Determination of Seed Volume in the Seed Tank of Pneumatic Precision Seeder by Using Microcontroller Based Control System

Abstract

The amount of seed available in the seed tank of Pneumatic Precision Seeder is controlled by the operator. This case increases the operator's task load during the sowing process. Additionally the absence of the operator's carefulness would cause unsowed lines. In this study, the seeds volume in the seed tank could be observed by operator with a display as the percentage of fullness of tank. The measurement is done by a HC-SR04 ultrasonic distance sensor which is plugged to the cap of seed tank. The Arduino Mega 2560 microcontroller is used in the control unit. HC-SR04 ultrasonic distance sensor creates an audio signal at the 40kHz towards seeds. This audio signal reflects from seeds and back to sensor. Arduino Mega 2560 measures the time of audio signal travel and calculates the distance between sensor and seeds in the seed tank. The volume of the seeds in the tank is estimated by comparing this distance with the dimensions of seed tank. The amount of remaining seed in the seed tank is shown as a percentage on the LCD screen placed in front of the operator. The control circuit alerts the operator with audible warning buzzer when the seed volume in the tank is under 10%. In the system the communication between the pneumatic precision seeder and tractor where the display is placed is done by using Bluetooth module HC05.

Keywords

• Arduino,ultrasonic distance sensor,pneumatic precision seeder

References

1. Tekin A.B., Değirmencioğlu A. Tarımsal Bilişim: İleri Tarım Teknolojileri. XII. Akademik Bilişim Konferansı, 10-12 Şubat 2010, Muğla pp. 351-359.
2. Uzmay C., Kaya İ., Tömek B. Süt Sığırcılığında Hassas Sürü Yönetim Uygulamaları. Hayvansal Üretim 51(2), 2010, pp. 50-58.
3. Liu J., Sun S., Ninomiya S. and Cai H. Three precision agriculture patterns based on technology and resources in China. EFITA 2003 Conference, 5-9 July 2003, Debrecen, Hungary, p. 552-558.
4. McBratney A., Whelan B., Ancev T. and Bouma J. Future directions of precision agriculture. Precision Agriculture 6, 2005, pp. 7-23.
5. Koc C., Keskin R. Developing of PIC Controlled Active Boom Suspension System for Field Sprayer, Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 17, 2011, pp. 24-33.
6. Sabanci K., Koklu M. and Aydin C. Development of Control Board of Microcontroller Based Automatic Cow Scratching Machine, International Journal of Applied Mathematics, Electronics and Computers, 3(4), 2015, pp. 252-255.
7. Bhasha J.S., Hussain M.S. Agricultural field monitoring and automation using PIC16F877A microcontroller and GSM, International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Engineering & Technology (IJARCET), 3(6), 2014, pp. 2155-2157.
8. Primicerio J., Di Gennaro, S.F., Fiorillo, E., Genesio, L., Lugato, E., Matese, A., and Vaccari, F.P. A flexible unmanned aerial vehicle for precision agriculture. Precision Agriculture, 13(4), 2012, pp. 517-523.

9. Sabanci K., Aydin C. Bale Counter Design with Microcontroller, Journal of Agricultural Machinery Science, 9(2), 2013, pp. 149-152.
10. Dilay Y., Soy H. and Bayrak M. Employment of the Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision Agriculture and Investigation of the Application Areas, Igdir University Journal of the Institute of Science and Technology, 2(2), 2012, pp. 21-26.
11. Sabanci K., Aydin C. Design Parameters of Seed Drill Unit with Microcontroller, 27. Tarımsal Mekanizasyon Ulusal Kongresi, 3-5 Ekim 2012, Samsun.
12. Catsoulis J. Designing Embedded Hardware, O2Reilly, 2005, pp. 26-28.
13. Prasad K., Gupta V., Dass A. and Verma A. Programming for Embedded Systems, 2002, Wiley, pp. 15, 2.
14. Çakır H.Ş., Özcanhan M.H. Gömülü Sistem Uygulamalarına Yapılan Saldırılar ve Ağ Bağlantılı Gömülü Sistemlerin Güvenliğinin Sağlanması. Elektrik-Elektronik ve Bilgisayar Sempozyumu Bildiri Kitabı, 5-7 Ekim 2011, Elazığ, pp. 120-124.
15. Topaloğlu N., Görgünoğlu, S. Mikroişlemciler ve Mikrodenetleyiciler, Seçkin Yayınevi, 2003, pp19-165.
16. Özcerit A.T., Çakıroğlu M. and Bayılmış C. 8051 Mikrodenetleyici Uygulamaları, Papatya Yayıncılık, 2008, pp 14-24.
17. Mazidi M.A., Mazidi J.G. and McKinlay R.D. The 8051 Microcontroller and Embedded Systems, Prentice Hall (Peason), 2006, pp. 24-27.
18. Ağyol E, Kuncan M, Ertunç H.M.. Özel Şifreli, Telefon Uyarımlı Ve Android Uygulamalı Araç Güvenlik Sistemi. 8. Mekatronik Tasarım ve Modelleme Kongresi Bildiri kitabı, 20 Eylül 2013, Ankara, pp. 11-20.
19. Embedded System Wikipedia, http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embedded_system, 15.05.2016.
20. Ultrasonic Ranging Module HC - SR04 datasheet, http://www.micropik.com/PDF/HCSR04.pdf, 16.05.2016.
21. HC05 Bluetooth Module datasheet, http://www.tec.reutlingen-university.de/uploads/media/DatenblattHC-05_BT-Modul.pdf, 16.05.2016.