PROTOTYPE OF ROBOTIC WEED REMOVER FOR PLOTTED PECHAY AND

MUSTARD

Felomeno, Eugene L.

Plata, Gilbert M.

Segundo, Wendell D.

Southern Luzon State University

College of Engineering

May 2019
 Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Crop production is one of the major agricultures in the Philippines, and most of the

vegetables produced by farmers came from open field cultivation such as pechay and

mustard. But competition by weeds reduces the growth and productivity of crops. The

water, nutrients and light supposedly for the crops are taken by the weeds which consume

larger amount of water and nutrients thereby reducing yields. Weeds harbor insects, pests

and diseases. And also cause increase in the cost of cultivation.

Worldwide, 13% loss of agricultural production is attributed to weeds, in spite of

the control measures taken by farmers. If no action were taken to protect crops from weeds,

the losses would amount to 30% (Oerke et a!', 1994). Farmers in the industrialized

countries spend more money on controlling weeds than they do on any other pest

(Akobundu, 1987). Weed problems are also reflected in the costs of hiring labor to carry

out land preparation and weeding (Doll et a!', 1977). Weeding is time-consuming.

According to Harsch (2004). According to Le Bourgeois & Marnotte (2002) about 60% of

the time in farming is spent on the first clearing of the farm and on weeding.

Adequate water, nutrients, oxygen, and light are needed in order for crops to grow

well. Healthy soil is also a contributing factor. Soil supports plant growth by providing

those needs. Pechay and mustard grow in any kind of well-drained soil but moist or rich

sandy loam soil is preferable. Those soil conditions are susceptible to weeds which tend to

grow faster and are able to grab those resources that are supposedly for the crops. Thus,
protection of growing crops from weeds should be given attention. Weed control is

essential in agricultural cultivation.

Nowadays, robot systems have been widely employed in many applications such

in agricultural technology. Robots are kind of helpful in most of human daily routines and

are being designed to minimize manual labor. To be considered of any use in farming, the

researchers’ main concern is to utilize these robots in weed control.

Background of the Study

Province of Quezon is known in terms of agriculture wherein farming is the primary

source of living for most of its citizens. Some of the main vegetable crops produced are

pechay and mustard, which are suitable in the locality of Lucban wherein cool season last

throughout the year and often rains. Pechay and mustard usually planted from September

to December and make their best growth and good quality produced in cool conditions.

Due to these factors, the rapid growth of weeds became a problem in crop production. The

conventional way of removing weeds is to spray herbicides but it affects the yield as some

of the crop plants die along with the weeds and causes contamination. Also, the common

way is hand pulling/weeding, but this method is time consuming and causes stress on labor

due to intense heat of the sun and bending all the time to remove weeds.

Given these points, the researchers come up with a solution on removing weeds that

affects crops productivity. Through robotic machine with automatic detection and weed

removal system, use of herbicides and manual labor is prevented.

Objectives of the Study

The general objective of the study is to design weed removal robot. It specifically

aims the following:

1. To determine the electronics and mechanical concept of the prototype as well as the

materials needed and suitable components to be used in the research.

2. To create a program that will identify the crops from unwanted plants known as

weeds.

3. To determine the factors affecting the operation of the prototype.

4. To determine the effectiveness and efficiency of removing weeds with the use of a

robotic device.

Significance of the Study

Weed control is a significant issue in agricultural crop production. Weed compete

with crop plants and can have a detrimental impact in crop yields and quality if

uncontrolled. This study is conducted as a contribution in the field of agriculture and will

contribute to the improvement and advancement of our technology. By using advancement

of our technology, the researchers create a design of weed removal robot that can be use in

agriculture such as in the field of vegetable crop production.

With this study, the researcher exerted much effort in enhancing the mechanism of

the weed removal robot that will benefit some of groups or individuals that is related in

agriculture such as farmers and agriculturist. The result of the study would be of help to

various people.
 The primary beneficiaries will be the farmers as well as the farm owners, it would

be much help to them to eliminate weeds along the plants. Farmers could utilize this

technology to reduce input of chemicals and manual labor and for more efficient crop

production.

To the government, they may introduce the assembled machine to various

community organizations for the improvement and modification of the prototype with

proper funding to be used in wider aspects in farming.

Furthermore, this research study will benefit not only the farmers but also the

future researchers and individuals with related studies. The essential ideas discussed

herein will serve as guide and reference to promote new ideas and concepts, and further

development of the design.

Scope and Limitation

The primary concept of the prototype focuses on the development of a robotic

system for automatic weed removal. This research involves designing, prototyping and

testing of the system which identifies the undesirable plants from the crops in a plot through

image processing by radius variation and eliminate them by pulling with the use of robotic

arm.

The study covers only for the plants that can grow in a specific range of altitude.

Provided that, pechay and mustard are the subjects involve since they can only grow about

15 to 30 cm tall in vegetative stage. Pechay and mustard have ovate leaves so it appears

almost round in shape at the top perspective, given that, their radius can be measured.
 The prototype is composed of Raspberry Pi as the processor for the movement and

for the hand of the robot. And OpenCV for the image processing and object identification.

The target location of the prototype will be in Miramonte Subdivision Lucban, Quezon.

Definition of Terms

For better understanding of this study, and for the readers to clearly comprehend,

the following terms used by the researchers are hereby defined conceptually.

Crop Production is the quantity produced and actually harvested for a particular crop

during the reference period. It includes those harvested either damaged or not.

Image processing is a method used in performing some operations on a captured image,

to enhance the image and extract useful information. It is a

signal processing wherein input is an image and output is a characteristic

associated with the image.

Mustard is a dark leafy green vegetable with a sharp, nippy taste and oval-shaped leaves,

scalloped edges, and long stems.

Open Source Computer Vision (OpenCV) is a library of programming functions mainly

aimed at real-time computer vision. In simple language it is library used for Image

Processing. It is mainly used to do all the operation related to Images.

Pechay is a plant that has smooth, dark green leaf blades forming a bunch of leaves similar

to mustard and has thick, and whitish stalks.

Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor

or TV,and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable little device that

enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in

languages like Scratch and Python.

Robot is a machine that is programmable by a computer, capable of carrying out a complex

series of action automatically, and can perform desired tasks without continuous

human guidance.

Robot Arm is a type of mechanical arm, usually programmable, with similar functions to

a human arm and may be a part of a more complex robot.

Weed is a plant that is not desired where it is growing.

 Chapter II

REVIEW OF LITIRATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the related literature and studies gathered from foreign and

local sources which includes researches from internet and published books for better

understanding and wider knowledge with respect to the scope of the research study. The

information obtained will serve as the basis for the conceptual framework.

Related Literature

Weeds

A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the

wrong place". Examples commonly are plants unwanted in human-controlled settings, such

as farm fields, gardens, lawns, and parks. Taxonomically, the term "weed" has no

botanical significance, because a plant that is a weed in one context is not a weed when

growing in a situation where it is in fact wanted, and where one species of plant is a

valuable crop plant, another species in the same genus might be a serious weed. In the same

way, volunteer crops (plants) are regarded as weeds in a subsequent crop. Many plants that

people widely regard as weeds also are intentionally grown in gardens and other cultivated

settings, in which case they are sometimes called beneficial weeds. The term weed also is

applied to any plant that grows or reproduces aggressively, or is invasive outside its native

habitat. More broadly "weed" occasionally is applied pejoratively to species outside the
plant kingdom, species that can survive in diverse environments and reproduce quickly; in

this sense it has even been applied to humans.

Based from Weed Science: Principles and Practices by Monaco, Weller, and

Ashton, weed is defined as a plant growing where it is not desired, or a plant out of place—

some plant that, according to human criteria, is undesirable. For each particular situation,

we decide which plants are or are not desired in terms of how they affect our crops. The

same thinking is involved for any weed situation, whether in a crop field, a pasture, a body

of water, or in a noncropland or natural site. Weeds are also classed as pests and included

with insects, plant diseases, nematodes, and rodent pests. A chemical used specifically for

weed control is known as herbicide.

According to Weed Science: Principles and Applications by Wood Powell

Anderson, weeds are familiar plants of our environment which are seen, consciously and

unconsciously, infesting lawns, sidewalks, roadsides, fencerows, ditches and ditch bank,

ponds, waterways, gardens, croplands, rangelands and forest. Weeds are a part of the

agriculturist’s everyday life. In general, weeds adversely affect the use, economic value,

and aesthetic aspect of the land and waters that they infest.

Figure 2.1 Pictures of Weeds

Weed Management

Weed management is the process of keeping or minimizing the weed population

and their growth below the level of economic injury to the crop with minimum environment

pollution.

Weeds can be managed by adopting any suitable method of weed control and if

needed by combining two or more methods of weed control

According to Weed-Crop Ecology: Principles in Weed Management by R. J.

Aldrich, weed management is an approach in which weed prevention and control have

companion roles. It implies a system context in which all available tools are used to reduced

the propagule seed bank, prevent weed emergence with crops, and minimize competition

from weeds growing with crops. Thus, weed management has both immediate and long-

term objectives.

Weed Control

Weed control is the botanical component of pest control, which attempts to

stop weeds, especially harmful weeds, from competing with desired plants or crops, this

includes domesticated plants and in natural settings.

Weed control is important in agriculture. Many strategies have been developed in

order to contain these plants. Methods include hand cultivation, powered cultivation

with cultivators, smothering with protective covering, and chemical control

with herbicides (weed killers).

Hand Wedding

Hand weeding is easy to plan and implement, and is often the best way to control

small infestations, such as when a weed is first detected in an area. Hand weeding may be

a good alternative in sites where herbicides or other methods cannot be used. The key to

effective hand weeding is to remove as much of the root as possible while minimizing soil

disturbance. For many species, any root fragments left behind have the potential to re-

sprout, and pulling is not effective on plants with deep and/or easily broken roots.

Hand weeding is probably the oldest method of controlling weeds. This method

may be a practical way of removing a few scattered weeds from field. Hand weeding is

often the preferred methods for home, vegetable, or flower gardens containing a variety of

desirable plants in a small area.

Mechanical Weeding

Mechanical Weeding is where weeds are controlled using a rotating hoe; rotary or

conical weeder, to cultivate, uproot and bury emerging young weeds between rows of rice

plants. Mechanical weeding is a part of integrated weed management that refers to the

integrated use of manual and mechanical methods. The main advantages of mechanical

weeding are mechanical weeding is non-chemical and ecologically sound, less labor

needed, costs less, less drudgery and stress than in hand weeding. Whilst the limitations, it

is only suitable for row-planted crops, it is difficult in hardened soil or where water is

limited, it is difficult to remove weeds within crop rows, it is only effective with young

weed, and it needs more labor than chemical weed control.

Chemical Weed Control

In chemical weed control, chemicals called herbicides are used to kill certain plants

or inhibit their growth. Chemical weed control is an option in integrated weed management

that refers to the integrated use of cultural, manual, mechanical and/or chemical control

methods. Using this method serve to lessen labor, drudgery, and cost. No need to wait for

weeds to grow bigger for hand weeding, and herbicides can differentiate between rice and

weeds, even at seedling stage where it is very difficult for people to see the difference.

Whilst, the limitations; herbicides are toxic substances, which if used unwisely or

incorrectly can cause health and environment problems, weeds can develop herbicide

resistance if farmers are too reliant on one type of herbicide, drift risk to neighbors’ crop

and applicators require skills in application and calibration.

Robot

Robots have become an intelligent source of aid to humans and are used in many

fields of industry and everyday life. For many years, a great deal of research and

development has been carried out to equip robots with a force sensor, vision and

computerized control, to improved their intelligence and ability to interact with the

environment.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines robot as: “A machine capable of carrying

out a complex series of actions automatically, especially one programmable by a

computer.” And many other definitions of robots have been proposed such “Robot is

apparently human automation, intelligent and obedient but impersonal machine” and “A
Robot is an autonomous system which exist in the physical world, can sense its

environment, and can act on it to achieve some goals.”

Components of a Robot

Robot generally consists of five basic components:

1. CONTROLLER

Every robot is connected to a computer controller, which regulates the

components of the arm and keeps them working together. The controller also allows

the robot to be networked to other systems, so that it may work together with other

machines, processes, or robots. Almost all robots are pre-programmed using

"teaching" devices or offline software programs. In the future, controllers with

artificial intelligence (AI) could allow robots to think on their own, even program

themselves. This could make robots more self-reliant and independent.

2. ARM

The arm is the part of the robot that positions the end-effector and sensors

to do their pre-programmed business. Many are built to resemble human arms, and

have shoulders, elbows, wrists, even fingers. Each joint is said to give the robot 1

degree of freedom. A simple robot arm with 3 degrees of freedom could move in 3

ways: up and down, left and right, forward and backward. Most working robots

today have 6 degrees of freedom to allow them to reach any possible point in space

within its work envelope. The human arm has 7.

3. DRIVE

The links (the sections between the joints) are moved into their desired

position by the drive. Typically, a drive is powered by pneumatic or hydraulic

pressure, or electricity.

4. END-EFFECTOR

The end-effector could be thought of as the "hand" on the end of the robotic

arm. There are many possible end-effectors including a gripper, a vacuum pump,

tweezers, scalpel, blowtorch, welder, spray gun, or just about anything that helps it

do its job. Some robots can change end-effectors, and be reprogrammed for a

different set of tasks.

5. SENSOR

The sensor sends information, in the form of electronic signals back to the

controller. Sensors also give the robot controller information about its surroundings

and lets it know the exact position of the arm, or the state of the world around it.

One of the more exciting areas of sensor development is occurring in the field of

computer vision and object recognition. Robot sensors can detect infrared radiation

to "see" in the dark.

How Robot Works?

All robot must have:

 Movable Body

 Actuator

 Power Source

 Electrical Circuit

 Reprogrammable Brain

 Sensory System

Some robots only have motorized wheels, and others have dozens of movable

segments, typically made of metal or plastic. Like the bones in your body, the individual

segments are connected together with joints. Some robots use electric

motors and solenoids as actuators; some use a hydraulic system and a pneumatic system

which are all wired to an electrical circuit. A robot needs a power source to drive these

actuators. Most robots either have a battery or they plug into the wall. Most robots must

be reprogrammable to change the robot's behavior, by simply writing a new program to its

computer. Sensory system is optional if the environment is under consideration, sensors

can collect information about their environment and react to it.

Robotic Arm

The role of the arm is to move the end effector, enabling the terminal segment to

be positioned and oriented in the way required for the specific task. To elaborate this point,

it is necessary to define the degrees of freedom of a segment. An arm is made to move by

an actuator, converting primary energy into mechanical energy and producing a rotational
or translational movement that can be used directly or indirectly to move an articulation,

in either a rotational or linear way.

An arm is a polyarticular mechanism made up of segments or solid, rigid bodies

that can move relative to the base of the arm and articulations or bilateral connection

systems that limit the potential relative movement between adjacent segments. At least one

of the segments is connected to the base, which is referred to as the initial segment, the

segment that bears the end effector is called the terminal segment.

Robotic Hand

The robotic hand or end effector can be designed to perform any desired task such

as gripping, spinning etc., depending on the application. For example, robot arms

in automotive assembly lines perform a variety of tasks such as welding and parts rotation

and placement during assembly. In some circumstances, close emulation of the human

hand is desired, as in robots designed to conduct bomb disarmament and disposal.

Types of Robotic Arm

Figure 2.2 Types of Robotic Arm

Related Studies

Foreign

The study “Agricultural Weed Remover: a design equipped for removing unwanted

agricultural waste that prevents growth of unwanted weeds along with the cultivation

crops” exhibits a development of an efficient and cost-effective methods of mechanical

weeding so as to lessen the use of chemical and manual weed removal methods. The

authors unraveled the most Indian farmers’ main problem to cultivating crop production.

(Duraibalaji, Jaya Prakash, Jeevanandan, 2017).

Seo, Seung Je, in 2014 conducted a study entitled “Weed Remover”. The study

enables a worker to clamp weeds with a clamp and inject an herbicide into the weeds such
that the herbicide cannot touch crops or farmland, thereby preventing damage to the crops,

preventing conventional environmental pollution caused by spraying herbicides, and

effectively removing only unwanted weeds.

The study “Automatic Weed Removal on Railway Track with Image Recognition

Control” conducted by Kuehbauch Walter Prof Dr on August 4, 1993, contains tv cameras

and processor to compute weed coverage and with spatially controlled spraying of track.

The author made the system calibrated to detect green colour of set composition in which

the weed control vehicle has sensors, or cameras to scan the track and a processor to convert

the signals into a measure of green coverage as if the green (weed) coverage exceeds a set

value then that area is treated with herbicide via controlled spray heads.

“Intelligent Weeding Robot Suitable for Complex Terrain” by Feng Baolin, Zhao

Ming, Huang DaweI, et al, 2018, a study that solved the technical problem that an existing

weeding robot lacks, which are the adaptability to the complex terrain such as farmland

bumps and water depression surfaces. In this study, efficient weeding work can be

conducted in the complex terrain, meanwhile, a crawler-type travelling device enlarges the

unit grounding area of the robot and the ground, and damage to the farmland ground is

reduced.

A study conducted by Feng Baolin, Lu Xiaobo, Wang Rongchuan, et al, in

December 26, 2017 entitled “Environment-Friendly Intelligent Weeding Robot” deals with

technical problems that an existing weeding robot has, which are the low intelligent degree,

and secondary surviving possibility of weeds exists after weeding. This modification of

weeding robot comprises a carrier trolley, a weeding device, smashing devices, vision

inspection devices and a navigation device.

 The study “Weed Removal System and Method: system for removing weed from

the roots”, comprises a radio-frequency generator configured to generate high power radio-

frequency signals, an antenna configured to transmit the generated high-power radio-

frequency signals toward the roots of the weed, and a detecting and controlling unit

configured to monitor the position of the antenna to generate position signals and further

configured to control the generation of high power radio-frequency signals by the radio-

frequency generator based on the position signals. (Kakade Anandrao Bajirao, May 19,

2017).

Liang Baichu conducted a study on August 9, 2017 called “Low-Cost Weeding

Robot”. The robot comprises a robot body which has four wheels, a GPS module for

navigation, and mechanical arm. The mechanical arm comprises a mechanical arm fixing

bottom plate, with mechanical arm fixing bottom plate, manipulator, a tail end actuator is

connected to the manipulator, and a weed recognizing camera is connected to the forearm.

The master control circuit controls moving of the mechanical arm with a single-chip

microcomputer. The multi-joint mechanical arm suitable for the field weeding function is

designed for the robot, weeding control based on visual information is achieved, and the

robot has the advantages of being high in recognizing precision and good in weeding effect.

Local

The study titled “Development of Rice Field Motorized Weeder” by Aaron Val L.

Italia and Byron V. Maritana make an improvement on previous design of rice field weeder

by developing its efficiency in terms of its weeding process by applying motor for the

weeder. The researchers used the experimental type of research with regards to the
assembly of the machine. A total of 3 trials in each kind of soil were conducted. It was

found that the efficiency of the machine in weeding has an average value of 86.86% for

hard, 84.46% for mild and 75.71% for soft. Its overall efficiency rated to 82.48%.

The research study conducted by Erick C. Remoroza and Dennis Leo A. Contreras

entitled “Modified Dual Rotavator Rice Field Weeder” constructed a mechanical weeding

actuation system. The actuator was developed to mechanically control rice plant weeds.

The mechanical weeding actuator consisted of a belt drive system powered by an integrated

gasoline motor and a rotating blade weeding mechanism powered by motor. The actuator

is accompanied by operator vision guiding the weeding actuator to execute mechanical

weeding operations without damaging rice plant.

“Remote Controlled Motorized Rice Field Weeder” a research designed by Sarah

Jean M. Calusa, Jenny E. Castillo and Mark Aljon R. Lusanta, an improved research design

of Rice Field Weeder done by Jaynar and Soriano by developing a machine that will

automatically perporm the weeding process.

Conceptual Framework

The Conceptual Framework is formulated based upon the information from related

literatures and studies, and is used to accomplish the research study. The input consists of

requirements and concerns with regards to the study. Establishing the research study,

processes are to be carried out to achieve the objectives of the study. As a result, the finish

output that is presented is a Prototype of Weed Removal Robot.

 INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

- Land degradation - Gather information

and reducing farm about weed
productivity because management and
of weeds. weed control.
- Topological - Design the
condition of Lucban prototype of the
that affects the weed robot.
growth in field crop
- Prepare the
production.
necessary materials
- Characteristics of and electronic
Pechay and Mustard components. Weed Removal
such how high it can Robot for Weed
- Create the program Control for Field
grow, color, how
and circuit of the Crop Production of
weeds affect these
system. Pechay and Mustard
types of plant etc.
- Assemble the
-Weed identification
entirety of the robot.
using image
processing in - Perform and test the
OpenCV python. operation of the
system and
- Integration of
determine
mechanical,
functional-errors.
electronic and
robotic components - Monitor, analyze
for the prototype. and manipulate data.
- Programming and - Evaluate the
processing in effectiveness of the
Raspberry-Pi. developed prototype.

Figure 2.3 Conceptual Framework

 Based from the conceptual framework, the problem that the researchers want to

resolve is the decreasing crop productivity of pechay and mustard and land degradation

because of the existence of weeds. The researchers gathered relevant information about

pechay and mustard and the topological condition of the research locale particularly in

Lucban. The canvassed mechanical and electronic components and devices are taken into

account for the assembly of the prototype and the acquired knowledge regarding

programming and processing served as the input. On the process, gathering relevant

information, conceptualizing design, preparing components, creating program, simulating

circuit, assembling, testing, monitoring and evaluating the prototype. The prototype serve

as the output of the study which will be called as Weed Removal Robot for Weed Control

for Field Crop Production of Pechay and Mustard.

 Chapter III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter contains the summary of methods along the design process and

construction of the Prototype of Robotic Weed Remover for Plotted Pechay And Mustard

providing the readers specific perspective on how the research was conducted. It includes

the setting of the project, the participants involved, the instrument used and the process in

achieving the purpose of the study. Furthermore, it comprises gathering, organizing and

recording of information and interpreting the data based on the principles acquired for the

development of the study.

Research Locale

The research project “Prototype of Robotic Weed Remover for Plotted Pechay and

Mustard” will be conducted during the time period starting from the month of January 2019

up to the month of December 2019 and the location of the study will be in Miramonte

Subdivision Lucban, Quezon which have local farmers and gardeners that cultivate pechay

and mustard. The proximity of the testing area will be considered to facilitate the

accomplishment of the study.

Research Respondents

A total of 30 (thirty) individuals who are involved in farming or gardening will be

the respondents of the study, and are intendedly chosen since they have awareness when it
comes to the concepts used in the study. Those included are farmers, vegetable gardeners,

agriculturists, and nonfarmers who are correlated to the study. This will greatly benefit the

respondents and various people who are involved in agriculture and farming.

Research Design

The prototype will function to identify and remove unwanted plants in an area of

planted ground. The operation is to move in a plot with planted pechay and mustard,

capture the area, determine the weeds by performing image processing using software

application OpenCV and remove the determined weeds by the use of a robotic arm driven

by a program processed by Raspberry Pi. The type of the research study will be applied

considering its nature and objectives.

Research Instrument

To gather statistically useful data, the prototype will undergo several trials and

testing and a questionnaire will be prepared by the researchers and will be verified by the

adviser. The set of questions includes the effectiveness of the prototype on weed control,

the quality or state of being usable and reliable as well as the beneficial factor of the project

in farming. Also, questions regarding to the problems encountered with the function of the

protype were included.

 As part of our research thesis at the Southern Luzon State University, the

researchers have prepared a questionnaire that might help to determine the effectiveness of

the developed prototype. The researchers will appreciate if you could complete the

following table. Any information obtained in connection with this study that can be

identified with you will remain confidential.

Table 3.5. Questionnaire for the respondents

Factors (1) (2) (3) (4)

The robot removes weeds in the plot.

The crop is not harmed during the weeding.

The robot works on dry/hard soil.

The robot works on moist/soft soil.

The weeds are identified correctly.

The robot is always in the exact position.

The weeds are removed in short span of time.

The weeds are removed fully.

The device moved along the path accurately.

The prototype function automatically.

Research Procedure

The following are the step by step procedures to accomplished the study. This

include the planning, prototype construction and testing up to documentation.

1. Planning and Conceptualizing

The researchers planned and conceptualized the study based on one

of the observed problems existing in agriculture. This study will relate to

the said issue and will be resolved by the application of the acquired

learnings in electronics engineering. Planning the study will also include the

precise time table for each activity.

2. Gathering of Data

Various references which include research and studies from internet

and books, as well as published and unpublished thesis located at the

university library serve as basis in gathering data and information. The

researchers consulted to some professionals and people with expertise in the

field of study to fully understand the extent of the study specifically the

design and operation of the project and the suitable materials to be used.

3. Preparation of Materials and Components

Preparation of materials and components will rely to the design and

will be based from the gathered information about the necessary materials

and learned components that will suit the best to the design. Canvassing and

consultation will also be conducted.

4. Designing and Construction of Circuits

For better simulation and manipulation of the circuit, electronics

software will be utilized to aid the design to function the prototype more

effectively. Circuit design will involve using simulators and circuit software

such as Multisim, Livewire etc., and for circuit lay-out the researchers will

use Target.

5. Programming

The prototype will consist of Raspberry Pi microcontroller for

system automation such as the execution of the robot arm and movement of

the prototype along the plot, and OpenCV software application for image

processing. At first, the image will be processed based on color. The parts

of the image which are non-green color will be eliminated and only the

green colored ones will be treated as circle-shaped. The radius that fell on

the designated range will be considered as the desired plants. Whilst, the

ones that are below the range, more probably smaller radius will be treated

as weeds. The location of the detected weeds will be signaled to the robot

arm driven by the microcontroller and will tend to remove the weed in that

particular location. The codes gathered from the internet and books in the

library will serve as basis of the working program for the system. The

acquired knowledge in seminars and trainings relative to programing will

also be equipped.
6. Prototype Assembly

The prototype will be assembled when simulation and programming

is done. For the weed identification, USB camera will be installed at the

system to capture the plants and weeds in the area of planted ground,

together with a program for identifying weeds from crops that is generated

in the OpenCV software which is saved in an SD. Four wheels, each driven

by motor will also be installed for the robot to move along the entire area.

Also installed in the system is a robot arm that will be used to remove the

weeds by mechanical pulling. The USB camera, wheels, and the robot arm

will be signaled and controlled by Raspberry Pi which will be responsible

for the successive operation of each component. Lastly, these will be

installed in a designed robotic structure.

7. Testing

The researchers will conduct several trials and the prototype will

undergo a series of test to determine the functionality of the camera, wheels,

robot arm and Raspberry Pi. To determine if there are errors that might

occur within the operation, the program will also be tested. The system will

be troubleshooted to find out some of the factors that might affect the

function of the system.

Table 3.1 Performance Test of Robotic Weed Remover in Terms of Number of Weeds

Weeded and Effectiveness at # ft per lane

Number of Weeds
Lanes Effectiveness%
Before After
1
2
3
4
Average

The researchers will record the number of weeds before and after the operation of

the prototype in a way that the effectiveness of the Robotic Weed Remover can be

calculated.

Table 3.2 Performance Test of Robotic Weed Remover in Terms of Time and Area
Covered

Lanes Time (s) Area (in2) Rate

1
2
3
4

The researchers will record the time of the operation in a particular area in a way

that the performance rate can be calculated in several trials.

Table 3.3 Performance Test of Robotic Weed Remover in Dry/Hard Soil Condition
Number of Weeds
Lanes Dry / Hard Soil Moist / Soft Soil
Before After Weeded Before After Weeded
1
2
3
4
Ave.
 The prototype will operate in dry/hard soil and moist/soft soil condition. The

weeded parameter pertains to the number of weeds before minus the number of weeds after

the operation.

Table 3.4 Average Number of Weeds and Machine Efficiency on (Land Area)
Average Number of Weeds
Kind of Soil Efficiency %
Before After Weeded
Dry/Hard
Moist/Soft
Average

This table refers to the average number of weeds weeded on both dry and soft soil

condition. The researchers will compare the performance of the prototype in both

conditions.

8. Documentation

Documentation involves the use of journal starting from thesis

conceptualizing and planning up until thesis defense. The journal serves as

the accounts of day-to-day records of activity regarding to the study.

Documentation also includes the compilation of photographs of the

researchers while doing the study and recorded videos starting from the first

trial of the prototype.

Statistical Treatment

The computations of various equations were obtained from different textbooks that

are in line with the study. Contents and some specifications of certain materials were

provided from technical tables and charts.

For overall machine efficiency

Wb−Wa
Effectiveness % = x100
Wb

Where: Wa = total number of weeds per lane after weeding

Wb = total number of weeds per lane before weeding

Ww
Efficiency = x100%
Wb

Where: Ww = total number of weeded weeds

Wb = total number of weeds before weeding

𝐴
Rate =
𝑡

Where: A = Particular area of the plot (in2)

t = Time spent on the operation (s)

Gantt Chart

Gantt chart is used in the research to schedule the project activities that will be

conducted in the study. This also indicates the target date to when the activity will be done

and when the whole study will be finished. The table below shows the pertinent

information for the project:

Table 3.6 Project Scheduling with known Activity Time

Duration
Activities
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov

Planning

Data Gathering: Library

Data Gathering: Consultation

Data Gathering: Internet

Canvassing Materials

Purchasing Materials

Circuit Simulation

PCB Layout

Programming

Prototype Assembly

Testing

Documentation
Block Diagram

Power Supply

Motor 1 Motor 2
(Wheel) (Wheel)

Camera Microcontroller Robot Arm

(Raspberry Pi) (Weeder)

Figure 3.2 Block Diagram

The Block Diagram shows the operation of the system. The camera will capture the

area with weeds. The image will undergo image processing to identify the weeds to be

removed. After the image processing the robot will move by means of wheels driven by

motors supplied with dc current to the area to be weeded. When the robot is in position the

weeding process will start with the use of robot arm supplied by the power supply and

controlled by a program generated in the raspberry pi.

 Prototype Design

USB Camera

Components

Robot Arm
17”

Robot Hand

Wheel Driven by Motor

Wheel

Figure 3.2 Prototype Design

Financial Statement

Table 3.7 Budgetary Outlay

Materials Cost
Quantity Materials Unit Price (Php) Cost (Php)
1 Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ 2,400 2,400
1 USB Camera 300 300
2 Wheels 300 600
2 Wheels Driven by Motor 450 900
2 DC Motor 3A, 12V 630 1260
1 Lead Acid Battery 7A, 12V 600 600
2 Galvanized Metal Sheet 350 700
5 Aluminum Flat Bars (m) 170/0.6m 1417
5 Copper Wires (m) 45 225
20 Screws 11 220
20 Bolts and Nuts 20 400
1 Photo PCB 60 60
2 Soldering Lead (m) 20 40
1 Ferric Chloride (500ml) 90 90
2 Spray Paint (300g) 120 240
1 Switch 30 30
Subtotal 9,482
Labor Cost
Cost
Manpower
(Php)
Welder 2,000
Subtotal 2,000
Total Cost
Materials Cost 9,482
Labor Cost 2,000
Total 11,482