PROJECT ADVISER:

SIR TAUSEEF ABID

GROUP MEMBERS:

Ali Usman 2010-UET-IEFR/Fsd-Elect-04
Zahid Tufail 2010-UET-IEFR/Fsd-Elect-57
Rabia Munawwar 2010-UET-IEFR/Fsd-Elect-58
Furrukh Perwaiz 2010-UET-IEFR/Fsd-Elect-65






Need of the Project:
Mowing the lawn with a standard motor powered lawn mower is an
inconvenience, and no one takes pleasure in it. Cutting grass cannot be easily
accomplished by elderly, younger, or disabled people. Motor powered push lawn
mowers create noise pollution due to the loud engine, and local air pollution due
to the combustion in the engine. Also, a motor powered engine requires periodic
maintenance such as changing the engine oil. Even though these types of mowers
are environmentally friendly, they too can be an inconvenience. The Robotic lawn
mower is a lawn mower that has automatic control capability. This prototype is
robotic user friendly, cost efficient, safe to use, efficient to use, and
environmentally friendly. It can save significantly on labor costs.
Along with the various ages of users, this lawn mower can also be used by
people who have disabilities and are unable to use a regular push, or riding lawn
mower.

Principle of Operation:
The prototype will also be automatic and will run on a solar cell charged
battery with no cords to interfere with operation. This robot lawn mower design
is safe to use. This prototype is also environmentally friendly. There is no need for
gas, oil, and engine to use this device because it is electric powered.

The objective of the self-propelling electric remote control lawn mower is
to extend the design of currently used lawn mowers, and to improve the
capabilities of standard remote control lawn mowers as well as assuring cost
efficiency. This self-propelling lawn mower design is comprised of autonomous
capability that is user friendly so most consumers will be able to use this device. It
is safe to use, as well as efficient because it electric powered and cordless. With
these objectives mentioned, the electric robotic lawn mower is environmentally
friendly.

Components and Tools:

Arduino:
Arduino is a tool for making computers that can sense and control more of
the Physical world than desktop computer. It's an open-source physical
computing platform based on a simple microcontroller board, and a development
environment for writing software for the board.



Arduino can be used to develop interactive objects, taking inputs from a
variety of switches or sensors, and controlling a variety of lights, motors, and
other physical outputs. Arduino projects can be stand-alone, or they can
communicate with software running on your computer (e.g. Flash,
Processing, MaxMSP.) The boards can be assembled by hand or purchased
preassembled; the open-source IDE can be downloaded for free.
The Arduino programming language is an implementation of Wiring, a
similar physical computing platform, which is based on the Processing
multimedia programming environment.
Solar Cells:
Photovoltaics is the field of technology and research related to the practical
application of photovoltaic cells in producing electricity from light, though it is
often used specifically to refer to the generation of electricity from sunlight. Cells
can be described as photovoltaic even when the light source is not
necessarily sunlight(lamplight, artificial light.


Assemblies of photovoltaic cells are used to make solar modules which
generate electrical power from sunlight. Multiple cells in an integrated group, all
oriented in one plane, constitute a solar photovoltaic panel or "solar photovoltaic
module," as distinguished from a "solar thermal module" or "solar hot water
panel." The electrical energy generated from solar modules, colloquially referred
to as solar power, is an example of solar energy. A group of connected solar
modules is called an "array."

Solar trackers increase the amount of energy produced per module at a
cost of mechanical complexity and need for maintenance. They sense the
direction of the Sun and tilt the modules as needed for maximum exposure to the
light.
Some other aspects:

Mower Body Frame:
This will use as the basis of the mower construction. It will modify to
handle the other components. Four wheels with two caster wheels and two larger
wheels that are motor driven will use.

Caster Wheels:
A caster wheel is wheel that can run freely on a central axis. The wheel can
also rotate a full 360 degrees in either direction. The use of this type of wheel will
allow the mower to fully utilize the independent rear motors and their zero-turn
capabilities.

Battery:
The battery will use as a power supply for the Lawn Mower & solar cells
will be used to charge the battery.

Motors:
The Lawn Mower will use a total of three motors. The blade motor will
attach to the mowers body frame. Both of its terminals will be connected to a
specified slot on the main terminal block. The other two motors will be used to
move the wheels of the mower. They will be attached to the mowers body frame
with two u-bolts. The terminals for these two motors will be connected to the
motor drivers terminals.
There will be two motors that will replace the rear wheels on the existing
lawn mower. These two motors will be independently operated, meaning that a
single motor can be accessed and controlled without the accessing or
commanding the other motor.

The reason for this is that the mower will be operated as a zero-turn
device. Zero-turn simply means that the device will be able to rotate around a
central position in one motion. This allows for fewer movements while
maneuvering and less components to worry about for main controls. The two
rear motors will provide the propulsion for the mower forward and reverse and
also the steering for the machine.

Motor Driver:
The motor driver will be connected to Arduino board. This will allow the
program to dictate the movement of the wheels motors.

Display Drive Motor Values:
The drive motor values will be displayed by using LCD display. These
values will be displayed to know the driver motors state, the overall direction in
which the lawn mower moves. This display will not only help the user to tell in
which direction the mower is moving, but it will also help for troubleshooting
purposes as well.

Safety Switch:
The safety switch will toggle the batterys connection on/off to the rest of
the circuit. The positive terminal of the battery will be connected to one terminal
of the switch while the other terminal is connected to the main terminal block.


Safety Precautions:
Safety is a primary concern for the robotic lawn mower. The mower will
have a kill switch that play an important role in the safety aspect of the mower.
The mower blade kill switch which is located on the mower to stop the blade. A
bumper will be constructed onto the mower which detects when there is a
foreign object in the mowers path.
With these safety features, users still must take precautions when using this
lawn mower. The lawn mower has a sharp blade that should not be operated by
children. Users should remove any objects from the lawn that may cause
interference to the mower before use. Users should not use this lawn mower
around pets or children. Users should not operate electric lawn mower in
standing water or during inclement weather. The lawn mower should only be
used on a grassy area.