Report - Automated Sprayer Using Gantry Robot

VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
“Jnana Sangama”, Belagavi - 590018
A Project Report on
“AUTOMATED SPRAYER USING GANTRY ROBOT”
Submitted in Fulfillment of the Award of the Degree Of
Bachelor of Engineering
In
Electronics and Communication Engineering
Submitted by
Anusha 1AY14EC012
Naushir Miraz 1AY14EC052
Nikhitha M H 1AY14EC056
Pavan Kumar H N 1AY14EC059
Under the Guidance of
Mr. Sandeep Kumar K
Assistant Professor, Department of ECE, AIT
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION
ENGINEERING
ACHARYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi, Approved by AICTE,
New Delhi
Acharya Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Road, Soladevanahalli, Bengaluru 560107
2017-2018

ACHARYA INSTITUTE OFTECHNOLOGY
Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi, Approved by AICTE,
New Delhi
Acharya Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Road, Soladevanahalli, Bengaluru – 560107
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION
ENGINEERING
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the Project Work entitled “Automated Sprayer Using
Gantry Robot” is carried out by Anusha (USN: 1AY14EC012), Naushir Miraz (USN:
1AY14EC052), Nikhitha M H (USN: 1AY14EC056) and Pavan Kumar H N (USN:
1AY14EC059), bonafide students of Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and
Communication Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi
during the year 2017-2018. It is certified that all corrections/suggestions indicated for the
assessment have been incorporated in the report deposited in the departmental library. The
project report has been approved as it satisfies the academic requirement in respect of
Project Work- 10ECP85 prescribed for the Bachelor of Engineering Degree.
………………… …………………… ……………………
Signature of Guide Signature of HOD Signature of Principal
Sandeep Kumar K Dr. Rajeswari Principal
Assistant Professor Professor and Head AIT, Bengaluru
Dept. of ECE, AIT Dept. of ECE, AIT
External Viva
Name of the Examiners Signature with Date
1.
2.

[i]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The satisfaction and euphoria that accompany the successfully completion of a task would
be incomplete without the mention of the people who made it possible and without whose
constant guidance and encouragement, success would not have been possible.
We are grateful to our institute Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru with its
ideas and inspiration for having provided us with the facilities, which has made this Project
a success.
We would like to express our gratitude to Dr S C Pilli, Principal, AIT, for all the facilities
that he has extended throughout our work.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Dr. Rajeswari, HOD, Dept. of ECE, AIT,
for her valuable guidance and support to utilize the resources needed for the project.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to our Internal Guide Mr Sandeep Kumar
K, Assistant Professor, Dept. of ECE, AIT, for his valuable guidance, encouragement
and suggestion which helped a lot in the completion of the Project.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Project Coordinator Mr Siddesh M B,
Assistant Professor, Dept. of ECE, AIT for his valuable guidance and support.
Finally, we express our sincere thanks to our Parents, all teaching and non-teaching faculty
members, Well-wishers and Friends for their moral support, encouragement and help
throughout the completion of the Project.
-Anusha (1AY14EC012)
-Naushir Miraz (1AY14EC052)
-Nikhitha M H (1AY14EC056)
-Pavan Kumar H N (1AY14EC059)

[ii]
ABSTRACT
The Automated Sprayer Using Gantry Robot is an automated precision farming machine
designed to revolutionize the farming sector in the present era of automation. The outcome
of the project is a simple robot capable of moving in the Cartesian direction to sense the
soil moisture content and spray water if required. Similar to 3D printers and CNC milling
machine, the robot hardware employs linear guides in the X, Y and Z directions. The
hardware is designed to be simple and scalable. The movement of the robot is done by
NEMA 17 stepper motors which are controlled using Arduino Mega 2560. A soil moisture
sensor is attached to the tool mount in the Z direction shaft to know the moisture level of
the soil. If the moisture level is found to be less than the threshold level which the respective
plant needs then the water pump attached sprinkles water and henceforth maintains the
proper moisture content in the soil. The prototype designed and the practical
implementation may have some changes. There is a vast future scope of the project like
integration of seed sowing system, pesticide detection system, fertilizer spraying system,
powering the system through solar power, integration of rain water harvesting system for
water supply etc. In large scale, this robot is very well capable of helping farmers in their
intensive field work and in small scale, it can help normal people who wish to do farming
at their home.

[iii]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures
List of Tables
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION 1-2
1.1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.2. MOTIVATION 2
1.3. OBJECTIVE 2
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY 3-6
1.4. AUTOMATION IN ROBOTICS 3
1.5. DESIGN OF GANTRY ROBOT AND ITS MOVEMENT 4
1.6. MONITORING MOISTURE OF SOIL 5
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY 7-11
3.1. PROPOSED DESIGN 7
3.2. FLOW CHART 9
CHAPTER 4
THE HARDWARE 12-30
4.1. TRACKS 12
4.1.1. GEOMETRY 13
4.1.2. SCALABILITY 14
4.1.3. COST 14
4.2. GANTRY 15
4.2.1. GEOMETRY 15
4.2.2. DRIVE SYSTEM 16

[iv]
4.3. CROSS-SLIDE 17
4.3.1. GEOMETRY 17
4.4. TOOL MOUNTS 18
4.4.1. GEOMETRY 18
4.5. TOOLS 20
4.6. SOIL MOISTURE SENSOR 21
4.7 MICROCONTROLLER (ARDUINO MEGA 2560) 22
4.7.1. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 23
4.8. STEPPER MOTORS 24
4.8.1. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 24
4.9. RAMPS 1.4 SHIELD 25
4.10. STEPPER MOTOR DRIVER (A4988) 25
4.11. V WHEELS KIT 26
4.12. RELAY MODULE (4 CHANNEL) 27
4.13. WATER PUMPS 28
4.14. POWER SUPPLY (12V-30A) 29
4.15. CABLE CARRIERS 29
4.16. USB CABLE 30
CHAPTER 5
STEPS TO ASSEMBLE 31-34
5.1. ASSEMBLING THE GANTRY ROBOT 31

[v]
CHAPTER 6
THE SOFTWARE 35-40
6.1. ARDUINO IDE 35
6.1.1. STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE 36
CHAPTER 7
ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATIONS 41-43
7.1. ADVANTAGES 41
7.1.1. TESTING 41
7.1.2. AUTOMATION 41
7.1.3. INTEGRATIONS 41
7.2. APPLICATIONS 42
CHAPTER 8
FUTURE SCOPE 44-49
8.1. POWER THROUGH SOLAR ENERGY 44
8.2 CAPTURE AND USE RAINWATER 44
8.3. PUT THE SYSTEM IN A GREEN HOUSE 46
8.4. USE THE SYSTEM AS A WEATHER STATION 46
8.5. ADD A WEBCAM TO THE GANTRY ROBOT 47
8.6. MONITOR RESOURCE USAGE 48
8.6.1. ELECTRICITY 48
8.6.2. WATER 48
8.7. CONTROL LIGHTS WITH GANTRY ROBOT 48
CONCLUSION 50
REFERENCES 51-53

[vi]
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 3.1.1: The Proposed Design 7
Figure 3.1.2: Block Diagram of the Proposed System 8
Figure 3.1.3: Flow Chart for the Loop Function 9
Figure 3.1.4: Flow Chart for the Function testSoil( ) 10
Figure 3.1.5: Flow Chart for the Function readSensors( ) 11
Figure 4.1.1: The Tracks 13
Figure 4.2.1: The Gantry 15
Figure 4.3.1: The Cross – Slide 17
Figure 4.4.1: The Tool Mount 19
Figure 4.5.1: The Tools 20
Figure 4.6.1: The Soil Moisture Sensor 22
Figure 4.7.1: The Arduino Mega 2560 Microcontroller 23
Figure 4.8.1: NEMA 17 Stepper Motor 24
Figure 4.9.1: The RAMPS 1.4 Shield 25
Figure 4.10.1: (a) Stepper Motor Driver (A4988) 26
Figure 4.10.1: (b) Top View of A4988 26
Figure 4.11.1: V Wheels Kit 27
Figure 4.12.1: Four Channel Relay Module 28
Figure 4.13.1: Water Pump 28
Figure 4.14.1: Power Supply 29
Figure 4.15.1: Cable Carriers 30
Figure 4.16.1: USB Cable 30
Figure 5.1.1: Stacking of the Boards 31
Figure 5.1.2: Placing of the A4988 Stepper Motor Drivers 32
Figure 5.1.3: Connection to the Power Supply 33

[vii]
Figure 6.1.1: The Arduino IDE Window 37
Figure 6.1.2: Selecting the Arduino Board and Port 38
Figure 6.1.3: Done compiling and Uploading 39
Figure 6.1.4: Serial Monitor Showing the Output 40
Figure 8.2.1: Rain Water Harvester Attached to the Gantry Robot 45
Figure 8.3.1: Gantry Robot Inside a Green House 46
Figure 8.4.1: Weather Station to be Installed on the Gantry 47
Figure 8.7.1: Lights Attached to the Gantry Robot 49

[viii]
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 4.7.1: Technical Specifications of Arduino Mega 2560 23
TABLE 4.8.1: Technical Specifications of NEMA 17 Motor 24

Automated Sprayer Using Gantry Robot Project Report 2018
Department of ECE 1 AIT, Bengaluru
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. INTRODUCTION
The world’s population is growing and with this growth must food must be produced. Due
to the industrial and petrochemical revolutions, the agriculture industry has kept up in food
production, but only by compromising the soil, the environment, health, and the food
production system itself. The increased production has largely come from incremental
changes in technology and economies of scale, but that trend is reaching a plateau.
Conventional agriculture methods are unsustainable and a paradigm shift is needed.
India plays a significant role in agriculture export to various countries, hence it’s very
shocking to find the efficiency is less than 30% compared to the developed countries. This
is mainly due to the dependence on traditional methods and even higher dependence on the
manual labor and on the monsoons which is not sufficient or reliable source of water, hence
leading to limited water resources. Projects involving automation open up new ways for
saving water and other resources while reducing the dependence on manual labor. Such
technologies might further motivate the industries to start their own large scale farming
which is still underdeveloped stating reasons such as manual labor is costly and inefficient.
Similar to today’s 3D printers and CNC milling machines, This automated sprayer
hardware employs linear guides in the X, Y, and Z directions that allow for tooling such as
seed injectors, watering nozzles, and sensors, to be precisely positioned and used on the
plants and soil. The entire system is numerically controlled and thus fully automated from
the sowing of seeds to harvest. The hardware is designed to be simple and scalable.

1.2. MOTIVATION
The motivation to develop the automated sprayer using gantry robot came from the
following sample of intrinsic advantages of the system that make it a superior system over
conventional methods and technologies:
● Ability to optimize operations such as watering, spraying, and seed spacing.
● Full automation and 24/7 possible operation.
● Virtually unlimited farm design possibilities.
● Incorporates “Big Data” acquisition and analysis for data driven decision making
and “Smart Farming”.
● Ability to plant in the most space efficient layouts.
● Scalable from a backyard system to an industrial operation.
1.3. OBJECTIVE
The main objective of this project is to design and implement a Cartesian coordinate robot
that sprays water to plants by monitoring moisture content of soil.

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY
This chapter discusses the recent researches and developments in the fields of Automation
in the agricultural field reported by various authors in literature. A succinct review based
on the study is as follows:
2.1. AUTOMATION IN ROBOTICS
Sami Salama Hussen Hajjaj and Khairul Salleh Mohamed Sahari [1] presented a paper
on the Review of Agriculture Robotics-practicality and feasibility. The paper gave a review
on concerns over food security which has raised sharply in recent years. The research
activities on agriculture robotics were reviewed, with many showing promising results.
However, agriculture robots remain experimental and far from being implemented on large
operational scales. The paper investigated the possible reasons for this phenomena, by
continuing the review of agriculture robots, only this time focusing on practicality and
feasibility. Upon extensive review and analysis, it was known that practical agriculture
robots rely not only on advances in robotics, but also on the presence of a support
infrastructure. This infrastructure encompasses all services and technologies needed by
agriculture robots while in operation, this include a reliable wireless connection, an
effective framework for Human Robot Interaction (HRI) between robots and agriculture
workers, and a framework for software sharing and re-use. Without such infrastructure
being in place, agriculture robots, no matter how advanced in design they could be, would
remain impractical and infeasible. However, for many organizations, the technological and
monitory costs of establishing such infrastructure could be very prohibitive, which renders
agriculture robots uneconomical and enviable. Therefore, the paper said that the key to

practical agriculture robotics is to find a novel, cost-effective, and a reliable approach to
develop the support infrastructure needed for agriculture robots.
2.2. DESIGN OF GANTRY ROBOT AND ITS MOVEMENT
The design of gantry robot and its movement is inspired by 3D printer. The design is
flexible in its movement and is expanded for various applications. The idea of its movement
using various papers.
Range Kayfi, Dana Ragab and Tarek A. Tutunji [2] have presented a 3-D Printer Case
Study. The paper gave an analysis on a mechatronics project for designing a 3D printer
prototype. This paper also gave a review on the success of developing a fully-integrated
engineering system that incorporates a mechanical plant, electronics, drivers, embedded
controllers, and software interface. The paper was aimed to realize a 3D printer prototype
with relatively simple design. The described work was used as an educational reference for
proper design and as a reference for designing the movement of gantry robot.
K. Sreeram, R. Suresh Kumar, S. Vinu Bhagavath, K. Muthumeenakshi and S. Radha
[3] presented a report on Smart Farming - A Prototype. This paper mainly focused on the
ways by which crops can be protected during an unavoidable natural disaster and
implement technology induced smart agro-environment, which can help the farmer manage
large fields with less effort. Three common issues faced during agricultural practice are
shearing furrows in case of excess rain or flood, manual watering of plants and security
against animal grazing. The paper provided a solution for these problems by helping farmer
monitor and control various activities through his mobile via GSM and DTMF technology
in which data is transmitted from various sensors placed in the agricultural field to the
controller and the status of the agricultural parameters are notified to the farmer using which
he can take decisions. The main advantage of this system is that it was semi-automated i.e.

the decision was made by the farmer instead of fully automated decision that results in
precision agriculture.
2.3. MONITORING MOISTURE OF SOIL
Suraj Nandkishor Kothawade, Shaikh Mohammed Furkhan, Abdul Raoof and
Kunjan Suresh Mhaske [4] presented a report on Efficient Water Management using Soil
Moisture Sensor. The paper focused on moisture sensors which helps to ease out the pain
to monitor and keeps records about the changes in soil moisture starting form cultivation
to harvesting period of crops. The paper showed the use of Arduino-Uno microcontroller
with hygrometer moisture sensor and temperature sensor. Humidity and temperature were
measured and analyzed. The hygrometer is a sensor which, when placed in a soil for a
certain duration, provides information related to the moisture status of the soil. The
Arduino-Uno collects and process the data received from the hygrometer. When a threshold
moisture level of the soil is reached, the water is supplied accordingly. This is essential
because water must be provided to the plant at a particular time for a good yield.
Mayur M Patil, Suhas Athani, CH Tejeshwar , Priyadarshini Patil and Rahul
Kulkarni [5] presented a report on Soil moisture monitoring using IoT enabled Arduino
sensors with neural networks. The paper showed Soil Monitoring as one tool to provide soil
information. Over time, systems were applied so as to approach micro-processor based
systems. Those systems provided several technological supremacy but are high-priced,
large, hard to sustain and less welcomed by the technologically operations. The objective
was to outline a manageable, facile to install technique to detect and specify the level of
soil moisture that is endlessly managed with a view to attain pinnacle plant growth and
concomitantly augment the obtainable irrigation resources. The information obtained from
the input sensors which was handled using the neural networks algorithm and correction
factors for monitoring. Soil monitoring, provided a series of assessments showing how soil

conditions and/or properties change over time. The use of simple obtainable components
decreased the manufacturing and maintenance costs. This made the system more
economical, appropriate and a low maintenance solution for applications, mainly in rural
areas and for small scale.

CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1. PROPOSED DESIGN
Agricultural automation using robot is an attempt to reduce the burden of maintaining a
farm for small scale and large scale by automating the most commonly performed tasks
such as sowing of seeds, watering of plants etc. The system comprises of Gantry robot with
4 stepper motors, Arduino Mega 2560, RAMPS V1.4 Shield, Stepper motor drivers, Soil
Moisture sensor and spraying tool.
,
Figure 3.1.1: The Proposed Design [6]
The Figure 3.1.1 shows the general idea that will be used to solve the problem of automated
farming. The tracks allow the motion of the gantry along the x-axis, the gantry allows the
motion of the cross-slide along the y-axis and finally the universal tool mount allows for
using different tools/farming modules and also facilitates the motion of the tools along the
z-axis to suit to the required height of the plants. The universal tool mount interfaces the
cross-slide spraying module.

RAMPS V1.4 Shied along with Stepper motors is mounted on top of Arduino Mega 2560
which controls movement of Stepper motors in X, Y and Z axis. RAMPS Shield can control
up to 5 stepper motors with 1/16 stepping precision and interface with a 12V (or 24V with
appropriate modification) power supply, and up to six end stoppers. The movement of the
gantry is controlled by two motors X1 and X2 in the X direction, one motor in the Y
direction and one motor in the Z direction. A universal tool is mounted on the Z axis which
moves in vertical direction. The tool mounted consists of soil moisture sensor which checks
the moisture content of the soil. The output of the sensor is given to the Arduino Mega. If
the moisture content is below the threshold, the Arduino drives the pump motor, which
sprays water and maintains the moisture content of the soil.
Figure 3.1.2: Block Diagram of the Proposed Systems

3.2. FLOW CHART
The software tool used here is Arduino IDE. The program has been written in C language
for Arduino. The flow of the program is as follows:
Figure 3.1.3. Flow Chart for the Loop Function

The position of the sensor is also calculated whenever the testSoil ( ) function is called and
the sensor’s position and the condition of the soil, whether it is dry or wet, is displayed on
the serial monitor window of the Arduino IDE.
Figure 3.1.4. Flow Chart for the Function “testSoil( )”

Figure 3.1.5. Flow Chart for the Function “readSensors( )”

CHAPTER 4
THE HARDWARE
The hardware is very similar to 3D printer and CNC milling machine hardware. There are
two fixed tracks extending in the X-direction and a gantry that spans the tracks and moves
along them. Mounted to the gantry is a cross slide that moves in the Y-direction and
mounted to that is the tool mount that moves in the Z-direction. Tooling includes humidity
sensors and pH sensors and spraying mechanism tool. The tracks, gantry, cross slide, and
tool mount design intent allow for easy scaling in the X, Y, and Z directions.
4.1. TRACKS
The tracks are one of the components that differentiate this technology from traditional free
- driving tractors. The tracks are fixed in the ground and allow the system to have great
precision in an efficient and simple manner. There are many reasons of why tracks are
superior to free - driving tractors, a few of which are listed below.
● Tracks provide great precision and allow the tool to return to the same position
repeatedly.
● Any type of packing structure of plants can be created and managed because wheel
and hardware pathways are no longer needed.
● Tracks take up less area than paths for tractor wheels and do not compact the soil
● Using tracks eliminates the need for tractor steering components and auto piloting
systems

Figure 4.1.1: The Tracks [6]
4.1.1. GEOMETRY
Tracks take the form of rails that are slightly elevated off the ground by supports and small
concrete foundations as shown in the Figure 4.1.1. Each rail acts as a linear guide, providing
an interface for the gantry to mechanically mate with and travel along. Each track has
sufficient cross sectional area and strength to resist deflection during high force operations
such as plowing. Tracks and their foundations scale in size and strength as the gantry size
and number of simultaneous operations increases. Tracks may also feature a live rail to
provide electrical power to the gantry and other parts.
The most basic system needs at least two tracks in order for one gantry to span between
them. A three track system can exist that allows for two gantries to operate separately on
their own sections of land while sharing a middle track. Four, five, etc. track systems may
also exist with more gantries. Because of this scalability, there are two types of tracks:
single rail, and dual rail. Single rail tracks allow one gantry to move across while dual rail
tracks allow two gantries to share the same track as in the three track system.

For small systems, the tracks could be constructed from T-slot aluminium extrusions for
ease of manufacturing, flexible assembly, relative low cost, expandability, and general
availability. For larger applications, custom steel tracks would likely be the material of
choice for reduced cost, increased strength, and weld ability. Large, pre-fabricated tracks
the length of a semi-truck could be shipped in and bolted or welded together on-site like
railroad tracks.
4.1.2. SCALABILITY
As mentioned in section 4.1.1, track systems can be scaled in the Y - direction by simply
adding more tracks and more gantries to the system or by making the gantry wider. Tracks
can also scale in the X - direction by making the tracks longer and adding more supports.
Theoretically, the tracks can be miles and miles long in an industrial application with the
only limit being the amount of area one gantry could properly tend to with the available
amount of time.
Another idea for scalability is a serpentine type track system that one gantry could use,
requiring curved track sections at the serpentine edges for the gantry to move to the next
row of tracks. There may also exist other methods that the gantry could transfer tracks by,
but these will not be covered in this paper.
4.1.3. COST
Though the capital cost of any type of track system is new in agriculture, the tracks are
designed to be as cost effective as possible by being simple to manufacture and lacking any
moving parts. Work will need to be done to optimize track cross-sectional area and
therefore material usage as well as easing the installation process. It is estimated that the
upfront investment of tracks can be offset by the savings from the elimination of the more
complex drivetrains, steering, brakes, cockpits, and other components of tradition tractors.

In addition, lifetime savings will occur from increased productivity of the such Automated
Sprayer system over conventional systems simply by removing tractor driver labor and
allowing for 24/7 operation.
4.2. GANTRY
The gantry, highlighted in Figure 4.2.1, is the structural component that bridges the two
tracks and moves in the X-direction via an X-direction drive system. It serves as a linear
guide for the cross slide and a base for the Y-direction drive system that moves the cross
slide across the gantry in the Y-direction. It can also serve as a base for mounting other
equipment such as seed bays, tools, electronics, inputs, and sensors.
Figure 4.2.1: The Gantry [6]
4.2.1. GEOMETRY
The gantry’s primary structure is an upside-down square U shape as shown in Figure 4.2.1.
At each end of the U, are linear guide systems such as wheels that allow the gantry to move
across the tracks in the X-direction. The top of the U shape serves as the bridging
component and the linear guide for the cross slide.

The gantry must be very rigid and have tight tolerance on the linear guide interfaces.
Significant flex or play will lead to less accuracy of the tool or sensor location. This can be
especially important during high force operations that also require high precision, such as
selective tilling, where inaccuracy in excess of 1 cm could damage desired plants.
Similar to tracks, the gantry will likely be constructed from T-slot aluminium extrusions
for small scale applications and welded steel for larger scales.
4.2.2. DRIVE SYSTEM
An optimized drive system for the gantry is dependent on the size and application of the
system. For smaller systems, such as a seedling only application, a timing belt and pulley
may work the best due to low cost, ease of installation, minimal maintenance, and good
precision. For larger systems, belts may introduce an unacceptable amount of slack and
stretch and thereby reduce the level of precision. It also may be costly or infeasible to
implement strong enough belts to handle ploughing and other high force operations. In this
case, a rack and pinion style drive system may work better. In this system, a stepper motor
and pinion gear could be mounted to the gantry and the tracks could have geared racks
mounted to them in order to mesh with the pinion.
4.2.3. SCALABILITY
The gantry can scale in the Y- direction by constructing it to be wider. This modification
would require the tracks to be spaced farther apart as well. The gantry can also scale in the
Z-direction to accommodate taller plants such as corn, sunflowers, and even trees, by
making the basic U shape taller. This modification would require a longer tool mount to be
used. As with all scaling up, the structure will need to increase in strength to resist
deflection and drive systems will need to be more powerful to move the increased mass.

4.3. CROSS-SLIDE
The cross slide, highlighted in Figure 4.3.1, moves in the Y-direction across the gantry.
This motion provides the second major degree of freedom for the system and allows
operations such as planting to be done anywhere in the XY plane. The cross slide is moved
using an Y-direction drive system and functions as the base for the tool mount.
4.3.1. GEOMETRY
The cross slide consists of a linear slide and a mounting plate as shown in Figure 4.3.1. The
linear slide interfaces with the gantry while the mounting plate provides the base for the
tool mount to interface with. The cross slide must have high tolerancing with the linear
slide interface and must be rigid enough to transfer high forces to and from the tool mount
to the gantry without significant deflection.
Figure 4.3.1: The Cross – Slide [6]
4.3.2. DRIVE SYSTEM
Several drive system options exist including a timing belt and pulley, a rack and pinion
system, or even a lead screw. Each option has advantages and drawbacks and may work
better than others in certain applications.

A timing belt and pulley system would work well in small applications as it is easily
upgraded to longer lengths, easy to source and purchase off the shelf components, requires
little maintenance, and is affordable. However, as with the gantry belt system, larger
systems may introduce too much slack and stretch, reducing precision.
Rack and pinion systems would work well for small to large systems and are perhaps the
best and most versatile option overall. A rack and pinion system may require specially made
components that cannot be purchased off the shelf, which could be a limiting factor.
However, the same components could be used for the gantry and tool mount drive system
as well.
Lead screw systems provide the greatest amount of torque and precision, but are more
susceptible to damage from dusty and dirty environments.
4.3.3. SCALABILITY
The cross slide could scale in the Y-direction, allowing for multiple tool mounts to be
attached in order to complete identical operations simultaneously. This type of scaling
would require a more robust gantry, track system, and drive systems to handle concurrent
high force operations such as tilling. This may also put unwanted constraints on the farm
design, forcing plants into a more rigid grid. However, the potential for increased operation
throughput may be worth that sacrifice.
4.4. TOOL MOUNTS
4.4.1. GEOMETRY
Tool mounts attach to the cross slide and provides the system Z-direction movement as
illustrated in Figure 4.4.1. Tool mounts serve as the base for attaching tools such as seed

injectors, watering nozzles, sensors, and plows. They consist of a tall structural component,
a drive system, and a mounting plate or area for attaching tools to.
4.4.2. DRIVE SYSTEM
Tool Mounts can be driven with various drive systems such as a rack and pinion, lead screw,
belt and pulley, electronic solenoid, or hydraulic piston. Depending on the scale of the
system and the desired accuracy and speed requirements, different drive systems will be
better than others. It will be important to select a system that can move heavy hardware up
and down, especially during operations involving soil manipulation such as ploughing or
seed injecting. Furthermore, the tool mount will need to move precisely, with perhaps
millimeter accuracy for seed injection. Likely the rack and pinion and belt and pulley
systems will not be powerful enough, the hydraulic piston will be too complex and
expensive, leaving an electronic solenoid and a lead screw as options. However, this is only
speculative.
Figure 4.4.1: The Tool Mount [6]

4.4.3. SCALABILITY
For a system to tend to taller plants, the gantry must be raised in order to have adequate
clearance from the plants when moving in the X-direction. With a taller gantry, the tool
mount must scale in the Z-direction so that tooling, such as a seed injector, can still reach
the soil. The tool mount can easily scale by making the structure taller and installing an
upgraded drive system.
4.5. TOOLS
Tools will attach to the tool mount as highlighted in Figure 4.5.1, the system will likely
utilize a custom set of tooling, but it will generally be very similar in form and function to
existing agriculture tooling. However, it is very possible that system will open the doors to
new tool designs that were not feasible or appropriate to use with conventional equipment.
Figure 4.5.1: The Tools [6]
The following list of tooling is likely to be close to the order of development based on
importance and functionality.
1. Seed injector

2. Watering nozzle
3. Fertilizer nozzle
4. Pesticide nozzle
5. Plough
6. Cutter/Shredder
7. Burner
8. Combine/Harvester
4.6. SOIL MOISTURE SENSOR
“Smart Farming,” as defined is using data to make more informed decisions about the setup
and operation of the farm. The system will be able to use the Soil Moisture Sensor which
measures the volumetric content of water inside the soil and gives the moisture level as
output. The soil moisture sensor consists of two probes which are used to measure the
volumetric content of water. The two probes allow the current to pass through the soil and
then it gets the resistance value to measure the moisture value.
When there is more water, the soil will conduct more electricity which means that there
will be less resistance. Therefore, the moisture level will be higher. Dry soil conducts
electricity poorly, so when there will be less water, then the soil will conduct less electricity
which means that there will be more resistance. Therefore, the moisture level will be lower.
The specifications of the soil moisture sensor FC-28 shown in Figure 4.6.1 are as follows:
 Input Voltage: 3.3 – 5V
 Output Voltage: 0 – 4.2V
 Input Current: 35mA
 Output Signal: Digital

Figure 4.6.1: The Soil Moisture Sensor [6]
4.7 MICROCONTROLLER (ARDUINO MEGA 2560)
An Arduino Mega microcontroller (ATmega2560), pictured in Figure 4.7.1, will be used
to control the stepper motors, sensors and future electronics. This platform was chosen for
its low cost, general availability, hack ability, expandability through shields, the expansive
learning resources available, the strong DIY community already using the platform, and
the fact that it is open source. In addition, Arduino programs are written in the C language
and therefore very familiar to many. Expansion shields likely to be used includes a RAMPS
stepper driver.
The Arduino Mega 2560 is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega2560. It has 54
digital input/output pins (of which 15 can be used as PWM outputs), 16 analog inputs, 4
UARTs (hardware serial ports), a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power
jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the
microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with an AC-
to-DC adapter or battery to get started.

Figure 4.7.1: The Arduino Mega 2560 Microcontroller [6]
4.7.1 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
The technical specifications of Arduino Mega 2560 is listed in the Table 4.7.1.
Microcontroller ATmega2560
Operating Voltage 5V
Input Voltage (recommended) 7-12 V
Input Voltage (limits) 6-20 V
Digital I/O Pins 54 (of which 14 provide PWM output)
Analog Input Pins 16
DC Current per I/O Pin 40mA
DC Current for 3.3V Pin 50mA
Flash Memory 256 KB of which 8 KB used by bootloader
SRAM 8 KB
EEPROM 4 KB
Clock Speed 16 MHz
Table 4.7.1: Technical Specifications of Arduino Mega 2560

4.8. STEPPER MOTORS
A NEMA 17 stepper motor, as shown in Figure 4.8.1, is a stepper motor with a 1.7 x 1.7
inch (43.2 x 43.2 mm) faceplate. It has more room to put a higher torque. However, its size
is not an indication of its power. The Nema 17 stepper motor shown in Figure 4.8.1 has
been chosen for its general availability, common use in similar projects such as the RepRap
3D printer, easy setup and control, as well as its accuracy, speed, and torque outputs. In
addition, this motor interfaces with components such as pulleys and mounting plates
available from many providers including Open Builds.
Figure 4.8.1: NEMA 17 Stepper Motor [6]
4.8.1. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
The technical specifications of the NEMA 17 Stepper motor are listed in the Table 4.8.1.
Motor Resolution 200 steps/revolution (1.8 deg/step)
Winding Type Bipolar
Voltage 12V
Current Draw 1.68A max
Shaft Diameter 5mm diameter
Motor Connector 6-pin connector (only 4 pins used)
Table 4.8.1: Technical Specifications of NEMA 17 Motor

4.9. RAMPS 1.4 SHIELD
RAMPS is short for Reprap Arduino Mega Pololu Shield. It is mainly designed for the
purpose of using pololu stepper driven board (similar to 4988 driven board). RAMPS can
only work when connected to its mother board Mega 2560 and A4988/DRV8825.
RAMPS 1.4 illustrated in Figure 4.9.1 can control up to 5 stepper motors with 1/16 stepping
precision and interface with a hot end, a heat bed, a fan (or a second hot end), a LCD
controller, a 12V (or 24V with appropriate modification) power supply, up to three
thermistors, and up to six end stoppers.
Figure 4.9.1: The RAMPS 1.4 Shield [6]
4.10. STEPPER MOTOR DRIVER (A4988)
The A4988 illustrated in Figure 4.10.1 is a complete micro-stepping motor driver with
built-in translator for easy operation. It is designed to operate bipolar stepper motors in full-
, half-, quarter-, eighth-, and sixteenth-step modes. The A4988 includes a fixed off-time
current regulator which has the ability to operate in slow or mixed decay modes.

The translator is the key to the easy implementation of the A4988. Simply inputting one
pulse on the STEP input drives the motor one microstep. There are no phase sequence
tables, high frequency control lines, or complex interfaces to program. The A4988 interface
is an ideal fit for applications where a complex microprocessor is unavailable or is
overburdened.
Internal synchronous rectification control circuitry is provided to improve power
dissipation during PWM operation. Internal circuit protection includes: thermal shutdown
with hysteresis, undervoltage lockout (UVLO), and crossover-current protection. Special
power-on sequencing is not required
(a) (b)
Figure 4.10.1: (a) Stepper Motor Driver (A4988), (b) Top View of A4988 [12]
4.11. V WHEELS KIT
The Mini V Wheel Kit is used in conjunction with Mini V Plate to create a small form
factor linear actuator guide. These Mini V Wheels illustrated in Figure 4.11.1 can be used
on a variety of projects and are great for use with any V-Slot Extrusion. Each wheel is
carefully milled for consistent high precision and tolerance.

Each Wheel Kit Includes:
(1) Mini V Wheel
(2) Mini V Bearings (V3)
(3) Mini V 1mm Precision Shim
(4) M5 Nylon Lock Nut
Figure 4.11.1: V Wheels Kit [6]
4.12. RELAY MODULE (4 CHANNEL)
The Relay is a digital normally open switch that controls a relay capable of switching much
higher voltages and currents than your normal Arduino boards. When set to LOW, the LED
will light up and the relay will close allowing current to flow. The peak voltage capability
is 250V at 10 amps. Following are the features of the relay module illustrated in Figure
4.12.1.
 Control voltage: 5V
 LOW level active
 Max Control Capacity: 10A@250VAC or 10A@30VDC

Figure 4.12.1: Four Channel Relay Module
4.13. WATER PUMPS
Submersible and jet pumps are the most commonly used pump types. Submersible pumps
illustrated in Figure 4.13.1 push fluid to the surface as opposed to jet pumps having to pull
fluids. Please check if only pure water is going through your pump. If the noise of the pump
is not familiar or the water pressure is too low than air can be in the pipes. Air in the pipes
can cause the pump to overheat. It is also good to know the water temperature to keep the
motor safe from overheating.
Figure 4.13.1: Water Pump

4.14. POWER SUPPLY (12V-30A)
The power supply used is an SMPS illustrated in Figure 4.14.1 taking the supply voltage
as input and giving output of 12 Volts and 30 Amps. It is used to drive the motors for the
movement of gantry robot. Use this only when connecting multiple motors as it can damage
the motor if connected to only one motor.
Figure 4.14.1: Power Supply
4.15. CABLE CARRIERS
The cable carriers illustrated in Figure 4.15.1 is used to protect and arrange the wires. This
carriers are very flexible and bends as per the movement of the cables. It increases the
beauty of Gantry Robot. It also helps in the ease of movement of the gantry robot. It is
installed on the X-axis and Y- axis. It can also be installed on the Z-axis but it has been
skipped.

Figure 4.15.1: Cable Carriers [6]
4.16. USB CABLE
The USB cable is of Type A/B V2.0 USB as shown in Figure 4.16.1. It is required to power
up the Arduino and dump the program into it. This is the most common A to B Male/Male
type peripheral cable, the kind that's usually used for printers. Compatible with most SFE
designed USB boards as well as USB Arduino boards like the Uno.
Figure 4.16.1: USB Cable [6]

CHAPTER 5
STEPS TO ASSEMBLE
There are many hardware components involved in the project. So assembling the
components is a vital job. The assembling of the hardware is divided into two parts:
 Assembling the Gantry Robot
 Assembling the Spraying Mechanism
5.1 ASSEMBLING THE GANTRY ROBOT
Step 1: Connect the Boards:
Stack the RAMPS 1.4 shield on top of the Arduino Mega 2560 board as shown in Figure
5.1.1. Make sure the orientation is correct as shown above. The Mega 2560 board’s USB
side is directly under RAMPS 1.4 shield’s “D8 D9 D10” area.
Figure 5.1.1: Stacking of the Boards [6]

Step 2: Placing A4988 Drivers on the RAMPS 1.4
Stack the A4988 Stepper Motor Drivers on the top of the RAMPS 1.4 shield as shown in
Figure 5.1.2. Make sure the orientation is correct as shown below in Figure 5.1.2. The
potential meter should be facing away from the “D10 D9 D8” side on the RAMPS 1.4
shield. These drivers fried because of incorrect orientation. Install the heat sinks on the
A4988 drivers, and make sure the heat sink are not touching multiple components on the
driver.
Figure 5.1.2: Placing of the A4988 Stepper Motor Drivers
Step 3: Connect the Power Supply
Cut the end of the power plug to reveal the three wires: Red, Black and Green. Strip these
wires and connect them to the power supply unit’s L, N and G nodes respectively.
Untighten the screws and slide the stripped wires underneath, and retighten them. Give the
wires a gentle pull to make sure they are tightened properly. Get two spare wires and
connect them on the (V-) and the V+ nodes as shown in Figure 5.1.3. Connect the other
ends to the RAMPS 1.4 shield’s power input nodes:

Figure 5.1.3: Connection to the Power Supply
Step 4: Connect Motors:
Next step is to connect the motors with the RAMPS shield using the 4 wire cables. Connect
two X direction motor to Port X and Port E0 of the RAMPS, Y direction motor to Port Y
and Z direction motor to port Z. If motors are spinning in a different direction, switch the
power off and simply flip the motor connectors.
This is all about the connection of the hardware for the movement of the gantry robot. Next
step is to switch on the power supply and see the correct movement of the motor. If the
motors are not moving in the correct direction, simply reset the RAMPS, power off the
supply and reverse the motor connector.
Step 5: Connecting the Soil Moisture Sensor
Next step is to connect the soil moisture sensor to the Arduino. This is done by mounting
the sensor at the bottom of the tool mount. The sensor’s data pin i.e. moist_IN is connected

to RAMPS at AUX 4 PIN 6 which is the corresponding pin for the Arduino’s D43 pin. The
VCC and GND to the moisture sensor is also given from the RAMPS from the pins 1 and
4 respectively of AUX4.
Step 6: Connecting the Relay module and Water Pump
Next step is to connect the relay module to the Arduino Mega and then the water pump.
The moisture output pin i.e. moist_OUT from the RAMPS (AUX-4 PIN-7) corresponding
to the same pin in Arduino Mega (D 41) is connected to the input of the relay module (IN1).
The GND and VCC connections are given from the RAMPS (AUX 1) by seeing the
datasheet of the RAMPS. The output of the relay module is connected to the input of the
water pump and another wire of the pump is grounded properly. Pumps is placed inside the
water source and the outlet pipe is placed near the tool of the gantry robot.

CHAPTER 6
THE SOFTWARE
The software is used to provide an interface between the user and the hardware. The
hardware can’t work without the software in most of the embedded systems and robots.
Similar is this case where the gantry robot can’t work without a software. Here, Arduino
IDE is being used for serving the purpose of moving the gantry robot and spraying
mechanism.
6.1. ARDUINO IDE
The Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a cross-platform application
(for Windows, macOS, Linux) that is written in the programming language Java. It
originated from the IDE for the languages Processing and Wiring. It includes a code editor
with features such as text cutting and pasting, searching and replacing text, automatic
indenting, brace matching, and syntax highlighting, and provides simple one-click
mechanisms to compile and upload programs to an Arduino board. It also contains a
message area, a text console, a toolbar with buttons for common functions and a hierarchy
of operation menus.
The Arduino IDE supports the languages C and C++ using special rules of code structuring.
The Arduino IDE supplies a software library from the Wiring project, which provides many
common input and output procedures. User-written code only requires two basic functions,
for starting the sketch and the main program loop, that are compiled and linked with a
program stub main() into an executable cyclic executive program with the GNU tool chain,
also included with the IDE distribution. The Arduino IDE employs the program avrdude to
convert the executable code into a text file in hexadecimal encoding that is loaded into the
Arduino board by a loader program in the board's firmware.

Sketch: A program written with the Arduino IDE is called a sketch. Sketches are saved
on the development computer as text files with the file extension “.ino”. Arduino Software
(IDE) pre-saved sketches are in the extension “.pde”.
A minimal Arduino C/C++ program consist of only two functions:
 setup ( ): This function is called once when a sketch starts after power-up or reset.
It is used to initialize variables, input and output pin modes, and other libraries
needed in the sketch.
 loop ( ): After setup() has been called, function loop() is executed repeatedly in the
main program. It controls the board until the board is powered off or is reset.
6.1.1. STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE
1) Installing Arduino IDE
Arduino IDE is Arduino’s open-source software integrated development
environment. An IDE consists of all the necessary tools for software development.
To use Arduino board download the Arduino IDE and use it to edit the source code
and then uploaded the code to the board. Arduino IDE is available for Windows,
Mac, and Linux. For installing the Arduino IDE, follow some guided steps. This is
just a one-time procedure. Once installed, the Arduino IDE Window will be seen as
shown below in Figure 6.1.1:

Verify Option Upload Option Serial Monitor
Figure 6.1.1: The Arduino IDE Window
2) Building the Circuit
The circuit is built as per the section 5.1 which explains the assembling of the motor
and other hardware for driving the motors.
3) Selecting the Board, Processor and Port
The Board is selected as Tools > Board > Arduino / Genuino Mega 2560 or Mega
2560, the Processor is selected as Tools > Processor > ATmega2560 (Mega2560)
and the port in which your board appears is selected as Tools > Port > COM X, here
in this case it is COM5. The window will appear as shown in Figure 6.1.2 after
selecting the board, processor and port.
Text Editor
Message Window

Figure 6.1.2: Selecting the Arduino Board, Processor and Port
4) Writing an Arduino Sketch
An Arduino sketch is written based on the functions expected from the hardware.
5) Verifying the Arduino Sketch
The Arduino Sketch written in the Arduino IDE windows is then verified by using
the “Verify” option. This will check for the compilation errors. If there is an error,
then go to the error window and identify the error and debug it accordingly and
again verify it. If no error is found and compilation is successful, go to the next step.
6) Uploading the Sketch
The next step is to upload the sketch into the Arduino Board. It will take several
seconds to upload the program. Once the code is uploaded successfully the motor
starts moving when the power is supplied to them. Once uploaded, the window will
appear as shown in Figure 6.1.3.

Figure 6.1.3: Done Compiling and Uploading
 Once the program has been uploaded, switch the power supply on for the
hardware assembled to run the gantry motors.
 The motors should run finely. If the motors are not moving then check for
the connection of the motors or the motor drivers.
 If the motor is not moving in the appropriate direction, flip the motor
connectors on the RAMPS Shield.

7) Turning on the Serial Monitor
Once the program is uploaded, the power supply to the RAMPS or say the stepper
motors is given and then the serial monitor is turned on in the Arduino IDE. The
output is seen in this window and it will appear as shown in Figure 6.1.4.
Figure 6.1.4. Serial Monitor Showing the Output

CHAPTER 7
ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATIONS
7.1. ADVANTAGES
This robot has to following exclusive advantages:
7.1.1. TESTING
The gantry robot proposed takes care of each plant individually, empowering to quickly
design and run experiments that test various growing methods, input quantities, timing, and
more, all at a fraction of the cost compared with traditional experimentation.
7.1.2. AUTOMATION
No longer is your growing operation limited to daylight hours or an 8-hour shift. With this
technology, schedule operations to run at all hours of the day, non-stop, to ensure your
plants are taken care of in the most optimal way.
Unlike human labor, this machine never fatigues, requires breaks, or even needs the
sunlight to see what it is doing.
7.1.3. INTEGRATIONS
This robot is not just a standalone product – it is a farming platform that can be modified
and augmented to meet the unique needs of your farming operation.
Integrations like powering the system with solar energy, using collected rainwater instead
of the tap, systematically control the growing lights, heaters and fans in your greenhouse,
integration of camera to the robot to make videos or keep a check on the garden and many
more integrations can be done in the same gantry robot which is being used.

Apart from these, the robot has these distinct advantages too:
1) Conduct experiments of any complexity without human error
2) Quickly and accurately repeat experiments
3) Run tests 24/7 and monitor the system remotely
4) Tedious experiments require no additional labor cost
5) Scale to as many plants as needed
6) Use the sequence builder instead of checklists
7) Run more tests with fewer scientists
8) Test unlimited groups simultaneously (not just A and B)
9) Systematically collect data at a high frequency
10) Run experiments that are traditionally too labor intensive
7.2. APPLICATIONS
This robot can be basically used to spray water into the soil for farming to maintain the soil
moisture to appropriate level. Apart from this application, there are many applications of
this robot by incorporating little changes and integration in the system.
 Nursery Planting: Nurseries are where seeds are grown into young plants, which
are later planted outside. Nursery plants are often sold direct to consumers and
landscape gardeners, but they are also the start of the food journey for some crops.
There is a rising need for nursery automation to provide automation solutions for
seeding, potting and warehousing living plants in greenhouses.
 Crop Seeding: Many food plants begin life as seeds in a field. The traditional
method for sowing seeds is to scatter them using a "broadcast spreader" attached to
a tractor. This throws many seeds around the field while the tractor drives at a steady
pace. It is not a very efficient method of planting as it can waste seeds. The gantry
robot, with robotic seeding attachment, then places the seeds at precise locations
and depths so that each has the best chance of growing.

 Crop Monitoring and Analysis: Monitoring huge fields of crop is a big job. This
robot provides detailed monitoring as they are able to get closer to the crops. They
can also be used for other tasks like weeding and fertilizing. Weeds can be detected
and plucked if image processing is integrated with this project. Using image
processing, pest detection and pesticide spraying mechanism can also be integrated
with the robot.
 Fertilizing and Irrigation: Irrigating and fertilizing crops has traditionally used a
lot of water which is quite inefficient. Robot-Assisted Precision Irrigation can
reduce wasted water by targeting specific plants. This robot autonomously
navigates between rows of crop and pour water directly at the base of each plant. It
can also test for the content of fertilizers if proper sensors are used and then can
spray fertilizer solution to maintain the chemical content of the soil. Similarly, it
can be used to maintain the pH value of the soil as per required by each plant.
 Lightening of the Fields: The robot can be used to light up the fields when
someone needs to access the crops in the night.
 Time Lapse Video: Time-Lapse video of the growth of plants can be taken if a
camera is integrated into the system. This video can show the user the journey of
plant from germination from a seed to a well grown plant.
 Small Scale Automation: It can be used in small scale farming like farming in the
backyard of home enabling the user to do automated farming

CHAPTER 8
FUTURE SCOPE
This project has a lot of future scope. So many add-ons can be added and lots of
modification can be done in terms of power supply, resource usage, design and addition of
other peripherals. If these fields are worked on then this project can reach a milestone and
huge recognition in the industry and can be commercialized too.
8.1. POWER THROUGH SOLAR ENERGY
To power the system exclusively with solar energy, the first thing needed is to calculate
how much electricity it uses so that the solar system can be sized appropriately. This can
be done by estimating the duty cycle of each component and then tallying up the estimated
energy usage. Once determined the daily energy usage of the system, it is needed to size
the solar panel and battery such that it can run continuously without running out of power
as shown in Figure 8.2.1.
On a sunny day, your solar panel will need to produce more power than the system uses so
that the extra energy can be saved in the battery for rainy days. In sunny regions, then a lot
of surplus power is not needed each day because it will be fine building up the energy
reserves over a few days. If areas with heavy rainfall, clouds, snow, or fog, one may want
a lot of surplus power so that can fully charge the battery and run the system on just one
day's worth of sun.
As a rule of thumb, the system should be able to get about 5 hours of usable sun each day
on the solar panel if it is properly positioned and the skies are clear.
8.2 CAPTURE AND USE RAINWATER
If off-grid or want to save on water bill, consider installing a rain barrel to store collected
rain from the roof or other collection surface, and then using this source of water with your
system. Your rain barrel should be within a few feet from a gutter downspout so that water

can flow through the diverter tube into the barrel as shown in Figure 8.2.1. If the barrel
can’t be placed closer, it will need to be sufficiently downhill from the downspout so that
the diverter tube works. The area should also be flat, and have sufficient working room
around it so that one can easily access the barrel's tap. Some people raise their barrel off
the ground with cinder blocks, wood, or bricks so that the lower tap can be used with a hose
bib.
Rain Water Harvesting System Solar Panel Integration
Figure 8.2.1: Rain Water Harvester Attached to the Gantry Robot [6]
One may find that he want to increase the capacity for storing rainwater. While a 200
liter/50 gallon rain barrel may sound like a lot, that amount of water can be used up quickly
depending on how one configures the Gantry Robot. Most rain barrels can be easily "daisy
chained" together to effectively create one larger barrel. This can be done by connecting
hoses in between.

8.3. PUT THE SYSTEM IN A GREEN HOUSE
In colder regions to prevent growing then consider putting the system in an inexpensive
greenhouse as shown in Figure 8.3.1 to extend your growing season for year-round food
production.
Figure 8.3.1: Gantry Robot Inside a Green House [6]
8.4. USE THE SYSTEM AS A WEATHER STATION
This project can be extended into a local weather station. In a nutshell, you simply need to
add whatever sensors you want, wire them up to Arduino, and then pipe the data to the web
app and/or to a service such as Weather Underground. You can purchase a combination
anemometer, wind vane, and rain gauge mini weather station. This lightweight device can
be easily hose clamped onto your gantry or installed in a stationary location nearby with an
extension of the wires as shown in Figure 8.4.1. You can then hook the device up to the
Arduino.

Figure 8.4.1: Weather Station to be Installed on the Gantry [6]
7.5. ADD A WEBCAM TO THE GANTRY ROBOT
There are many reasons you might want to add a webcam to your robot. Here are a few:
 To watch the gantry robot move from work, inside your house, or across the world
 To show the robot off to your friends
 To take photos each day for time-lapse photography of your plants growing
 To supplement a security system against vandals or animals
 To make sure the robot doesn't slack off or sleep on the job
The Raspberry Pi supports small 5MP cameras, called Raspberry Pi Camera Modules,
which plug directly into the Pi's CSI bus via a ribbon cable. You can only use one camera
module at a time, so if you want to have multiple camera angles, you'll need to also use a
USB web cam. There are two types of camera modules available: one with a regular
camera, and one with an infrared camera that can be used at night in combination with
infrared LEDs for a nice night vision ability. The camera modules need to be mounted on

your robot in a rain proof location. This could be done with a small plastic bracket and a
3D printed roof structure, or other materials. How and where you mount your camera is up
to you.
8.6. MONITOR RESOURCE USAGE
8.6.1. ELECTRICITY
The easiest way to record how much electricity robot uses is to place a device called a Kill
a Watt in between your power source and gantry robot. This will allow you to measure the
cumulative amount of energy your robot uses in kWh, as well as the current rate of
consumption in watts.
While you will not be able to collect and view historical data of energy usage, the Kill a
Watt is the easiest way to measure your robot’s energy use - just look at the screen after a
few days, weeks, or months. You can also use the device to measure other appliances in
your home!
8.6.2. WATER
Using an affordable water flow meter from Adafruit, you can measure the amount of water
that system uses and then pipe that data to the web app.
8.7. CONTROL LIGHTS WITH GANTRY ROBOT
You may want to light up your robot at night so you can more easily harvest dinner-time
veggies. Or maybe you want to experiment with growth rates by using specialized grow
lights. Whatever the reason you want to have lights on your robot, it can be done as shown
in Figure 8.7.1. Farmduino can be used for this purpose. Farmduino provides multiple 12V
outputs which can be used to power the LED lights.
Attach the wires to one of the 12V outputs, making sure the red wire is hooked up to the
positive output, while the black wire is hooked up to the negative output. These connectors
can be used to attach peripherals to the Farmduino.

Figure 8.7.1: Lights Attached to the Gantry Robot [6]

CONCLUSION
This project has the potential to revolutionize the way humanity produces food both on the
small and large scale. As the vision states, the project aims to create an open and accessible
technology enabling everyone to grow food and to grow food for everyone. However,
revolution will not be the defining metric of success in the short term. Short term success
boils down to achieving two important milestones.
The first milestone is to create and demonstrate a functioning minimum viable product.
This will right away prove or disprove the viability of the technology. This milestone also
includes making available the plans, source code, and even purchasable kits of the
minimum viable product in order to lower the barrier to entry for others to learn about and
contribute to the project.
This leads into the second milestone: creating a vibrant and excited community of skilled
makers, hackers, and enthusiasts who will contribute to the development of the project.

REFERENCES
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Engineering and Computing Technologies (AEECT), 2015
[3] K. Sreeram; R. Suresh Kumar; S. Vinu Bhagavath; K. Muthumeenakshi; S. Radha,
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