RF control agricultural robot

Introduction:

Agricultural robots are the fastest growing technology developed to perform various
complex tasks that are difficult for humans to achieve. Recent news claims that the Japanese
government has taken an initiative to use robotic operators in lands swamped by March 2011
tsunami. This Dream project was planned to involve unmanned tractors working in the farm on
the disaster site. The robotic farmers are capable of cultivating vegetables, fruits, soybeans,
wheat and rice, which are then packed in boxes and shipped across the country by this robotic
technology. This process is accompanied by recycling of carbon dioxide using machinery in an
attempt to reduce the use of fertilizers.

A single solution to implement precision agriculture is the development of a single gantry robot
that can perform several precision agriculture related operations. The main objective of this
system is to implement soil monitoring and precision irrigation on each crop, perform de-
weeding and design a cultivated field using accurate robotic crop planning.

The idea of robotic agriculture (agricultural environments serviced by smart machines) is not a
new one. Many engineers have developed driverless tractors in the past but they have not been
successful as they did not have the ability to embrace the complexity of the real world. Most of
them assumed an industrial style of farming where everything was known before hand and the
machines could work entirely in predefined ways much like a production line. The approach is
now to develop smarter machines that are intelligent enough to work in an unmodified or semi
natural environment. These machines do not have to be intelligent in the way we see people as
intelligent but must exhibit sensible behavior in recognized contexts. In this way they should
have enough intelligence embedded within them to behave sensibly for long periods of time,
unattended, in a semi-natural environment, whilst carrying out a useful task. One way of
understanding the complexity has been to identify what people do in certain situations and
decompose the actions into machine control. This is called behavioral robotics and a draft
method for applying this approach to agriculture is given in Blackmore.

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ABSTRACT

Many advances in technology have made the agriculture business a much less labor
intensive industry to be a part of. If we think back even only 50 years, farmers were just
beginning to incorporate technologies into their farming techniques. When we take a look at the
farming industry now, we can see that this is rapidly changing. Farmers are looking for new ways
to implement technology to cut costs and reduce labor hours.

One of the ways that farmers are beginning to explore new technologies in farming come
from the autonomous tractor. The RF based tractor is something that is very new to the
agriculture industry, but is quickly gaining popularity from agriculture research companies
around the United States. These tractors are described by Farm Industry News as a tractor that
drives on its own with a computer in control. Although still in the research phase of
development, autonomous tractors are rapidly becoming more of a reality than an idea.

When the tractor is moving on a surface, it is controlled by a RF remote. This can be

moved forward and reverse direction using geared motors of 60RPM. Also this robot can take
sharp turnings towards left and right directions. This project uses AT89S52 MCU as its
controller.

The RF modules used here are STT-433 MHz Transmitter, STR-433 MHz Receiver,
HT12E RF Encoder and HT12D RF Decoder. The Control switches are interfaced to the RF
transmitter through RF Encoder. The encoder continuously reads the status of the switches,
passes the data to the RF transmitter and the transmitter transmits the data.

This project uses regulated 5V, 750mA power supply. 7805 three terminal voltage regulator is
used for voltage regulation. Bridge type full wave rectifier is used to rectify the AC output of
secondary of 230/18V step down transformer.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Title of the project : RF Based farmer friendly Agricultural Robot with motorized
shovel control System with automatic seed dispensing system

Domain : Embedded

Software : C, Keil, Preload

Power Supply : +5V, 500mA Regulated Power Supply

Communication Device : RF Module

Transmitter : STT 433MHz

Receiver : STR 433MHz

0DC Geared Motors : 4

H-Bridge : L293D

Crystal : 11.0592MHz

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BLOCK DIAGRAM

Transmitter:

Power
Supply

Control

RF Encoder RF
HT12E Transmitte
Switch
AT89S52 r
Array
MCU

Reset

Crystal

Fig No. 01 Block Diagram of Transmitter Circuit

Step down Transformer

Bridge Rectifier Filter Circuit
Regulator

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Receiver:
Geared
Motor - I

H-
Bridg
e
RF Geared
Receive Motor - II
r
RF
Decode
r AT
Water
89S52 Relay
MCU Sprinkl
Automati
er
c
ploughing
Geared
Motor - I
Gearing
Mechanis
m

H-
Bridg
e
Geared
Motor - II Automatic
seeder

Fig No. 02 Block Diagram of Receiver Circuit

Lead Acid Battery

Bridge Rectifier Filter Circuit
Regulator
Power supply to all sections

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Embedded Systems Overview

An Embedded System is a combination of computer hardware and software, and perhaps

additional mechanical or other parts, designed to perform a specific function.

This is in direct contrast to the personal computer in the family room. It too is comprised
of computer hardware and software and mechanical components (disk drives, for example).
However, a personal computer is not designed to perform a specific function rather; it is able to
do many different things.

Frequently, an embedded system is a component within some larger system. For

example, modern cars and trucks contain many embedded systems. One embedded system
controls the anti-lock brakes, other monitors and controls the vehicle's emissions, and a third
displays information on the dashboard. In some cases, these embedded systems are connected by
some sort of a communication network, but that is certainly not a requirement.

At the possible risk of confusing you, it is important to point out that a general-purpose
computer is itself made up of numerous embedded systems. For example, my computer consists
of a keyboard, mouse, video card, modem, hard drive, floppy drive, and sound card-each of
which is an embedded system. Each of these devices contains a processor and software and is
designed to perform a specific function. For example, the modem is designed to send and receive
digital data over analog telephone line. That's it and all of the other devices can be summarized
in a single sentence as well.

If an embedded system is designed well, the existence of the processor and software
could be completely unnoticed by the user of the device. Such is the case for a microwave oven,
VCR, or alarm clock. In some cases, it would even be possible to build an equivalent device that
does not contain the processor and software. This could be done by replacing the combination
with a custom integrated circuit that performs the same functions in hardware. However, a lot of
flexibility is lost when a design is hard-cooled in this way. It is mush easier, and cheaper, to
change a few lines of software than to redesign a piece of custom hardware.

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Application Areas

1. Consumer appliances
2. Office automation
3. Industrial automation
4. Medical electronics
5. Computer networking
6. Telecommunications
7. Wireless technologies
8. Security
9. Finance

Now, let us see the details of the various building blocks of the hardware of an embedded
system. As shown in Fig. the building blocks are;

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Memory (Read-only Memory and Random Access Memory)

Input Devices

Output devices

Communication interfaces

Application-specific circuitry

Fig No. 03 System Flowchart

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Central Processing Unit (CPU):

The Central Processing Unit (processor, in short) can be any of the following:
microcontroller, microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP). So, for small applications, a
micro-controller is the best choice as the number of external components required will be very
less. DSP is used mainly for applications in which signal processing is involved such as audio
and video processing.

Memory:

The memory is categorized as RAM and ROM. The contents of the RAM will be erased
if power is switched off to the chip, whereas ROM retains the contents even if the power is
switched off. So, the firmware is stored in the ROM. When power is switched on, the processor
reads the ROM; the program is program is executed.

Input devices:

. Many embedded systems will have a small keypad-you press one key to give a specific
command. A keypad may be used to input only the digits.

Output devices:

Some embedded systems will have a few Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) to indicate the
health status of the system modules, or for visual indication of alarms. A small Liquid Crystal
Display (LCD) may also be used to display some important parameters.

Communication interfaces:

Universal Serial Bus (USB), IEEE 1394, Ethernet etc.

Application-specific circuitry:

Sensors, transducers, special processing and control circuitry may be required fat an
embedded system, depending on its application. This circuitry interacts with the processor to
carry out the necessary work. The entire hardware has to be given power supply either through
the 230 volts main supply or through a battery.

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POWER SUPPLY:

The input to the circuit is applied from the regulated power supply. The AC input i.e.,

230V from the mains supply is step down by the transformer to 12V and is fed to a rectifier. So

in order to get a pure DC voltage, the output voltage from the rectifier is fed to a filter to remove

any AC components present even after rectification. Now, this voltage is given to a voltage

regulator to obtain a pure constant DC voltage.

230V
AC D.C
Output
50Hz

Step down Bridge

transformer Rectifier
Filter Regulator

Fig No. 04 Power supply

RF COMMUNICATION

RF:

Radio frequency (RF) is a frequency or rate of oscillation within the range of about 3 Hz to 300
GHz. This range corresponds to frequency of alternating current electrical signals used to
produce and detect radio waves. Since most of this range is beyond the vibration rate that most

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mechanical systems can respond to, RF usually refers to oscillations in electrical circuits or
electromagnetic radiation

PROPERTIES OF RF:

Electrical currents that oscillate at RF have special properties not shared by direct current
signals. One such property is the ease with which it can ionize air to create a conductive path
through air. This property is exploited by 'high frequency' units used in electric arc welding.
Another special property is an electromagnetic force that drives the RF current to the surface of
conductors, known as the skin effect. Another property is the ability to appear to flow through
paths that contain insulating material, like the dielectric insulator of a capacitor. The degree of
effect of these properties depends on the frequency of the signals.

RF Advantages:

1. No line of sight is needed.

2. Not blocked by common materials: It can penetrate most solids and pass through
walls.

3. Longer range.

4. It is not sensitive to the light;.

5. It is not much sensitive to the environmental changes and weather conditions.

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RF Disadvantages:

1. Interference: communication devices using similar frequencies - wireless phones,

scanners, wrist radios and personal locators can interfere with transmission

2. Lack of security: easier to "eavesdrop" on transmissions since signals are spread out in
space rather than confined to a wire

3. Higher cost than infrared

4. Federal Communications Commission(FCC) licenses required for some products

5. Lower speed: data rate transmission is lower than wired and infrared transmission

MAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COMMUNICATION USING RF

RF Transmitter

RF Receiver

Encoder and Decoder

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RF TRANSMITTER STT-433MHz:

Features

433.92 MHz Frequency

Low Cost
1.5-12V operation
Small size

Fig No. 05 RF Transmitter

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RF RECEIVER STR-433 MHz:

Fig No. 06 RF Receiver

. Features

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Operating voltage: 2.4V~12V.

Low power and high noise immunity CMOS technology.
Low standby current.
Capable of decoding 18 bits of information.
Pairs with HOLTEKs 318 series of encoders.
8~18 address pins.
0~8 data pins.

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SPRINKLER

Product Description

High Pressure Water Pump

Built in thermal protector
Fully automatic demand pumps
Can be used as a portable sprinkler pump

Descriptions

High pressure diaphragm pump

Small size, Light weight and Stable performance.
Special valve for liquid input and output;
Easy installation with stable function.
Self-priming, Automatic Pressure Switch.
Automatic Pressure Protection.
Low Noise, with excellent resistant to chemical corrosion;
Functions
Water purification, filter machine, chemical metering and fluid supply.
High pressure pumps used in sprayers and spray fixtures for high plants.
Food, Beverage filling and liquid transfer.
Solar energy industry
Clean machine, road-works equipments, cooler system

Power: Electric
Type: Diaphragm Pump

Certifications: CE, ISO9001: 2000

Voltage: 12V DC & 115V AC

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MICROCONTROLLER

FEATURES:

Compatible with MCS-51 Products

8K Bytes of In-System Programmable (ISP) Flash Memory

Endurance: 1000 Write/Erase Cycles

4.0V to 5.5V Operating Range

Fully Static Operation: 0 Hz to 33 MHz

Three-level Program Memory Lock

256 x 8-bit Internal RAM

32 Programmable I/O Lines

Three 16-bit Timer/Counters

Eight Interrupt Sources

Full Duplex UART Serial Channel

Low-power Idle and Power-down Modes

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ADVANTAGES:

APPLICATIONS:

Security purpose
Remote monitoring,
Agricultural applications

CONCLUSION

Now-a-days efforts are done to reduce human efforts. Technology plays a vital role in the
prosperity of the needs. The three main applications like ploughing, seed dispensing and water
supply all can be done simultaneously using this agricultural robot.

RF control enables freedom of movement to the robot without any restrictions. Making it solar
powered would be the next advancement in this mini project. Mechanical along with electronics
i.e. Mechatronics formed the base of our project.

During the progress of our project we came across various dimensions involved in converting an
idea into actual working model. Time and again faculties guided us towards the completion of
our project. Designing was done with the help of softwares like AUTO CAD, CAD/CAM etc.

Finally we would like to mention that our project can be further developed as we are planning to
make it solar power operated so as to provide more accessibility to its users and bring about a
new trend in the robotics industry.

We would like to conclude this by saying this that we have been successful in launching our idea
into reality and giving our college an upgraded agricultural robot.

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REFERENCES

1. Automatic Control Engineering , F. H. Raven TMH, 5th Edition

2. Kinematics, Dynamics and Design of Machinery, Walidron, Wiley 2nd Edition
3. Mechanical Design of Machine Elements and Machines, Jack A Collis Henry Busby,
George Staab Wiley Ltd., 2nd Edition
4. Electrical Technology, F. H. Raven TMH 4th Edition
5. RF Control System, D Roy and Choudhari, Orient Longman
6. Modern Control Engineering , K Ogata, Pearson Education

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