Off Grid Fully Automatic Egg Incubation

Project Title

Off Grid Fully Automatic Egg Incubation

Project Area of Specialization Shared EconomyProject Summary

This project is to make the egg incubation process less costly for domestic people having egg capacity of 60. It is a fully automated incubation system having high hatchability rate by improving the controlling of temperature and humidity of incubator. This incubator can be used for the incubation of multiple pheasant family’s eggs.

For controlling the temperature, a set-point temperature 37.5 C will be defined, this temperature value will be maintained by a microcontroller having the power electronic circuitry. Then it will adjust the temperature by adjusting the power delivered to the heater.

Humidity sensor will sense the relative humidity level of the incubator. A humidifier is connected with microcontroller that will be turned ON or OFF to maintain the humidity level in incubator.

A timer circuit is connected in the incubator. This timer circuit will count the time for turning of eggs and the micro-microcontroller will control the motor driver. The motor will drive until a respective angle will achieve.

For hatching of different pheasant family eggs, the parameters can change because the human interface option is also available.

Project Objectives

In semi-automated, hatchability rate was low. The fully-automated incubators available today in the market are costly. So, the purpose of this project is;

• To make the egg incubation process less costly for domestic people
• To increase the hatchability rate of egg incubation by improving the controlling of temperature and humidity of the incubator
• To fully automate the egg incubator so that human interaction will be minimum
• To make a single egg incubator which can be used for the incubation of multiple pheasant family’s eggs.

Project Implementation Method

This project has different sections that are measurement section, controlling section, mechanism section, power supply section and a human interface section. 

The power is supplied by the solar system. The charge controller supplies power to the 12 volts battery and the power controller and motor driver circuit. The power control circuit identifies the power required, so draws that power from the solar panel, the remaining power charges the battery. The sensor senses the temperature and humidity level inside the incubator and sends a signal to the microcontroller. If the signal is of less temperature and relative humidity level than the setpoint, the microcontroller generates a signal that turns ON the heater and humidifier. Similarly, the same signal is sent to the motor driver which drives the DC motor and the egg turning starts at the desired angle. The timer circuit counts the number of cycles that how many times the eggs turn. As the temperature and humidity level reaches to the set point, the microcontroller generates a signal that turns OFF the humidifier and heater. When the incubation process reaches to 21 days (counted by timer circuit), an alarm starts ringing which is an indication for the person that incubation process is completed, now that person puts eggs to another tray which is placed below the egg turner tray so that the eggs should hatch easily.

Benefits of the Project

• Many species of chicks can be hatched at a time in a short while.
• As we will complete designing to manufacturing cycle which will enhance our knowledge
• Poor people can use this product to earn with honor.
• Another thing is that it is possible to plan when to hatch the chicks unlike with the hen one may not know when it can sit for the eggs. 
• Artificial incubation cannot spread parasites and diseases to the chicks and lastly, there is no cost for feeding a broody hen since an incubator is used.
• Chances of eggs spoilage are minimized since all eggs are subjected to the optimal hatching temperatures.
• There are no chances of the hen damaging eggs through pecking, a common occurrence with natural incubation.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The standalone solar system is used to supply the 80W power to the incubator continuously. The major parameters that are needed to be control, to achieve high hatchability rate, are temperature, humidity level, and turning system. For uniform distribution of heat, still air incubation mechanism is implemented. The turning frequency is set to one hour. It means, the eggs will turn at a specific angle for 24 times a day. The temperature and humidity level required for the efficient result is 37.5 C and 55% to 65% respectively. The sensor used for sensing the temperature and humidity has an accuracy of 2.5% which is quite acceptable. The project specifications are;

Sr. No.	Specifications
1	Specie	Any Pheasant family
2	Egg Capacity	60 eggs
3	Tray Dimension	Length= 15 to 25 inches Width = 10 to 20 inches
4	Temperature	30°C to 45°C
5	Humidity	55% to 65%
6	Microcontroller	Arduino UNO (ATmega328)
7	Turning Angle	40° to 45°
8	System	Manual/Automatic
9	Power Source	Solar
10	Hatchability Rate	80% to 90%

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Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemType of Industry Education Technologies OthersSustainable Development Goals No PovertyRequired Resources

Elapsed time since start of the project	Milestone	Deliverable
Month 1	Literature Survey	Project parameters are finalized
Month 2	Designing of incubator	Complete Design of:1: Mechanical Structure2: Egg Turning Mechanism3: Power rating of Heater4: Power source (solar cell, charge controller and battery)5: Space allocation for different components
Month 3	Implementing the mechanical assembly of incubator	Incubator enclosure
Month 4	Implementing Turning Mechanism and testing	Egg turning mechanism will turn the eggs to required angle
Month 6	Sensors testing and calibration	Temperature and humidity values are obtained accurately.
Month 7	Power Control Circuit Design	Power will deliver to incubator according to requirement
Month 8	Solar system and backup designing for power source	Required wattage and current required for the incubator
Month 9	Arduino programming	PWM will be generated according to input
Month 10	Temperature and humidity sensors, and LCD screen interfacing with Arduino	Temperature and humidity values will be displayed with LCD screen
Month 11	Pipe-lining of whole project	Final prototype of incubator (hardware and software) will display
Month 12	Complete Incubator Testing	Hen chicks and Quail chicks are hatched. Out of 15 eggs, 12 will be hatched so that hatchability rate will be 80% minimum.