Planning Trash Cart, self-driving

[Nehmo]

I'm planning on outfitting a cart, perhaps like the Harbor Freight one in the pic,

with a locomotion (Battery, motor, control unit, BMU, etc) so that it can be used as a self-driving trash cart. It will stay parked beside a house and hold the trash cans. On the trash pick-up day, it will drive down the driveway to the curb where the trucks come by and pick up the trash. Then, the cart would return down the driveway to its normal parking place.
The drive mechanism is simple enough for me. (I plan a very slow rate of travel.) But the control for steering, I haven't worked out yet.
I'm considering a buried wire in the driveway and a sensor(s) attached to the cart to determine how to correct the cart's steering to follow the buried wire. But, so far, this is only in the concept stage. Any suggestions?

 

[amberwolf]

I'd go for no steering, simply guiding it down a steel tube (EMT conduit) with a stop at each end that turns the motors off via a remote relay.

I'd also be running power to the motors remotely, rather than leaving a battery on it, so that people wouldn't steal the battery....but then, they'd probably steal the motors, or the whole cart, to take to a salvage/recycling center. So I would probably not use a motor in the cart at all, but use a cable in the tube with pulleys, and have the motor inside the house reeling the cable in and out.

 

[Sancho's Horse]

Garage door opener.

 

[Nehmo]

I'd go for no steering, simply guiding it down a steel tube (EMT conduit) with a stop at each end that turns the motors off via a remote relay.

I'd also be running power to the motors remotely, rather than leaving a battery on it, so that people wouldn't steal the battery....but then, they'd probably steal the motors, or the whole cart, to take to a salvage/recycling center. So I would probably not use a motor in the cart at all, but use a cable in the tube with pulleys, and have the motor inside the house reeling the cable in and out.

There's a bit of background info to my requirements. Part of my business is doing certain construction projects for people. I probably will make the cart and the driveway for a customer (who has already paid me several thousand for other jobs), but I haven't completely sold him on the idea yet. His driveway definitely needs to be re-done, and he has the money, but he's not overly excited about getting a new one. He did, however, express interest in the cart, and maybe I can make a package deal.
(I'm also planning to bury pex tubes to carry heated anti-freeze/water solution to melt snow. But that's a separate discussion.)
The neighborhood is upper-end for Kansas City, and there's no worry about anything being stolen. Besides, I could include some theft deterrent in the design.
In this metro, most people with driveways have to place their trash at the curb for pick-up, and in some cases, particularly in the wealthier areas, the distance to the curb is more than those residents want to deal with.

 

[lbz5mc12]

It's almost a good idea but I'm pretty sure it would get stolen after a couple of weeks. Have you thought of running it along a track so that it would be secured to the ground as a theft deterrent? One idea would be to use parts from an automatic gate that runs along a track. You could probably get the gate motor mechanism from Harbor Freight. Then you'd just need a date/timing device similar to one used for indoor lighting or maybe even one used for an automatic outdoor sprinkler system. A track would also keep the cart from veering off course.

 

[HAROX]

Have you considered more of a skateboard and truck design? The CG would be lower, not as likely to tip over. If he had to manually do it because of broken machinery, the CG would still be low.