chapter 4-5 addons

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CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUISSION

This chapter confers about the description and the functionalities of the

components used in the circuits together with the results of the testing procedures that

compasses the capabilities and the limitation of the proposed project.

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

The proposed Robotic Lawn Mower (Buggy) is made up of a Microcontroller

circuit, the hear t of the project, Bluetooth shield, power supply, DC motor driver circuit,

Lithium-Ion polymer Battery, Lead acid batter and grass cutter that may be replaced with

a nylon or a thin wire.

The Robotic Lawn Mower, having a mobile base, has a physical dimension of

29.5in. in length, 16.5in. in width and 14in. in height. It has a diameter of 10in. for the

rotating blade or nylon.


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FIGURE 7. Acutal Robotic Lawn mower

The proposed project has been researched to appeal to the innovating technology

in robotics in terms of lessening the work of human. Thus making their daily living easy

and entertained. The capability of the project is to be able to mow a lawn, for instance the

university field at a minimized time and effort. For the robotic lawn mower to operate, its

microcontroller must have the downloaded program the proponents have made and may

be interfaced with the created Graphical User Interface(GUI) via laptop through

Bluetooth connection where a choice of controlling the robot manually or start cutting the

grass in a programmed pattern may be chosen.


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HARDWARE DEVELOPMENT

In developing the Robotic Lawn Mower, various circuits are required to be used

to be able to fully operate the said project. These circuits include DC motor driver,

Microcontroller, Bluetooth shield Master and slave. Relay. Some modules were already

available on the market so as to minimize the work but some circuits including the input

of relay to control the switch for the blade has to be manually made using a PCB.

As mentioned above, the microcontroller is the heart of this project, thus being the

main hardware component of the Robotic Lawn Mower. This controls the mobile

together with the Graphical User Interface (GUI). The switch of the blade may be turned

on by pressing the installed switch in the mobile itself or may be controlled in GUI. Other

than the GUI, the Bluetooth device is also interfaced with the microcontroller which

serves as a wireless communication between the Robotic Lawn Mower and the user via

laptop. In addition to the GUI and the Bluetooth device, a DC motor driver is also

interfaced with the microcontroller to be able to control the gear motors in the front and

back wheel of mobile.

For the power, a power supply circuit is used to regulate a 5Vbattery which gives

the voltage and current for the microcontroller and the motors to work. Also, a 6V-

4Amperes lead acid battery is connected directly to the supply of DC motor for the grass

cutter. A lithium-ion polymer battery is also used to replace a battery for higher current

and bigger voltage to the power supply.


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HARDWARE COMPONENTS

Microcontroller Module

FIGURE 8. ZILOG Z8F0822PJ020SG IC ENCORE MCU FLASH 8K 28DIP

A microcontroller is a computer. Microcontrollers are "embedded" inside some

other device so that they can control the features or actions of the product. Another name

for a microcontroller, therefore, is "embedded controller." A microcontroller is a small

computer on a single integrated circuit containing a processor core, memory, and

programmable input/output peripherals. Microcontrollers are designed for embedded

applications, in contrast to the microprocessors used in personal computers or other

general purpose applications.
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It has the ability to store and run user made programs thus making it extremely

versatile. It can be programmed to perform functions based on predetermined situations

like 1 and 0s line logic and selections. It can also perform mathematical and logical

abilities allow it to obtain sophisticated logical and electronic circuits.

Power Supply

FIGURE 9. Power Supply

A power supply is a device that supplies electrical energy to one or more electric

loads. Fgure 9 shows the actual power supply used in the project. This power supply

yields different voltages such as 5v for the microcontroller and the Bluetooth device.
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Bluetooth Device

FIGURE 10. Bluetooth Device

Figure 10 shows the Bluetooth device used for the project. This Bluetooth device

serves as the main communication of the robotic lawn mower to the user via laptop thus

having a wireless connection. The Bluetooth module is able to connect up to a 50.5 meter

distance away from the paired device. It can have a secured pairing by adding password

to serve as protection from other device to interfere with the connection.


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DC MOTOR

FIGURE 11. DC Motor

Figure 10 is the DC motor used for the project having high speed high torque for better

quality of the rotation of the blade/nylon.


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SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (Flow chat ni zeta)


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Software Development (Flow chat ni zeta)


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TESTING REULTS

The following are the results from the tests that have been conducted after

operating the modules, devices and the mobile itself for the task performed according to

capacity, performance and capabilities of the project.

Results from various tests of the completion of the whole process of theRobotic Lawn Mower

Testing results for Cutting the grass at 25m2

area of field.

Trials Time

1 11.39 sec

2 13.05 sec

3 13.76 sec

Table1. Time completion of the task at a given area of25m2

Table 1 shows the result from series of tests in finding the minimum time that a Robotic

Lawn mower can perform a task at a given area.

The proponents conducted 3 trials and recorded the average of the time completion of the

task in speed of 12.73 seconds.


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Results from series of tests of the maximum distance that a Robotic LawnMower can cover from the (Bluetooth connection) controller

Testing results for maximum distance covered via Bluetooth connection.

Distance(m) Connectivity

10 20 30 40 50

50.5 60

70

Table2 Range of Bluetooth connectivity

Table 2 shows the result from the series of tests made by the proponents in determining

the maximum distance the Bluetooth connection can hold from the Robotic Lawn

Mower. The farthest distance covered by the mobile is approximately 30-50 meters still

having a strong connection. In distance 50.5 meters the connection between the laptop

and the mobile weakened as it goes further. 50.5meters and further is the distance the

connection between the laptop and the mobile became fully disconnected.


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Testing results for the speed of Robotic Lawn Mower in a 6 meters distance

Trial

Time Speed

Forward Backward Forward Backward

1 14.8s 13.16s 40.54cm/sec 45.6cm/sec

2 15.02s 11.8 39.95cm/sec 50.84cm/sec

3 13.58s 12.89s 44.18cm/sec 46.55cm/sec

4 12.88s 11.04s 46.59cm/sec 54.35cm/sec

5 12.53s 10.92s 47.86cm/sec 54.95cm/sec

Table3. Speed of the Robotic Lawn Mower in a 6 meters distance

Table 3 shows the result from series of tests in finding the average speed of the

Robotic Lawn mower.

The proponents conducted 5 trials and recorded the average of the time

completion of the speed of the Robotic Lawn Mower. The speed in forward is almost

same as the speed when the mobile is in reverse based on our tests where a simple timer

was used to record the data.

As you can see, as we go further with the trial, the time and speed decreases

because the supply in the battery weakens thus resulting to an inaccurate result of the

speed and time. Also, the weight of the mobile affects the outcome of the speed test.


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PROJECT CAPABILITES AND LIMITATIONS

The Robotic Lawn Mower can perform the following task:

The Robotic Lawn mower can perform hideous task that could lessen manpowerby cutting grass in a massive area such as the university field.

The Robotic Lawn Mower can be controlled via Bluetooth at a distance of 50.5rs.

The Robotic Lawn Mower can be manually and automatically program controlledupon interfacing in the GUI

The Robotic Lawn Mower has a build in Speaker for entertainment purposes andcan be a warning for nearby humans that are within the area of operation.

In terms of financial, it is beneficial because its way cheaper than the gas andelectric supplied robotic lawn mower sold in the market.

The Robotic Lawn Mowers performance is limited with the following:

Bluetooth connectivity problem after 52 meters.

Cannot pass through smooth plane terrain with obstacles such as big rocks, water-filled area.

Having a difficulty accelerating in an inclined plane.

Difficulty turning in a precise U-turn.


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CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter discusses the findings of the tests done, conclusion and the

recommendation for the project done by the proponents.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

With the concept of innovative robotics, the proponents thought of a project that

will help ease the daily living of humans by lessening the manpower in terms of work.

This project can replace human efforts when it comes to trimming grass especially on a

spacious area such as the university field.

The proposed project was started by first conceptualizing the materials, design

and the overall package of the mobile. The microcontroller, being the heart of this design

was our first priority and decided to use a ZILOG Z8F0822PJ020SG 28pin, then a

separate DC motor for the grass cutter and a different motor for the front and back wheels

of the mobile. Some added features were later added like speakers and surface mount

LED to improve the packaging of the project.

After all the concepts have been finalized, we started to work on the project and

then started to develop a system for the execution of the program. We had our C# made

Graphical User Interface (GUI) interfaced together with the program in the Zilog Encore.


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As the proponents software engineer develops the program to be used for the

project, the conceptualized design had been constructed so as to cater to the proposed

packaging taking into consideration of the main objective of the project, that is, to cut

grasses. With everything put together, tests were made to attain the credibility of the

study and its results.

In Table 1, the completion of the whole task given 25m2 area have been recorded

giving the proponents the estimated time of a complete task the Robotic Lawn Mower

could do given a considerable area.

Testing results upon observing the range of the Bluetooth connection is recorded

in Table 2. Having a connection using a Bluetooth device gives proximity of 50.5 meters

as its maximum distance. Moving further than 50.5 gives a weak connection and may

have a connection loss any point from thereon.

The last area of to be tested was the speed of the Robotic Lawn Mower in moving

forward, backwards and turning sideways. The result shows that both moving forward

and backward has almost the same remarkable speed but has a limit on turning a U-point.

Also, it has been noted that the weight of the aluminum casing of the DC motor for grass

cutter massively affects the whole weight of the mobile thus slows down the acceleration

of the mobile.


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CONCLUSION

The main objective of this project entitled Robotic Lawn Mower aides to serve

as help to humans in lessening their task and work load. As part of evaluating the

capacity of the project, the proponents set tests and analyzed the results so as to improve

the quality and operations of the Robotic Lawn Mower. With these tests, the proponents

have made conclusions in ways of maximizing its capability.

The first test shows the maximum speed that the robot can attain in performing a

complete task given a considerable area. Averaging the test results gives us the figure that

is most likely the normal speed the robot can complete a task. The third test, on the other

hand, shows the result of speed the Robotic Lawn Mower does upon accelerating

forward and backward. Both tests give result pertaining to the projects speed. However,

tests show that factors such as obstruction, obstacle which includes medium sized rocks

that the wheels cannot pass through, incline plane, rough terrain, may affect the accuracy

of the speed test results. Another factor is the battery life. It is observed that as we go on

testing the project, the energy in the supply decreases therefore resulting to decrease in

speed also.

The last test confers with the Bluetooth connectivity. Results show that the

maximum coverage the Bluetooth device can hold has a remarkably long distance. In

terms of connection, the pairing of the device through the laptop had no problem since it

connected easily. The proponents thought of putting a password in the pairing so that

there would be no problem regarding interference in the connectivity. When it reaches its


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maximum distance and disconnects, we have observed that even as we try to reconnect, it

can no longer establish a connection. Thus, we have generalized that the easiest way to

connect the laptop with the mobile is if we do it within the coverage area.

RECOMMENDATION

As the project was being built and have been evaluated process by process, the

proponents have come up to some recommendations in ways of improving the project for

the future researchers so as to maximize its operation and capabilities.

The substitution of an RF module that could suffice greater distance coverage.Although the installed Bluetooth module contributes a remarkable distance, an

improved RF module will give an outstanding range and will improve the

transmission and reception of the input commands. Thus also improving the

reliability of the project on operating in a task in terms of distance.

The thickness of the steel used in holding the DC motor of the blade may belessened so that it would not contribute additional weight to the whole package

and thus increase the speed of the mobile.

The use of biodiesel a clean and safe fuel to replace the batteries and depletesthe use of charger and batteries and will improve the life of the mobile while it

works.

Replacement of a high torque, high speed motor for the back wheels to improveits speed.


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REFERENCES

The m


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APPENDICES


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APPENDIX A: Gantt Chart

The m


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APPENDIX B: Users Manual

The m


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APPENDIX C: Source Codes

The m


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APPENDIX D: Printed Circuit Board Design


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CURRICULUM

VITAE

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