Solar Powered Automatic Lawn mower

Using Arduino

I. Background of the Study

In 2023, thousands of people are using push mowers and

traditional mowers, there are 11,247 employed mowers in the United

States and is expected to increase in numbers (zippia.com, 2022). The

number of people using lawn mowers in the Philippines are also

expected to increase in the future. Lawn mowers provide an easy way to

properly maintain and protect your lawn, it can be used to cut grass

fields to make your lawn prettier and nicer.

Traditional push mowers use gas and a bulky motor to achieve

the ability to cut the grass cleanly. However the traditional lawn mowers

can be hard to use because it is heavy, it also causes pollution because

it uses gas as a power source. So we the Grade 9 STE of Governor

Julian Fullon Pacificador National School have planned to make an

automatic lawn mower.

Automatic lawn mowers use cutting-edge technology to keep your

lawn consistently trimmed with almost no effort on your part. By cutting

just a few millimeters of grass off the top every day, your lawn stays

sharply manicured without noticeable streaks. In addition, robot lawn

mowers can be equipped with a solar panel to have the ability to be

charged and used when the sun is out shining (Lawnlove.com, Stephen

Kime, 2022).

There are many advantages of having a robot lawn mower as

opposed to a gas powered one. First of all the chore of mowing your

lawn is all but eliminated. Mowing a big lawn in the hot sun may be a

daunting task and may even pose dangers like getting a heat stroke.

The second advantage is the efficiency of a robot lawn mower, these

mowers can mow your lawn every day without you having to do it.

Furthermore, it can also efficiency mow your lawn using GPS or

ultrasonic sensors, and thus you can avoid having visible streaks of

longer blades of grass compared to its surroundings. The last advantage

is it is also a lot quieter compared to gas mowers, and can reduce noise

pollution and be used in a crowded neighborhood.

(www.amsrobotics.co.uk, 2023)

Gas powered lawn mowers produce about 95 decibels of noise

when in use (cleanairlawncare.com, 2022). Gas mowers can also be

very dangerous, since they use gasoline or petrol as a fuel. Anything

over 70 decibels of noise may start to damage your hearing (cdc.gov,

2022).

It is estimated that hour-for-hour, gasoline powered lawn mowers

produce 11 times as much pollution as a new car. Each gas-powered

lawn mower produces as much air pollution as 43 new automobiles

driven 12,000 per year – lawn care produces 13 billion pounds of toxic

pollutants per year (epa.gov, 2023). This is why we want to try to make a
robot lawn mower that is powered by the sun to help prevent injuries and

more efficiently mow your lawn.

II. Objectives

Generally the objective of this experiment is to try and create a robot

that can cut the grass fields efficiently without the need of an operator.

The study specifically aims to:

1. To determine how effective a solar powered automatic lawn

mower is.

2. To determine how it can help in maintaining grass fields / lawns.

3. To determine if it is more efficient than the ones in the market

currently.

III. Significance of the study

The study will be beneficial to:

1. Students, in this study we will be building an automatic lawn mower

that is powered by an Arduino, this can help clean and maintain the

grass fields in Governor Jullon Fullon Pacificador National School

and thus they will have a better looking and well mowed field.

2. Teachers, they will benefit from this as a fun experimental project

for STE 9 Students, along with the maintained grass fields the robot

can also be used to teach students how an Arduino works.

3. Community, they can benefit from having a lawn mower robot that

can clean and maintain their lawn automatically.

 4. Future researchers can benefit from this study by analyzing what

we did, Learn from the mistakes we make and this can also serve

as a base if the researchers want to make a similar study.

IV. Methodology

For this project to be made possible, we used a couple of

components to able to allow the robot to work.

List of Materials:

A. 1 Arduino UNO

This will be used to control the motor drivers and read the

sensor data from the ultrasonic sensors and turn the robot in

order to avoid obstacles.

B. 1 Solar panel with Solar charge controller

This will be used to charge the battery while in operation.

C. 1 12v to 5v Converter

This will be used to step down the 12v of the battery to 5v for the

Arduino

D. 1 12v Battery

This will be used to store the energy and to power the robot

E. 1 HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor

This will be used to detect the obstacles

F. 2 DC Motors with Wheels

This will be used to steer the robot and allow it to move

G. 1 Front Wheel

This will be used to stabilize the front of the mower

H. 2 L298N Dual Motor Driver

This will be used to control the steering

I. High Power DC Motor with Cutting Blade

This will be used to cut the grass

J. Jumper Wires, Switches, Bolts and Screws

This will be used to connect the different components and

frames

K. Aluminum or Metal Frame

This will be used as the body of the robot

L. Soldering Iron and soldering lead

These will be used for soldering the connections of the robot

M. Electrical Tape
 This will be used to insulate the connections and joints of the

robot

N. Battery Powered Drill

This will be used to make holes in the frame of the robot

Procedures:

1. Mount the Arduino UNO, HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor, DC Motors

and Front Wheel to the frame using screws.

2. Attach the High-Power DC Motor and the cutting blade in the middle

of the frame.

3. Attach the LL298N Dual Motor Driver beside the Arduino.

4. Attach the 12v battery and solar charge to the frame using

mounting screws or epoxy

5. Connect both L298N Dual Motor Driver to the Arduino using jumper

wires

6. Connect the DC Motors with Wheels to one of the Dual Motor Driver

(1)

7. Connect the High-Power DC Motor with the other L298N Dual

Motor Driver (2)

8. Connect the HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor to the Arduino using

jumper wires

9. Connect the switch in between the battery and 12v to 5v converter

and use electrical tape for insulation.

 10. Connect the 12v to 5v converter from the switch and into the

Arduino UNO board.

11. Double check the connections from the Arduino and components to

make sure they are correct and secure

12. Program the Arduino using the Arduino IDE

Pictures:

Figure 1 & 2: Preperation of Frame and Solar Panel

Figure 3 & 4: Wiring The

Connections
Figure 5: Testing of Electrical Connections

Here is a basic circuit diagram of how the

robot will be connected (Keep in mind this isn’t

the final circuit and will be subject to change)

And here is the more detailed version of the circuit diagram

Amsrobotics.co.uk – Information about advantages of lawn mowers

Zippia.com – Information about how many people use lawn mowers in the US

Cleanairlawncar.com – Information about how much noise a lawn mower

produces

Alliedmarketresearch.com – Information about how robot lawn mowers work

and the robot lawn mower market in general

EPA – Information about hearing capability and hearing damage

CDC – Information about the dangers of using gas powered mowers

Robot Lawn Mower with an Arduino Heart Study:

https://www.open-electronics.org/a-robotic-lawn-mowers-powered-by-solar-

energy-with-an-arduino-heart/