us, it allowed us to combine creativity, innovation and technology in a way that was, at the same time, difficult and fun because it wasn't a trivial challenge and it allowed us to give free rein to creativity and invective."
4) As the best solver of the challenge, you won the chance to present your solution at EXPO Dubai 2020 and to visit NEXT headquarters and meet its Founder. How did it go?
"Let's say that if, before Covid, they had told me "Look, at the EXPO in Dubai they are presenting a project developed by your team in which you completely automate the collection of waste in smart cities" I wouldn't have believed them. But in my opinion the world of innovation, startups, challenges is beautiful because it allows you to achieve such results starting from simple ideas, as it was for me a brainstorming session on Zoom with a friend in which we said "let's find new ideas for this challenge" and from there we were able to grow something that we never expected to do. The real potential of VGen and its challenges is just that, to trigger these creative processes whose only limit is only the imagination of the participants, so you can do anything. The Dubai EXPO was then cancelled or postponed, but just to have that kind of recognition was exciting.
As for the visit to Next headquarters and the meeting with Tommaso, the Founder, it was really nice. He, in addition to being great at his job, is also great outside the office and in those days we had the opportunity to talk about startups, innovation, technology without depriving ourselves of spending some time in front of a beer to laugh and joke. Another positive point of this Challenge was just that, for its participants, the output was both educational and social: having met Tommaso for me was important because he gave us a lot of advice from his experience that I will take with me and will surely give an added value to all the projects I will work on in the future."
5) After the challenge, how did your journey continue?
"Tommaso spurred us on to keep working as if the Challenge was just a starting point. We have never stopped: we have consolidated the team and we have expanded the project, including a smart bin that, thanks to a camera guided by a neural network, recognizes the objects inside the bucket and performs the recycling in a completely autonomous way. At the moment, due to a series of other commitments, mainly academic, the project has been frozen but I don't exclude that in the future we or someone else can take it forward because bringing technology also to the recycling collection is certainly the future."
We would like to thank Lorenzo for taking part in this interview and congratulate him on his idea and wish him the best of luck in carrying it forward.
If you want to have an experience like Lorenzo's, participate in our challenges!
See you at the next challenge!
