GRD Journals- Global Research and Development Journal for Engineering | Volume 4 | Issue 10 | September 2019

ISSN: 2455-5703

Study on Automated Solar Grass Cutter

Shyam Lal Sharma
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Noida Institute of Engineering & Technology, Greater Noida, UP

Abstract
Automated Solar Grass Cutter is a fully automated grass cutting robotic mover powered by solar energy with solar penal that also
avoids obstacles and is capable of fully automated grass cutting without the need of any human interaction. The system uses 10V
batteries to power the mover movement motors as well as the grass cutter motor. We also use a solar panel to charge the battery
so that there is no need of charging it externally. The grass cutter motors are interfaced to an 8051 micro-controller that controls
the working of all the motors. It is also interfaced to an ultrasonic sensor for object detection. The micro-controller moves the
mover motors in forward direction in case no obstacle is detected. On obstacle detection the ultrasonic sensor monitors it and the
micro-controller thus stops the grass cuter motor to avoid any damage to the object/human/animal whatever it is. Micro-controller
then turns the robotic as long as it gets clear of the object and then moves the grass cutter in forward direction again.
Keywords- Automated Solar Grass Cutter, Solar Penal, Mover Movement Motors, Grass Cutter Motor, Micro-controller
& Ultrasonic Sensor

I. INTRODUCTION
The first Grass Cutter was invented by Edwin Budding in 1830, just outside Stroud, in Gloucestershire, England. Budding’s Cutter
designed primarily to cut the grass on sports grounds was and extensive gardens, as a superior alternative to the scythe, and was
granted a British patent on August 31, 1830. In 1995, the first fully solar powered robotic mower became available. The Grass
Cutter is an aid in the mundane task of grass cutting and tending to lawns. Due to the revolution of green movement in the present
scenario the industries with major campus areas are changing the percentage of greenery in the campuses and increased greenery
causes increased effort and money to tend to. In such cases the lawn mower proves to be a god sent. Due to increased availability
of system on chips, the lawn mower can be automated very easily and also the reduced size and cost of Dc motors causes the
system to be independent of fossil fuels to be able to tap into renewable energies. The presence of Ultrasonic sensors and light
dependent resistors in a smaller and cheaper packaging cause to be more aware of its surroundings. Traditional design of Grass
Cutter had motored powered engines which required regular maintenance such as engine oil and greasing. They also created a lot
of noise pollution and air pollution. In the cold and harsh environment the fossil fuel powered motors tend to freeze and not run.
These problems are solved by using electric motors. They are also much greener because they use solar panel. The mover uses
battery chorded system causes a range as limitation and damage to the chords.

II. LITERATURE SURVEY

1) E. Naresh (2016) provide switch between the mechanical circuit breaker. It starts and stops the working of the motor. From
this motor, power transmits to the mechanism and this makes the blade to rotate on the shaft this makes to cut the grass.
2) Vicky Jain (2016) have prepared wireless grass cutter. They have used solar panel so it is not required to charge battery
externally and battery is continuously charged at constant voltage when grass cutter is in working. The battery is getting
charged by using day light and we can use it as per our convenience ,Because of two DC motor both forward and backward
motion of grass cutter can simultaneously possible.
3) Prabhat Kumar (2015) explained that solar plate which is placed above the grass cutter generates solar energy and use this
energy for working the grass cutter. Also, using driver circuit for controlling speed of motor as per the requirement. For
preventing battery from overcharging and over discharging regulator is placed into the system and it should be placed in series.
They have provided LCD display unit which displays voltage generated during solar rays trapping. Due to seasonal conditions
if battery is not charged they can provide the power bank to charge the battery instantly.
4) Praful Ulhe (2016) prepared manually operated grass cutter with spiral roller blades due to spiral blades increases the efficiency
of cutting. For adjusting the height reel cutter is component placed on grass cutter. The battery can be charged during working
conditions and it also having AC charging. For collection of cut grass a box is placed over grass cutter so the cut grass put
outside the lawn. It is having light in weight and compact in design.
5) Vicky Jain (2016) et. al. They have prepared wireless grass cutter. There are two main components such as transmitter and
receiver. Transmitter continuously transmits the rays if any obstacle come in front of grass cutter then the rays are reflected
back towards the receiver. The receiver receive the signals in the serial form encoder but microcontroller required parallel data
for communication so receiver sends data to decoder to convert data in the parallel form and then it passed to microcontroller.

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They have used solar panel so it is not required to charge battery externally and battery is continuously charged at constant
voltage when grass cutter is in working. The battery is charged in day time by using solar panel and it is stored so we can use
grass cutter at night time also. Because of two DC motor both forward and backward motion of grass cutter can simultaneously
possible.
6) T. KarthicK (2015) fabricated grass cutting machine with rotary blades by using solar energy. The solar energy is trapped in
the photovoltaic cell to generate electricity. The cells may be grouped in the form of panels or arrays. Solar panel is placed
such that to absorb high intensity from sun and it will incline at 450. The main function of solar charger is increased current
during batteries are charging and also disconnect when they are fully charged. By considering ground clearance they can adjust
the height of grass.

III. BLOCK DIAGRAM

IV. COMPONENTS
1) Solar Panels
2) Batteries
3) DC Motor
4) ATMEGA8 Microcontroller
5) Solar Charger
6) Ultrasonic Sensors
7) Mechanism Used
8) Circuitry
9) Blades

A. Solar Panel Specifications

Fig. 1: Solar Panel

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 Study on Automated Solar Grass Cutter
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The specification of solar panel that we used in our project was:-

Typical Power: 16 W
Optimum Operating Voltage (Vmp): 17.6
Optimum Operating Current (Imp): 01
Short circuit current: 3.65
Dimensions: 12 x 15x 1 inch
Weight: 1.5Kg
Frame Material: Aluminium with plastic edge caps.

B. Batteries

Fig. 2: Rechargeable Battery

Batteries convert chemical energy directly to electrical energy. A battery consists of some number of voltaic cells. These voltaic
cells consist of certain chemical compositions where the chemical reactions take places. Each cell consists of two half cells
connected by a conductive electrolyte containing anions and cations One half-cell includes electrolyte and the negative electrode,
the electrode to which anions (negatively charged ions) migrate; the other half-cell includes electrolyte and the positive electrode
to which cations (positively charged ions) migrate. Redox reactions power the battery. Cations are reduced (electrons are added)
at the cathode during charging, while anions are oxidized (electrons are removed) at the anode during charging. During discharge,
the process is reversed. The electrodes do not touch each other, but are electrically connected by the electrolyte.

C. DC Motor

Fig. 3: Low Torque Motor Fig. 4: High Torque Motor

Here the dc motors used are 12V brushless DC motors are running at 150RPM. 2 Motors are used to move the device in forward
direction, per side one motor is used. So they work as a single unit. Another additional motor is placed at the front of the frame;
this motor has blades as its propeller so that grass is cut when this motor turns on. The motors are controlled by the micro controller.

D. ATMEGA8 Microcontroller
It has a low-power Atmel 8-bit AVR RISC-based microcontroller combines 8KB of programmable flash memory, 1KB of SRAM,
512B EEPROM, and a 6 to 8 channel 10-bit A/D converter. The device supports throughput of 16MIPS at 16-MHz and operate
between 4.5-5.5 volts. In this controller 23 I/O programmable lines are available.

Fig. 5: ATMEGA8 Microcontroller

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E. Solar Charger

Fig. 6: High Efficiency Solar Charger Fig. 7: Suntactics Solar Charger

Solar Charger is a charger that employs solar energy to supply electricity to devices or batteries. Most portable chargers can obtain
energy from the sun only. They are generally portable.
Solar chargers can charge lead acid or Ni-Cd battery banks up to 48 V and hundreds of ampere-hours (up to 4000 Ah) capacity.
Such type of solar charger setups generally uses an intelligent charge controller. A series of solar cells are installed in a stationary
location (ie: rooftops of homes, base-station locations on the ground etc.) and can be connected to a battery bank to store energy
for off-peak usage. They can also be used in addition to mains-supply chargers for energy saving during the daytime.

F. Ultrasonic Sensors

Fig. 8: Ultrasonic Sensors

Ultrasonic sensors (also known as transceivers when they both send and receive) work on a principle similar to radar which evaluate
attributes of a target by interpreting the echoes from radio or sound waves respectively. Ultrasonic sensors generate high frequency
sound waves and evaluate the echo which is received back by the sensor. Sensors calculate the time interval between sending the
signal and receiving the echo to determine the distance to an object.
This technology can be used for measuring: wind speed and direction (anemometer), fullness of a tank and speed through
air or water. For measuring speed or direction a device uses multiple detectors and calculates the speed from the relative distances
to particulates in the air or water. To measure the amount of liquid in a tank, the sensor measures the distance to the surface of the
fluid. Further applications include: humidifiers, sonar, medical ultra sonography, burglar alarms and non-destructive testing.
Systems typically use a transducer which generates sound waves in the ultrasonic range, above 18,000 hertz, by turning
electrical energy into sound, then upon receiving the echo turn the sound waves into electrical energy which can be measured and
displayed.
The technology is limited by the shapes of surfaces and the density or consistency of the material. For example foam on
the surface of a fluid in a tank could distort a reading.

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G. Mechanism used

Fig. 9: Mechanism used

The working of fully automated solar grass cutter, it has panels mounted in a particular arrangement at an angle of degrees in such
a way that it can receive solar radiation with high intensity from the sun. This electrical energy is stored in batteries by using a
solar charger.
The main function of the solar charger is to increase the current from the panels while batteries are charging. It also
disconnects the solar panels from the batteries when they are fully charged and also connects to the panels when the charging of
batteries is low.
The motor is connected through the motor driver IC which is controlled the motor performance. The power transmits to
the mechanism and this makes the blade to rotate with high speed and this makes to cut the grass at an even height. The cutter and
vehicle motor are controlled by Atmega8 microcontroller. It is move the vehicle in forward direction. To avoid and protect the
device from any human interaction or any large and/or small obstacles the ultrasonic sensor is used. The sensor is sensed in some
maximum distance for example 1m, 2m, etc it depends on which type sensors are used.

H. Circuitry

Fig. 10: Circuitry

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I. Blades

Fig. 10: Blads

Blade is that portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to cut and/or puncture, stab, slash, chop, slice,
thrust, or scrape surfaces or materials. A blade may be made from a flaking stone, such as flint, metal, ceramic, or other material.

V. APPLICATION
It is used in clean the cricket ground, the football, all garden, all playground for colleges, all small farms, for nurseries. Non-skilled
worker can also operate without any fuel cost & external supply. It is economical, compact in size and portable. Easy to move one
place to another place freedom from long extension wires with pollution free.

VI. CONCLUSION
By using Automated Solar Grass Cutter, we can conserve the non-renewable sources of energy such as petrol, gasoline etc. We
can also decrease various forms of pollutions such as air pollution and noise pollution. Electricity is saved as we use solar energy
that is renewable source of energy and is present in affluence. Automated Solar Grass Cutter has been developed for the use of
residences and establishments that have lawns where tractor driven cutter could not be used. Automated Solar Grass Cutter’s
capacity is adequate for its purpose. Automated Solar Grass Cutter has proved to be a possible replacement for the gasoline powered
lawn cutter.

REFERENCES
[1] Bidgar Pravin Dilip, Nikhil Bapu Pagar, Vickey S. Ugale, Sandip Wani, Prof. Sharmila M. Design and Implementation of Automatic Solar Grass Cutter in
International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical(IJARE). Vol.6, April 2017.
[2] Ms. Rutuja A. Yadav, Ms. Nayana V. Chavan, Ms. Monika B. Patil, Prof. V .A. Mane. Automated Solar Grass Cutter in International Journal of Scientific
Development and Research (IJSDR). Vol.2, February 2017.
[3] Ms. Bhagyashri R. Patil, Mr. Sagar S. Patil. Solar Based Grass Cutting in International Journal of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IJEEE). January-June
2017.
[4] Praful P. et al (2016) Modification of Solar Grass Cutting Machine in International Journal for Innovative Research in Science and Technology. Vol.2.
[5] E. Naresh, Boss Babu and G. Rahul (2016) Grass Cutting Machine by Solar Power in International Journal and Magazine of Engineering,
Technology,Management andResearch.Vol.3.
[6] Srishti Jain, Amar Khalore, Shashikant Patil. Self-Efficient and Sustainable Solar Powered Robotic Lawn Mower in International Journal of Trend in Research
and Development (IJTRD). Vol.2 (6), December 2015.
[7] International journal of research in engineering technology and management (IJRETM), 2014.
[8] Dhiraj Singh Patel “Mobile Operated Spy Robot” International journal of emerging technology and advanced engineering (IJETAE), 2013.
[9] P. Amrutesh, B. Sagar and B. Venu, Solar Grass Cutter With Linear Blades by Using Scotch Yoke Mechanism, International Journal of Engineering, Research
and Applications, Vol.4.

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