A group of student engineers are working together to program an automated waste sorting conveyor system for a local recycling facility.
In the system, a conveyor belt carries recyclable items (such as plastic bottles, metal cans, and glass jars) past an optical camera sensor. When an item is identified, a pneumatic robotic arm is triggered to flick the item into its designated collection bin (Plastic, Metal, or Glass). A digital dashboard screen continually displays the live weight of materials sorted so far, and the overall system status. If a collection bin reaches its maximum capacity or an unrecognized object is detected, a warning buzzer is triggered.
Discuss how the student engineers can use decomposition and abstraction to design and develop the software for this automated sorting system.
Your write-up should include:
- A definition of both decomposition and abstraction.
- The benefits that each computational thinking method brings to a team of developers.
- Specific examples of where each method would be applied in the design or code of this waste sorting system.