Multi Purpose Agriculture Drone

Project Summary: This project is multipurpose agricultural drone which is used to perform various operations like spraying of pesticides and seeding the farming field. As farmer face many hurdles in the field like spraying toxic pesticides manually is harmful for the health o

Project Title

Multi Purpose Agriculture Drone

Project Area of Specialization

Electrical/Electronic Engineering

Project Summary

Project Summary:

This project is multipurpose agricultural drone which is used to perform various operations like spraying of pesticides and seeding the farming field. As farmer face many hurdles in the field like spraying toxic pesticides manually is harmful for the health of the farmer and seeding the field manually is also time taking. So by using agricultural drone, farmer feel safe from these toxic pesticides by spraying it manually instead of spraying it with the help of drone. It also save time by seeding the field with the help of drone. The current project of designing a multipurpose agriculture drone will end up to an optimized agriculture drone which is designed and analyzed so that it could have the abilities to monitor an agricultural farm and crops. The main aim of our project is to design an agricultural drone which is Hexacopter which has high load capacity, more thrust, and power generation, flying at high wind speeds, and can also be operated if a motor or propeller is damaged and land safely. Involves designing an aerodynamically stable prototype which is monologue design, multipurpose use by providing universal payload bay, water-resistant, damage proof, and affordable. In this project we have described a design of a drone mounted spraying mechanism, Seeding system and Monitoring Camera for Agricultural purpose and for spraying disinfectants. This method of seeding and spraying pesticides on Agricultural fields reduces the number of labours, time, cost and the risk involved to the personnel involved in spraying the liquids. This drone can also be used in spraying disinfectant liquids over buildings, water bodies and highly populated areas. We can easily monitor the crops with the help of monitoring camera.  The project of designing a multipurpose agriculture drone will end up to an optimized agriculture drone which is designed and analyzed so that it could have the abilities to monitor an agricultural farm and crops.

Project Objectives

The project objectives are given below:

1. Spraying Mechanism:

Agricultural spray systems are the tools for quick and efficient spraying fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides on the crops and plants. They consist of these main components; Nizzle body, pipes and connections, container tank, spray pump, pressure regulator, and relief valve. Pump and plumbing components are aimed to pressurize and drive the spray fluid from the tank and deliver in to the nozzles with a consistent pressure steam which is optimized for the target application.  Pump and flow controls: the type and size of the required pump and can be specified by the chemical which is going to be used, recommended pressure and nuzzle delivery flow rate. The pump should have sufficient capacity to operate a hydraulic agitation system, besides it must provide the required volume for the nozzles.

2. Seeding Mechanism:

The seed dispersal mechanism is a container for storing seeds and a motor-controlled mechanism for releasing them. This motor device is designed to precisely regulate the flow at which the seeds are released. The seed dispersing mechanism running on the motor proportionally to the velocity of the aircraft so that the seeds are precisely released at the desired location. The seed container is built to fit the quadcopter and be durable in case of collisions.

3. Camera:

This drone is equipped with a camera that allow it to fly over every part of the field that needs to be inspected and take images. So once the crops have been planted and started to grow, farmers implement this technology and give a certain flight path based on the area they want to survey.

4. Autonomous Flight:

This autonomous Hexacopter is equipped with a GPS navigation mechanism controlled by an operator. Once the coordinates are received, an operation area is defined. The software is developed to receive the GPS coordinates for the selected area (target field), plot out a flight trajectory, and traverse/navigate the entire area.

Project Implementation Method

Hexacopter Selection:

The choice of hexacopter frame plays a main role in the terms of physical strength and weight. In the proposed idea the frame used consists of PCB board and landing gear with carbon fiber material for less weight, more durability and strength.

Motors Selection:

The selection of motors plays a vital role as it decides the amount of payload the drone can lift with stability. The choice of Electronic speed controllers should be compatible with the BLDC motors and the flight controller. According to the motor ratings and amount of thrust produced we can decide the payload weight.

Motor and electronic speed controller mounting:

The six BLDC motors are mounted to the six arms of the frame. There are three clock wise (CC) and three counters clock wise (CCW) motors which will create net forces acting on a body should be zero The speed of the motor is regulated using an Electronic Speed Control system (ESC). This ESC provides electric dynamic braking to the system. It also takes care of reversal of directions in the system by reversing the direction of rotation of the motor. The six ESC are soldered to Power Distribution Board (PDB). The output wires which are to be connected to the BLDC motors. There are also digital pins in each ESC connected to pixhawk to control the speed of the motor.

Flight controller mounting:

The flight controller is mounted on the top of frame exactly in the center using ant vibration shock absorber which will decrease vibrations in flight controller during landing and takeoff time. A safety switch is connected to the controller and it is used to enable/disable the outputs to motors. A buzzer (or Tone Alarm) can be used to audibly indicate status changes for the vehicle. The digital pins of ESC are connected to the pixhawk following the motor layout. The receiver is connected to the RC pin of pixhawk. 6-pos connecter of power module is connected to the power port of flight controller which will be the supply for the controller.

Transmitter and receiver:

The receiver used is of 6 channel shown in figure 10 and to which pixhwak is connected. Initially the transmitter and receiver are connected. The transmitter will send the signal to the receiver which is present on the drone and it will send signal to the flight controller. Here the flight controller will process the signal and send it to the electronic speed controller so that speed of the motors is varied.

Firmware Installation and Calibration

Installation of firmware in Ardupilot software. All the sensors and instruments used are calibrated to ensure accurate outcomes. The complete hexacopter drone system and the controller are thus calibrated against a standard model. The various calibrations performed in drone system are a) Frame Type b) Accel Calibration c) Compass Radio Calibration and d) ESC Calibration

Benefits of the Project

5 Benefits of Using Drones in Agriculture

1) Accurate Farm Analysis

Through a method called drone photogrammetry, drones can help farmers and agronomists create highly accurate maps called orthomosaics. With drone mapping software such as Pix4DFields or Drone Deploy, images captured by drones can be stitched together to get a topographical map of the farmland. Drones can be fitted with different types of cameras like RGB, multispectral and thermal cameras that will allow farmers to gain access to different forms of data.

2) Time & Cost Saving

One of the main benefits of using smart technology in agriculture is the reduced time it takes to complete many tasks. Drones are much more time-efficient than manned aircraft for things like mapping, surveillance, and crop spraying. Drones are also used to plant seeds, spray crops with water, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. As many of these operations can be carried out through intelligent flight modes, they are semi-automated which results in less time being spent on the field which saves farmers money on labor equipment.

3) Improved Crop Yields

Drones allow farmers to obtain crop data fast and frequently, this keeps them on top of things like irrigation issues, plant disease and soil condition. All these things need to be at optimal conditions for crops to thrive and farmers can meet crop yield expectations. Through precision agriculture, farmers and agronomists can improve overall crop yield by data-driven variable rate prescription. By using remote sensing technology, farmers will easily be able to identify areas of the field that are not producing healthy crops, find out what the problem is and only target that area for any treatment that may be required. This will improve the overall quality of the crops, improve yield and save money in the long term.

4) Safer way to Spray Crops

Pests and plant disease are always going to be an issue for farmers, spraying chemicals manually will always pose a health hazard and is very time-consuming and labor-intensive. Using drones to treat infected plants is much safer and more efficient than manual labor and using land-based machinery. Smart drones also come with autonomous flight modes, this will allow farmers to plan flight paths only around areas that need to be treated and leave the healthy parts of field free from unnecessary chemicals. Not only is this a safer way to treat crops but farmers will also save money by not wasting treatment on plants that don’t need it.

5) Helping Fight Climate Change

By reducing the use of chemicals through data-driven targeted treatment and reducing the need for tractors for this purpose, drones can help reduce pollution, help the environment and help in the fight against climate change.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Hexa-Copter Frame 850mm:

It is Full Carbon Fiber Hexa-Rotor Frame with Foldable Arm.

• Diagonal Length: 850mm.
• Weight: 1210g

Transmitter and Receiver:

For Transmitting and Receiving signals we have used FS-I6 Transmitter and FS-R6B Receiver.

• Frequency: 2.4 GHz
• No of Channel: 6
• Range: 600m – 700m in Building areas

Brushless DC Motor 5010 360KV:

It’s an electric motor powered by a DC supply and commutated electronically instead of by brushes like in conventional DC motors.

Propeller:

Propellers are mounted on BLDC motors for producing thrust

• Material: Carbon Fiber
• Length: 15 inch , Pitch: 5.5

Battery:

The battery that can be used is a Li-Po battery of 22000mAh capacity and 22.2 V. In this battery six Li-Po cells are connected in series.

Pump and Nozzles:

To pressurize the liquid a 12 V DC water pump can be used. Then the pressurized liquid enters the nozzle and gets sprayed. The nozzle that can be used is a flat fan type for spraying the liquid.

GPS Module:

GPS drones are equipped with a GPS module that allows them to know their location relative to a network of orbiting satellites. Connecting to signals from these satellites allows the drone to perform functions such as position hold, autonomous flight, return to home, and waypoint navigation.

Flight Controller:

The flight controller is the brain of a drone. A small box filled with intelligent electronics and software, which monitors and controls everything the drone does. And just like the brains of different organisms, flight controllers also vary in sizes and complexity.

Monitoring Camera:

In general most drone pilots use CMOS cameras due to their wide availability and cost. We currently recommend this 800 TVL CMOS 1.4 camera for FPV.

Final Deliverable of the Project

Hardware System

Core Industry

Others

Other Industries

Core Technology

Others

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being for People, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Partnerships to achieve the Goal

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com