Methodology and design analysis

Required components
1. Robot chassis
2. Arduino uno board
3. Ultrasonic sensor HC SR04
4. Ultrasonic sensor case / holder
5. L293D Motor driver shield
6. DC Gear Motors
7. BLDC Motor 100KV
8. Servo motor SG 90
9. ESC Module
10. Servo motor tester
11. 3 pin slide switches
12. 11.1V lipo battery
Material selection for the base
There are few materials such as wood, aluminium, mild steel or composite were
considered be forehand for the mower base. However,aluminium was selected as it
is lighter in weight and locally available in market.
Selection of electric motor
Selecting a suitable electric motor in one of the important criteria in designing a lawn
mower since the motor is the one that drives the generated torque to the cutting
head to trim the grass. Moreover, the size of the motor shall be small enough so that
it will fit in perfectly inside the lawn mower base. For the prototype we have used a
100KV BLDC motor which rotates at a very high speed . This motor is connected to
a cutting blade, which is used to cut the grass. The on/off mechanism and speed of
the motor is controlled using the Servo Motor tester
Selection of battery
The entire circuit is powered by an 11.1V Lithium-Ion Battery. The Arduino has a 5V
regulator which converts the 11.1V to 5V Supply. The BLDC Motor directly operates
at 11.1V.
What is a Grass Cutting Robot (Lawn Mower)?
A grass-cutting robot, also known as a lawn mower robot, is a robotic device

designed to automatically cut and maintain a lawn. These robots use sensors and

algorithms to navigate and mow the lawn and can be programmed to cut the grass

on a specific schedule or in response to the growth rate of the grass.

Block Diagram: Automatic Grass Cutting Robot using Arduino

The block diagram of Arduino Automatic Grass Cutting Robot shows how the

different components are connected and how they interact with one another to

perform the task of cutting grass automatically.

The Arduino board acts as the brain of the robot, controlling all the other components

and executing the programmed instructions. The ultrasonic sensor is used to detect

the location of grass and obstacles in the robot’s path.

The L293D motor driver Shield is used to control the movement of the robot and is

connected to the microcontroller. The 4 DC Gear motors are used to power the
movement of the robot. And Servo Motor SG90 is attached at the head so pan

motion to look for an obstacle on the left, right, and front.

For the cutting mechanism, a 100KV BLDC motor is used which rotates at a very

high speed. This motor is connected to a cutting blade, which is used to cut the

grass. The on/off mechanism and speed of the motor is controlled using the Servo

Motor tester. You can use BLDC Motor Controller for this application.

The robot requires a power source to operate, which can be a rechargeable battery

or a power cord. In our case, we are using an 11.1V Lipo Battery.

In this project we will make BLDC, Brushless DC Motor Driver Circuit using 555

Timer IC and DRV10866 driver IC. Brushless motors find applications in computer
peripherals like disk drives, printers, hand-held power tools, aircraft, automobiles

& drones.

The BLDC control usually requires rotor position information for selecting the

appropriate commutation angle. So for this, we use Driver Circuit. In most of the

applications, Hall Effects Sensors are used but here we will use Circuit Based

on 555 Timer IC & DRV10866 driver IC.

Circuit Diagram & Connections

A circuit diagram of an automatic grass cutting robot using Arduino would show the

connections between the different components of the robot. Here’s an example of

what the circuit diagram used for this project.

The L293D Motor Driver Shield is connected to the top of the Arduino UNO Board.

The 4 DC motors are connected to the Motor Driver shield which is controlled via

digital pins D1, D2, D3, and D4 of the Arduino UNO Board. The Servo Motor is

controlled via PWM Pin D10 of Arduino. The Ultrasonic Sensor HC-SR04 has
TRIGN& ECHO Pins which are connected to A0 & A1 of the Arduino Board.

To control the BLDC Motor an ESC Module Servo Tester is used. The entire circuit is

powered by an 11.1V Lithium-Ion Battery. The Arduino has a 5V regulator which

converts the 11.1V to 5V Supply. The BLDC Motor directly operates at 11.1V.

Source Code/Program
The program for Grass Cutting Lawn Mower Robot is written on Arduino IDE. We
need to add few libraries to the Arduino IDE.#include <AFMotor.h>
#include <NewPing.h>
#include <Servo.h>

#define TRIG_PIN A0
#define ECHO_PIN A1
#define MAX_DISTANCE 200
#define MAX_SPEED 190
#define MAX_SPEED_OFFSET 20

NewPingsonar(TRIG_PIN,ECHO_PIN,MAX_DISTANCE);
AF_DCMotor motor1(1,MOTOR12_1KHZ);
AF_DCMotor motor2(2,MOTOR12_1KHZ);
AF_DCMotor motor3(3,MOTOR34_1KHZ);
AF_DCMotor motor4(4,MOTOR34_1KHZ);
Servo myservo;

booleangoesForward=false;
intdistance=100;
intspeedSet=0;

voidsetup(){

myservo.attach(10);
myservo.write(115);
delay(2000);
distance=readPing();
delay(100);
distance=readPing();
delay(100);
distance=readPing();
delay(100);
distance=readPing();
delay(100);
}

voidloop(){
intdistanceR=0;
intdistanceL= 0;
delay(40);

if(distance<=15)
{
moveStop();
delay(100);
moveBackward();
delay(300);
moveStop();
delay(200);
distanceR=lookRight();
delay(200);
distanceL=lookLeft();
delay(200);

if(distanceR>=distanceL)
{
turnRight();
moveStop();
}else
{
turnLeft();
 moveStop();
}
}else
{
moveForward();
}
distance=readPing();
}

intlookRight()
{
myservo.write(50);
delay(500);
intdistance=readPing();
delay(100);
myservo.write(115);
returndistance;
}

intlookLeft()
{
myservo.write(170);
delay(500);
intdistance=readPing();
delay(100);
myservo.write(115);
returndistance;
delay(100);
}

intreadPing(){
delay(70);
intcm=sonar.ping_cm();
if(cm==0)
{
cm=250;
}
returncm;
}

voidmoveStop(){
motor1.run(RELEASE);
motor2.run(RELEASE);
motor3.run(RELEASE);
motor4.run(RELEASE);
}

voidmoveForward(){

if(!goesForward)
 {
goesForward=true;
motor1.run(FORWARD);
motor2.run(FORWARD);
motor3.run(FORWARD);
motor4.run(FORWARD);
for(speedSet=0;speedSet<MAX_SPEED;speedSet+=2)
{
motor1.setSpeed(speedSet);
motor2.setSpeed(speedSet);
motor3.setSpeed(speedSet);
motor4.setSpeed(speedSet);
delay(5);
}
}
}

voidmoveBackward(){
goesForward=false;
motor1.run(BACKWARD);
motor2.run(BACKWARD);
motor3.run(BACKWARD);
motor4.run(BACKWARD);
for(speedSet=0;speedSet<MAX_SPEED;speedSet+=2)
{
motor1.setSpeed(speedSet);
motor2.setSpeed(speedSet);
motor3.setSpeed(speedSet);
motor4.setSpeed(speedSet);
delay(5);
}
}

voidturnRight(){
motor1.run(FORWARD);
motor2.run(FORWARD);
motor3.run(BACKWARD);
motor4.run(BACKWARD);
delay(500);
motor1.run(FORWARD);
motor2.run(FORWARD);
motor3.run(FORWARD);
motor4.run(FORWARD);
}

voidturnLeft(){
motor1.run(BACKWARD);
motor2.run(BACKWARD);
motor3.run(FORWARD);
motor4.run(FORWARD);
 delay(500);
motor1.run(FORWARD);
motor2.run(FORWARD);
motor3.run(FORWARD);
motor4.run(FORWARD);
}

Testing Arduino Lawn Mower Robot

After uploading the code, you can take the Robot to the field and maybe in high

grass areas. The tall grass region area can be a good choice for testing.

CONCLUSION

In a nutshell, the prototype lawn mower has been designed, fabricated and tested

which meets all the above mentioned design objectives. Moreover, the usage of this

machine makes the grass cutting process faster by reducing the cutting time.

Besides that, it is lighter, environmental friendly and cost effective which is helpful for

non-commercial use (home users) in maintaining and trimming the grass in gardens,

homes.

Problem statement

To make an automatic grass cutting robot using Arduino. In this robotic project we

will build and manufacture an automatic grass cutting robot using Arduino. The

Robot can cut excess grass in the garden automatically. If there is an obstacle in the

garden it will automatically change its direction. Reducing human efforts.

Future of lawn mowers

 Solar panels
 Solar power is nothing new, it’s been around in some form or

another since 1876. But it is only in the last few decades where the

technology has become a realistic alternative power source. The efficiency

of modern solar cells has increased dramatically, and the cost per watt is

always falling.

It is for these reasons that I believe we will see solar panels used more

and more to power electric lawn mowers moving forward.

 Future of battery powers

 Going hand in hand with solar power is the speed at which battery

technology is moving forward.

Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Hydrogen fuel cell – sounds like something out of sci-fi hey? Well, it’s not really
and it’s much closer than you think.

So what is a hydrogen fuel cell? In the simplest terms, a hydrogen fuel cell
combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce heat, electricity and water – they are
very similar to a battery, but they can keep producing power as long as
hydrogen is supplied.

There have already been tech companies experimenting with hydrogen fuel cell
powered mowers, so expect to see these mass produced in the next decade.

Fully automatic mowing

At the same time that hydrogen fuel cell technology is being commercialized,
competitive, higher energy, alternatives are under active development.
robotic mowers require little to no intervention to keep your lawns looking neat
and tidy.

When the sun is out, these nifty machines will charge themselves by solar
powers – and when there isn’t enough sun to keep them going, they will simply
return to their docking station for a recharge from the mains power.

Using the sensors incorporated in the mowers chassis, they will automatically
keep your lawn at your desired length and even avoid obstacles such as trees,
garden ornaments and probably even dog poop!

And for those of you that want perfect mow lines in your lawn, I am predicting
that the more advanced models of robotic lawn mowers will include GPS
functionality that will keep your mow lines perfectly straight!