ECE Student Team Places Second in University-Wide Rutgers Shark Tank Competition
Azra Bano and Aiden Annis, electrical and computer engineering (ECE) majors who met as WINLAB interns last summer, competed against more than 50 student startup teams in the Rutgers Shark Tank Competition, hosted by the Rutgers Business School, Rutgers Entrepreneurial Society, and the Road to Silicon Valley Program.
Their innovative AeroBin startup – a low-cost, retrofit waste-management solution – was named a Round One Top 8 Finalist. On November 21, 2025, Bano and Annis moved on to the Round Two Finale, where they pitched in front of a panel of industry mentors, investors, and faculty judges.
Bano describes AeroBin as a “retrofit smart sensor that attaches to any outdoor trash bin to track real-time fill levels, reduce collection costs, prevent overflow, and generate useful environmental and public-health data for cities and campuses.”
“It would also reduce up to 50% of waste collection costs by enabling cities and universities to optimize pickup schedules based on real-time fill level data, as well as generate relevant environmental and public-health data and by providing early indications of events such as abnormal disposal patterns.”
Installation of the clip-on enclosure sensor, she notes, would take less than three minutes – with no drilling, rewiring, or specialized staff needed.
The team’s successful pitch for AeroBin at the Finale earned it a second place showing – and a $1,500 prize.
“These undergraduate ECE students are doing amazing work,” says ECE department chair and professor Yingying Chen.
Solving a Problem in Plain View
Bano and Annis began developing AeroBin at the beginning of the fall semester, with the Rutgers SoE’s partnership with the Columbia University’s Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3) Tech Accelerator. “As we advanced, we secured sponsorships and support from industry leaders such as Google’s edge-ML ecosystem and Qualcomm. We also received invaluable mentorship from ECE Assistant Professor Jorge Ortiz and Veronica Armour from the IDEA Academy.”
“Placing second across the entire university highlights how often problems like waste management are overlooked, especially in environments like college campuses where littering is common and cleanup is taken for granted,” Bano says. “For our team, this recognition proves that practical engineering, grounded in real need and measurable impact, can stand and that meaningful innovation can come from solving the problems most of us walk by every day.”
The students plan to expand pilot testing across Rutgers campuses, while continuing to work with Columbia’s CS3 program to explore advanced computer vision integrations that enhance AeroBin’s sensing and environmental intelligence capabilities. “We are also currently evaluating IP pathways, including a provisional or full utility patent,” Bano reports.
