AGC: AUTOMATED GRASS CUTTER

A DESIGN PROJECT

SUBMITTED TO

THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING

(BS CpE)

JAILANE ANN R. LABORDO

KORINA M. PANLILIO

IRENE A. RACAB

JANINA XUZA T. RAMIREZ

APRIL 2018
 AGC: Automated Grass Cutter
J.A. Labordo K. Panlilio
Abstract—the present technology commonly used for
trimming the grass is by using the manually handle device. In
this project we have automated the machine for trimming the
grass. The device consists of blade which is operated with the
help of the motor the power supply for the motor is by using
battery. The battery can be charge by using solar panel. In case
of any obstacles in the path it is sensed by using a GP2Y sharp
sensor
Keywords— GP2Y Sharp sensor, DC Motor, Solar panel,
Solar Controller, Android/Remote Control, PIC16F877A
I. INTRODUCTION
Throughout the 20th century, technology plays an
important role in our society. Using technology, a task can be
easier and able to do things that we cannot. It’s more reliant
to the innovation that makes our life simpler and easier. It
innovates every day and gave us productive ways to help us
in our daily lives. These technological developments have
greatly increased the growth in pollution which is a major
issue on Earth. In some cases, Gas powered lawn mowers are
responsible for pollution due to the emission of gases. Also
the cost of fuel is increasing hence it is not efficient.
Traditionally, lawn mowers are often clunky pieces of
machinery that involves a lot of strength and energy to use.
By conducting this study, the proponents decided to create an
Automated Grass Cutter that will help easier and sufficient
use in the field of grass cutting. These present and high-tech
grass cutters however, have been creatively designed to make
the whole landscaping process much simpler and easier for
the user and the whole machine operated on solar energy
store in battery, the GP2Y sharp sensor is use for obstacle
detection to avoid any damage of human objects and animal.
II. RELATED WORKS
For further understanding of the study, the proponents
made use of different reading materials related to the online
system. These materials such as books, thesis and other web
articles are essential in broadening the knowledge of the
researchers.
A. Related Literature
1) Cylinder Lawn Mower
The first lawn mower was invented by Edwin
Budding in 1830 in Thrupp, just outside Stroud,
in Gloucestershire, England. Budding's mower was designed
primarily to cut the grass on sports grounds and extensive
gardens, as a superior alternative to the scythe, and was
I. Racab J.X.T. Ramirez
granted a British patent on August 31, 1830.Budding's first
machine was 19 inches (480 mm) wide with a frame made
of wrought iron. The mower was pushed from behind. Cast-
iron gear wheels transmitted power from the rear roller to
the cutting cylinder, allowing the rear roller to drive the
knives on the cutting cylinder; the ratio was 16:1. Another
roller placed between the cutting cylinder and the main or
land roller could be raised or lowered to alter the height of
cut. The grass clippings were hurled forward into a tray-like
box. It was soon realized, however, that an extra handle was
needed in front to help pull the machine along. Overall,
these machines were remarkably similar to modern mowers.
Reel mower history dates back hundreds of years.
Prior to the early 1800s, a home's lawn maintenance fell
largely to grazing animals or the manual use of scythes,
swing blades and gardening sheers. For people with the time
and inclination to manicure their lawns, this worked just
fine. But the 19th-century world was experiencing rapid
change. Europe was riding the wave of technological
achievements and discoveries, known today as the Industrial
Revolution.
Inventors throughout the 1800s made huge strides,
from developing steam power to manufacturing machine
parts. Inventors aimed their efforts at improving vital
production processes such as coal mining, textile production
and transportation. New technologies, however, always have
a way of trickling down to even the most mundane uses.
Two of the earliest Budding machines sold went to Regent's
Park Zoological Gardens in London and the Oxford
Colleges. In an agreement between John Ferrabee and
Edwin Budding dated May 18, 1830, Ferrabee paid the costs
of enlarging the small blades, obtained letters of patent and
acquired rights to manufacture, sell and license other
manufacturers in the production of lawn mowers. Without
patent Budding and Ferrabee were shrewd enough to allow
other companies to build copies of their mower under
license, the most successful of these being Ransoms of
Ipswich, which began making mowers as early as 1832.
The two engineers simply took the bladed reel,
mounted it on a wheeled cart and arranged a system of gears
to transfer wheel rotation to reel rotation. The mowers were
heavy, cast-iron devices, but after Budding and
Ferrabee's patents expired, other inventors began improving
on the design. These new reel mowers were lighter and
required less effort to push. Some inventors even replaced
the gears with drive chains, like those on bicycles.
During the 1890s, other inventors attempted to add a
power source to reel mowers. They tried
both horsepower and steam power before small-engine
technology advanced enough to become the standard.
Today, most of the gas mowers used for home lawns are
rotary mowers, which employ a horizontal, fan-shaped
blade. While gas-powered reel mowers are still around,
many of them are large, tractor-powered vehicles intended
for the upkeep of sports fields and farms.
While gas and electric-powered mowers have
continued to evolve over the decades, the manual reel
mower's basic design has remained the same.
His machine was the catalyst for the preparation of
modern-style sporting ovals, playing fields (pitches), grass
courts, etc. This led to the codification of modern rules for
many sports, including for football, lawn bowls, lawn
tennis and others. Edwin Budding, (1827)
Fig.1 Cylinder Lawn Mower
2) String Trimmer
The String Trimmer was designed by the American
entrepreneur, George Charles Ballas in 1971. This design
also called as “weed eater” in the beginning of the
development because when it chewed up the grass and
weeds around tress. Ballas got the ideas to develop this
device while watching the rotating brushes when he driving
through the automatic car washes. For the Ballas ideas, this
concept use the concept of rotating the fishing line in high
speed rotation using the power from the gasoline engine that
driven by the propeller. When the propellers rotate the
string, it produces the high speed rotation that exerts the
centripetal force to prevent the string from flying off in the
straight line under the inertia law. The powerful rotation
occurs, it provide higher speed of the cutting section. String
Trimmer mostly used in the small area of grass section. This
is because the design of this machine is created for the home
garden. It is suitable for a small area because of the designs
for cutting section is small and the users need to take on the
string trimmer to cut the grass. This operation can be
determined as traditional concept because the users carry on
this powered handheld machine during cutting the grass.
The disadvantages of this concept design is when we
want to cut the big grass area such as golf field or
recreational field, it need such a long working time to reach
the goal of cutting process. It also requires more workers to
complete the work compare to the other machines.
Therefore, it is produce the risk for the user during the
operation because of safety during the cutting process
requires the users to wear the safety tools such as eye
protection and safety boots. The operator should have the
proper personal protective equipment (PPE) including safety
glasses and hearing protection. A full face shield, long pants
and long sleeves are also recommended. A string trimmer
user must also be very aware of their surroundings. Flying
rocks and debris can injure onlookers and damage property.
George Charles Ballas, (1971)
Fig. 2 String Trimmer
3) Hover mower
The first Hover Mower was reportedly invented by a
Swede by the name of Karl Dahlman in 1964. Originally
powered by a 2-stroke Italian engine, the Hover Mower was
available in only a 19″ model, but by the late 60’s an electric
model was added to the line. Flymo was the name for the
mower and has since become the generic name for Air
Cushioned Hover Mowers.
 Flymo was introduced to the United States in the late
60’s under the slogan “Mowing made easy on a cushion of
air.” Ongoing quality, distribution and legal issues led to the
demise of the company’s sales in North America. Flymo
continues to be a very strong brand name in Europe. It has
essentially retreated completely from the domestic
landscape.
The Allen Hover Mower first appeared in 1982 under
the name Crown Hover Mowers. It was first designed and
built by the Templar Tillers Company in the United
Kingdom. Using the same air cushion idea seen in the
Flymo machines, Templer Tiller improved on the
performance and durability of hover mowers with a newer
deck design and by using commercial grade materials (like
ABS Plastic) in manufacturing.
Hover mowers are powered rotary push lawn mowers
that use a turbine above the spinning blades to drive air
downwards, thereby creating an air cushion that lifts the
mower above the ground. The operator can then easily move
the mower as it floats over the grass. Hover mowers are
necessarily light in order to achieve the air cushion and
typically have plastic bodies with an electric motor. The
most significant downside, however, is the cumbersome
usability in rough terrain or on the edges of lawns, as the
lifting air-cushion is destroyed by wide gaps between the
chassis and the ground.
These have a rotary action, but hover on a cushion of
air so there are no wheels required for mowing. However,
transport wheels are occasionally provided. These mowers
generally have a lower footprint than other mowers and are
relatively lightweight so are easy to store. They are ideal for
small to medium sized gardens.
These mowers are easy to man oeuvre round complex
obstacles like beds, paths and stumps; but they are not all
that good on large areas of open ground. Having said that,
they do not leave wheel marks as four-wheelers do. The
other strengths of hover lawn mowers are that they are
designed for grassy banks and that they can be hung up in
the shed. These are powered rotary push lawn mowers that
utilize an impeller above the spinning blades to push air
downwards, thereby creating an air cushion that lifts the
mower above the ground. The lawn mower then can be
easily moved as it floats over the grass. Hover mowers are
light in order to achieve enough lift so typically they have
plastic bodies with an electric motor. The most significant
downside, however, is the cumbersome usability in rough
terrain or on the edges of lawns, as the lifting air-cushion is
destroyed by wide gaps between the chassis and the ground.
Hover mowers are built to operate on steep slopes,
waterfronts, and high-weeded areas, so they are often used
by golf courses and commercial landscapers. The quality of
cut can be inferior if the grass is pushed away from the
blade by the cushion of air. Flymo, (1960)
Fig. 3 Hover Mower
B. Related Studies
1) Smart Solar Lawn Mower
The fully automated solar grass cutter is a fully
automated grass cutting robotic vehicle powered by solar
energy that also avoids obstacles and is capable of fully
automated grass cutting without the need of any human
interaction. The system uses 6V batteries to power the
vehicle movement motors as well as the grass cutter motor.
We also use a solar panel to charge the battery so that there
is no need of charging it externally. The grass cutter and
vehicle motors are interfaced to an 8051 family
microcontroller that controls the working of all the motors.
It is also interfaced to an ultrasonic sensor for object
detection. The microcontroller moves the vehicle motors in
forward direction in case no obstacle is detected. On
obstacle detection the ultrasonic sensor monitors it and the
microcontroller thus stops the grass cuter motor to avoid any
damage to the object/human/animal whatever it is.
Microcontroller then turns the robotic as long as it gets clear
of the object and then moves the grass cutter in forward
direction again.
 Fig.1. Smart Solar Lawn Mower

III. PROPOSED WORK Figure 3.2 Top View

AGC: Automated Grass Cutter is a design project is
made up of GP2Y Sharp sensor, DC Motors, Solar panel,
Android/Remote Control, PIC16F877A, battery, collapsible
blades and a link mechanism. The D.C. motor forms the
heart of the machine and provides the driving force for the
collapsible blades. This is achieved by the combined effect
of mechanical action of the cutting blades and the forward
thrust of the mower.

Solar power as an energy source will address a number

of issues that standard internal combustion engine mowers
do not. There is no messy dangerous gasoline to deal with
most importantly it eliminates the emissions of an internal
combustion mower. Lawnmowers employing a blade that
rotates about a vertical axis are known as rotary mowers,
while those employing a blade assembly that rotates about a
Figure 3.3 Back View
horizontal axis are known as cylinder or reel mowers.

Figure 3.1 Conceptual Design of Robot Grass Cutter

Figure 3.4 Side View
 Figure 3.5 Bottom View

Figure 3.7 The Motion Platform of the Grass Cutter

with remote control Access

Figure 3.6 SDLC Model

Figure 3.8 Block Diagram

 IV. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
Almost all electronics components generate, store,
control or switch electricity in some way. A circuit is made
of various components that act together to produce a desired
effect.
There are two types of current: DC, which stands
for Direct Current and AC, which stands for Alternating
Current. DC is what you get from a battery and flows in
only one direction. AC on the other hand is alternating
current, alternating because it changes direction a number of
times per second, which is specified as frequency. The AC
we get from the power company has a frequency of 50 or 60
cycles per second.
Table 4.1 Open Area for Manual

Covered Area
TIME(Minutes) DISTANCE(meter)
(Completion)
10 minutes 6m
15%
20 minutes 12 m
30%
Figure 3.9 System Flowchart 30 minutes 18 m
45%
40 minutes 24 m
60%
50 minutes 30 m
75%
60 minutes 36 m
90%

Table 4.2 Open Areas for Automated

Covered
TIME(Minutes) DISTANCE(meter)
Area(Completion)
10 minutes 8m
20%
20 minutes 16 m
40%
30 minutes 24 m
60%
40 minutes 32 m
80%
50 minutes 40 m
100%

The table shows the output of the actual testing for the open
area lawn in automated and manual mode. The distance it
traveled in minutes and how wide the area the robot
Figure 3.10 Schematic Diagram covered.
 Assessment of the Proponents on Manual and REFERENCES:
Automated Grass Cutter

[1] Ashish Kumar Chaudhari, YuvrajSahu, PramodkumarSahu,

Table 4.3 System in terms of Accumulated Time Subhash Chandra Verma, Smart Solar Grass Cutter Robot for Grass
Trimming, International Journal of Advance Research and
DISTA ELAPSE Innovative Ideas in Education, Vol. 2, 2016, 1246-1251.
TEST RUN START END
NCE D TIME

X [2] Ashish Kumar Chaudhari, YuvrajSahu, Prabhat Kumar Dwivedi,

40m 2
02:00:00: 01:00:00: 60 mins. Harsh Jain, Experimental Study of Solar Power Grass Cutter Robot,
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V. CONCLUSION
In this chapter, the main findings with regard to the
research questions are summarized and general conclusions
based on the findings of the studies presented in this thesis
are described. Furthermore, the strengths and limitations of
this thesis are considered and suggestions for further
research into higher education are presented. This chapter
concludes with recommendations of Automated Grass
Cutter for future works.
[4] T. Karthick, S. Lingadurai, K. Muthuselvan, M. Muthuvanesh, C.
PravinTamilselvan, Grass Cutting Machine Using Solar Energy,
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Development of Solar Powered Lawn Mower, International Journal
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VI. RECOMENDATION
The project AGC: Automated Grass Cutter system
include an automated grass cutting robotic vehicle powered
by solar energy that also avoids object/obstacles and is
capable of automated grass cutting. It is portable and easy to
move from one place to another. However, the robot might
not cover the entire lawn in a fastest way possible and might
be difficult to operate in rainy seasons. But still the best way
to puts forth a completely automated lawn mower
mechanism.
[6] Ms. Lanka Priyanka, Mr. Prof. J. Nagaraju, Mr. Vinod Kumar
Reddy, Fabrication of Solar Powered Grass Cutting Machine,
International Journal and Magazine of Engineering, Technology,
Management and Research, Vol. 2, 2015, 386-390.
[7] Dipin.A, Dr.Chandrasekhar.T.K, Solar Powered Vision Based
Robotic Lawn Mower, International Journal of Engineering
Research and Reviews, Vol. 2, 2014, 53-56.

Engineering students can maintain the safety and they have

the ability to check the use of it. And the enhancement and [8] SachinPrabha,Dattatray G. Biradar,
the ability to upgrade applications and maintenance of the SachinPanshette,Veernhadrappa, Solar Grass Cutter Machine,
devices are within their reach. International Journal For Technological Research In Engineering,
Vol. 3,2016, 2702-270