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Handbook of Computational
Sciences
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Handbook of
Computational Sciences

A Multi and Interdisciplinary


Approach

Edited by
Ahmed A. Elgnar
Faculty of Computers & Artificial Intelligence, Beni-Suef University, Egypt

Vigneshwar M
Cybase Technologies, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

Krishna Kant Singh


Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Amity University,
Uttar Pradesh, India
and
Zdzislaw Polkowski
The Karkonosze University of Applied Sciences, Poland
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This edition first published 2023 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 978-1-197-6046-7

Cover image: Pixabay.Com


Cover design by Russell Richardson

Set in size of 11pt and Minion Pro by Manila Typesetting Company, Makati, Philippines

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents

Preface xv
1 A Sensor-Based Automated Irrigation System for Indian
Agricultural Fields 1
I.S. Akila and Ahmed A. Elngar
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Literary Survey 2
1.3 Proposed System 4
1.3.1 System Architecture 4
1.3.2 Flow of Automated Irrigation 5
1.3.3 Interfacing Sensors 5
1.3.4 Physical Characteristics Determination Using
Image Processing 8
1.3.4.1 Fractal Dimension Estimation 8
1.3.4.2 Box-Counting Method 9
1.3.4.3 Physical Parameters 9
1.4 Performance Studies 11
1.4.1 Experimental Environment 11
1.4.2 Accessing Shared Variables from NI Data Dashboard 12
1.4.2.1 Scenario 1 14
1.4.2.2 Scenario 2 14
1.4.2.3 Scenario 3 14
1.4.2.4 Scenario 4 14
1.5 Image Processing to Determine Physical Characteristics 15
1.6 Conclusion and Future Enhancements 20
1.6.1 Conclusion 20
1.6.2 Future Scope 20
References 20

v
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vi Contents

2 An Enhanced Integrated Image Mining Approach to Address


Macro Nutritional Deficiency Problems Limiting Maize Yield 23
Sridevy S., Anna Saro Vijendran and Ahmed A. Elngar
2.1 Introduction 24
2.2 Related Work 24
2.3 Motivation 26
2.4 Framework of Enhanced Integrated Image Mining
Approaches to Address Macro Nutritional Deficiency
Problems Limiting Maize Yield 26
2.5 Algorithm – Enhanced Integrated Image Mining
Approaches to Address Macro Nutritional Deficiency
Problems Limiting Maize Yield 28
2.6 Conclusion 34
References 35
3 Collaborative Filtering Skyline (CFS) for Enhanced
Recommender Systems 37
Shobana G. and Ahmed A. Elngar
3.1 Introduction and Objective 38
3.1.1 Objective 39
3.2 Motivation 39
3.3 Literature Survey 40
3.4 System Analysis and Existing Systems 43
3.4.1 Drawbacks 45
3.5 Proposed System 46
3.5.1 Feasibility Study 46
3.5.2 Economic Feasibility 46
3.5.3 Operational Feasibility 47
3.5.4 Technical Feasibility 47
3.5.5 Problem Definition and Project Overview 48
3.5.6 Overview of the Project 48
3.5.7 Exact Skyline Computation 51
3.5.8 Approximate Skyline Computation 52
3.5.9 Module Description 53
3.5.9.1 Modules 53
3.5.10 Data Flow Diagram 54
3.5.10.1 External Entity (Source/Sink) 57
3.5.10.2 Process 57
3.5.10.3 Data Flow 57
3.5.10.4 Data Store 58
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Contents vii

3.5.11 Rules Used For Constructing a DFD 58


3.5.12 Basic DFD Notation 59
3.5.13 Profiles 59
3.5.14 Uploaded My Videos 60
3.5.15 Rating My Videos 60
3.6 System Implementation 63
3.6.1 Implementation Procedures 63
3.6.1.1 User Training 64
3.6.1.2 User Manual 64
3.6.1.3 System Maintenance 64
3.6.1.4 Corrective Maintenance 65
3.6.1.5 Adaptive Maintenance 65
3.6.1.6 Perceptive Maintenance 65
3.6.1.7 Preventive Maintenance 65
3.7 Conclusion and Future Enhancements 65
3.7.1 Conclusion 65
3.7.2 Enhancements 66
References 66
4 Automatic Retinopathic Diabetic Detection: Data Analyses,
Approaches and Assessment Measures Using Deep Learning 69
Rinesh S., Mahdi Ismael Omar, Thamaraiselvi K., V. Karthick
and Vigneshwar Manoharan
4.1 Introduction 70
4.2 Related Work 72
4.3 Initial Steps and Experimental Environment 74
4.3.1 Analyzing the Principle Components 74
4.3.2 Firefly Algorithm 75
4.4 Experimental Environment 76
4.5 Data and Knowledge Sources 77
4.6 Data Preparation 78
4.7 CNN’s Integrated Design 79
4.8 Preparing Retinal Image Data 83
4.9 Performance Evaluation 85
4.10 Metrics 86
4.11 Investigation of Tests 90
4.12 Discussion 90
4.13 Results and Discussion 92
4.14 Conclusions 94
References 95
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viii Contents

5 Design and Implementation of Smart Parking Management


System Based on License Plate Detection 99
Pallavi S. Bangare, Sanjana Naik, Shashwati Behare,
Akanksha Swami, Jayesh Gaikwad, Sunil L. Bangare,
G. Pradeepini and Ahmed A. Elngar
5.1 Introduction 100
5.2 Literature Survey 101
5.2.1 Cloud-Based Smart-Parking System Based
on Internet-of-Things/Technologies 101
5.2.2 A Cloud-Based Intelligent Car Parking System 101
5.2.3 Research and Implement of the Intelligent
Parking Reservation Management System Based
on ZigBee Technology 102
5.2.4 Zigbee and GSM-Based Secure Vehicle Parking
Management and Reservation System 102
5.2.5 Car Park Management with Networked Wireless
Sensors and Active RFID 102
5.2.6 Automated Parking System with Bluetooth Access 103
5.2.7 Smart Parking: A Secure and Intelligent Parking System 103
5.3 Proposed System 103
5.3.1 Methodology 104
5.3.2 Vehicle Number Plate Recognition Technique 106
5.4 High Level Design of Proposed System 107
5.4.1 Data Flow Diagram 107
5.4.2 UML Diagrams 108
5.5 Project Requirement Specification 111
5.5.1 Software Requirements 111
5.5.2 Hardware Requirements 111
5.6 Algorithms 111
5.7 Proposed System Results 113
5.8 Conclusion 118
References 118
6 A Novel Algorithm for Stationary Analysis of the
Characteristics of the Queue-Dependent Random Probability
for Co-Processor-Shared Memory Using Computational Sciences 121
Nandhini Varadharajan, Vigneshwar Manoharan, Rajadurai
and Ahmed A. Elngar
6.1 Introduction - Processor-Shared Service Queue
with Independent Service Rate Using Probability
Queuing Theory 122
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Contents ix

6.2 The Applications of Queuing Models in Processor-Shared


Memory 123
6.3 The Basic Structure of Queuing Models 123
6.4 Characteristics of Queuing System 124
6.5 The Arrival Pattern of Customers 124
6.6 The Service Pattern of Servers Queue Discipline, System
Capacity, and the Number of Servers 124
6.7 Kendall’s Notation 125
6.8 The Formation of Retrial Queues as a Solution 126
6.9 The Stationary Analysis of the Characteristics of the
M/M/2 Queue with Constant Repeated Attempts 126
6.10 Computation of the Steady-State Probabilities 128
6.11 Application of Retrial Queues 134
6.12 Conclusion 134
References 136
7 Smart e-Learning System with IoT-Enabled for Personalized
Assessment 137
Veeramanickam M.R.M., Visalatchi S. and Ahmed A. Elngar
7.1 Introduction 137
7.2 Literature Study 139
7.3 Architecture Model 140
7.4 Assessment Technique: CBR Algorithm 143
7.5 Implementation Modules: Project Outcome 144
7.5.1 Creating a Web Application 144
7.5.2 Integrating Raspberry Pi and Scribble Pad 146
7.5.3 Deploying Web App over Internet/FTP Server 148
7.5.4 Assessment Technique – Online Exam 148
7.6 Conclusion 150
References 150
8 Implementation of File Sharing System Using Li-Fi Based
on Internet of Things (IoT) 153
Sunil L. Bangare, Shirin Siddiqui, Ayush Srivastava,
Avinash Kumar, Pushkraj Bhagat, G. Pradeepini, S. T. Patil
and Ahmed A. Elngar
8.1 Introduction 154
8.1.1 Motivation 154
8.1.2 Problem Statement 155
8.1.3 Background 155
8.2 Existing System/Related Work 156
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x Contents

8.2.1 SHARE It 156


8.2.2 Super Beam 156
8.2.3 Xender 156
8.3 Literature Survey 156
8.4 Proposed System 163
8.4.1 Input Data 163
8.4.2 Conversion to Binary Encoded Information 163
8.4.3 Led Driver 164
8.4.4 Photo Diode Receiver 164
8.5 Workflow 165
8.6 Proposed Solution 171
8.6.1 Hardware Setup 171
8.6.2 Transistor-Transistor Logic Serial Communication 172
8.6.3 Arduino Uno 172
8.7 Software Implementation 173
8.7.1 Video Transmission 173
8.7.2 Text/Text File Transmission 174
8.7.3 Audio Transmission 175
8.7.4 Image Transmission 175
8.8 Block Diagram – Indoor Navigation System Using Li-Fi 176
8.9 Implementation 177
8.10 Unicode Transmission 178
8.10.1 Receiver – Solar Panel 179
8.10.2 Text to Speech 179
8.11 Conclusion 180
References 181
9 Survey on Artificial Intelligence Techniques in the Diagnosis
of Pleural Mesothelioma 185
Ushasukhanya S., S.S. Sridhar and Ahmed A. Elngar
9.1 Introduction 185
9.2 Methods 188
9.3 Analysis 192
9.4 Conclusion 194
References 194
10 Handwritten Character Recognition and Genetic Algorithms 197
Magesh Kasthuri and Vigneshwar Manoharan
10.1 Introduction 198
10.2 Recognition Framework for a Handwritten Character
Recognition 199
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Contents xi

10.3 Offline Character Recognition 200


10.4 Literature Review 201
10.5 Feature Extraction 206
10.6 Pattern Recognition 207
10.7 Noise Reduction 208
10.8 Segmentation 209
10.9 Pre-Processing 210
10.10 Hybrid Recognition 211
10.11 Applying Genetic Algorithm 211
10.12 Multilingual Characters 214
10.12.1 Multilingual Characters – Hindi 214
10.12.2 Multilingual Characters – Tamil Language 215
10.12.3 Multilingual Characters – Malayalam Language 215
10.12.4 Multilingual Characters – Telugu Language 216
10.12.5 Multilingual Characters – Kannada Language 217
10.12.6 Multilingual Characters – Egypt Language 218
10.12.7 Multilingual Characters – Polish Language 219
10.13 Results 220
References 221
11 An Intelligent Agent-Based Approach for COVID-19
Patient Distribution Management 225
Claudiu-Ionut Popirlan, Adriana Burlea Schiopoiu,
Cristina Popirlan and Ahmed A. Elngar
11.1 Introduction 226
11.2 Intelligent Agent’s Architecture Proposal for COVID-19
Patient Distribution Management 227
11.2.1 A Clinical Scenario of COVID-19 Patient
Distributed Management 231
11.2.2 Communication Management 232
11.3 Intelligent Agents Task Management 234
11.3.1 Intelligent Agents Cooperation Management 236
11.3.1.1 Establishing Commitments 236
11.3.1.2 Adaptive Management of Commitment
Changes 237
11.4 Java Agent Development Framework 237
11.4.1 Software Implementation 239
11.4.2 Results Comparison 241
11.5 Conclusions 242
References 243
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xii Contents

12 Computational Science Role in Medical and Healthcare-


Related Approach 245
Pawan Whig, Arun Velu, Rahul Reddy Nadikattu
and Yusuf Jibrin Alkali
12.1 Introduction 246
12.2 Background 251
12.3 Healthcare Nowadays 253
12.4 Healthcare Activities and Processes 253
12.5 Organization and Financial Aspects of Healthcare 254
12.6 Health Information Technology is Currently Being Used 255
12.7 Future Healthcare 256
12.8 Research Challenges 257
12.9 Modeling 259
12.10 Automation 260
12.11 Teamwork and Data Exchange 260
12.12 Scaled Data Management 260
12.13 Comprehensive Automated Recording of Exchanges
Between Doctors and Patients 260
12.14 Johns Hopkins University: A Case Study 261
12.15 Case Study: Managing Patient Flow 263
12.16 Case Study: Using Electronic Health Records and Human
Factors Engineering 263
12.17 Technology, Leadership, Culture, and Increased Learning
are Necessary for the Spread of Systems Approaches 265
12.18 Conclusion 267
References 267
13 Impact of e-Business Services on Product Management 273
Sanchit Sarhadi and Priyadarshini Adyasha Pattanaik
13.1 Introduction 274
13.2 Literature Review 275
13.3 Data Collection and Method Details 283
13.4 Results 294
13.5 Conclusion 295
References 295
14 Analysis of Lakeshore Images Obtained from Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles 299
Ivana Čermáková and Roman Danel
14.1 Introduction 299
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Contents xiii

14.2 Possibilities of Processing Images Acquired from


Unmanned Aerial Vehicles 302
14.3 Defining Purpose, Location and Users of the Study 302
14.4 Suitable and Available Data and Vehicle 303
14.5 Usable Image Processing Methods 304
14.6 Invasive-Plant Detection 309
14.7 Evaluation and Interpretation of the Results 311
14.8 Analysis of Lakeshore – Koblov Lake 313
14.9 Area of Interest 313
14.10 Data Acquisition 314
14.11 Data Pre-Processing 315
14.12 Data Processing and Evaluation 316
14.13 Evaluation and Interpretation of the Results 318
14.14 Conclusion 321
References 321
15 Robotic Arm: Impact on Industrial and Domestic Applications 323
Nidhi Chahal, Ruchi Bisht, Arun Kumar Rana
and Aryan Srivastava
15.1 Introduction 324
15.2 Circuit Diagram 326
15.3 Literature Survey 327
15.4 Operation of Robot 329
15.5 The Benefits of Industrial Robotic Arms 330
15.6 Component Details 330
15.7 Working of Robotic Arm 332
15.8 Intel Takes Robotic Arms to The Next Level 334
15.9 Robotic Arm Applications 334
15.10 Conclusion 335
References 336
16 Effects of Using VR on Computer Science Students’ Learning
Behavior in Indonesia: An Experimental Study for TEFL 341
Muthmainnah, Ahmad Al Yakin, Luís Cardoso,
Ahmed A. Elngar, Ibrahim Oteir and Abdullah Nijr Al-Otaibi
16.1 Introduction 342
16.2 VR as FUTELA 344
16.3 Using the Internet to Study and Learning Behavior 346
16.4 Methods 347
16.5 Research Participants 348
16.6 Techniques for Analyzing Data 349
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xiv Contents

16.7 The Indicator of Efficiency 350


16.8 Results and Discussion 350
16.9 Discussion 357
16.10 Conclusion 360
References 361
17 Satisfaction of Students Toward Media and Technology
Innovation Amidst COVID-19 365
Muthmainnah, Ahmad Al Yakin, Saikat Gochhait,
Andi Asrifan, Ahmed A. Elngar and Luís Cardoso
17.1 Introduction 366
17.2 Literature Review 370
17.2.1 Accelerating Digital Transformation in the
Education Sector 370
17.2.2 Digital Media and Technology in English as a
Foreign Language (EFL) 371
17.3 Methods 378
17.4 Results and Findings 379
17.5 Discussion 383
17.6 Conclusion 386
References 386
Index 391
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Preface

This handbook explores computational methods that are found on the


engineering side of computer science. These methods appear in worldwide
applications and are the focus of research works that seek to apply them to
meet current and future societal needs.
This volume pertains to applications in the areas of imaging, medical
imaging, wireless and WS networks, IoT with applied areas, big data for
various applicable solutions, etc. This text delves deeply into the core sub-
ject and then broadens to encompass the interlinking, inter–disciplinary,
and cross-disciplinary sections of other relevant areas. Those areas include
applied, simulation, modeling, real-time, research applications, and more.
In proportion with greater technological advancements come increased
complexities and new intriguing issues that require micro-level analysis
with strong consideration for future outcomes. Such analysis involves the
use of computing hardware, networking, algorithms, data structures, pro-
gramming, databases, and other domain-specific knowledge for the imple-
mentation of physical processes that run on computers.
Computational sciences can conglomerate with other cross- and
inter-disciplines to evolve into something useful to humankind. A
wide-ranging perspective is necessary for the evolution of a new paradigm.
To accomplish this, the approach must involve highly advanced learning
that includes research by scholars, scientists, engineers, medical practi-
tioners, biologists, chemists, physicists, etc.; and it touches upon areas of
physical-, biological-, and life science; many forms of computational sci-
ence (physics, chemistry, neuroscience, mathematics, and biology), soft-
ware engineering, arts and humanities, and more.
The editors wish to thank Scrivener Publishing and their team for the
opportunity to publish this volume.

The Editors
May 2023

xv
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1
A Sensor-Based Automated Irrigation
System for Indian Agricultural Fields
I.S. Akila1 and Ahmed A. Elngar2*
1
Department of ECE, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore,
Tamil Nadu, India
2
Faculty of Computers and Artificial Intelligence, Beni-Suef University,
Beni-Suef City, Egypt

Abstract
The continuous monitoring of field conditions using an IoT system is essential to
maintain the optimum levels of the field parameters like soil moisture and tempera-
ture and to increase productivity. Continuous monitoring and automation of irri-
gation to optimize field conditions is a challenge faced by the agriculture sector. The
proposed work presents an IoT system that collects temperature and humidity data
through the sensors, processes them, and automates the irrigation process based on
the results. Considering the pragmatic feasibility of many conventional and mod-
ern approaches, this work proposes a simplified and economic solution to automate
the process of irrigation amidst the challenges such as lack of skilled labor and
overhead involved in the complexity of the existing solutions. The work could be
extended to various geographical regions of the Indian landscape to make a com-
prehensive and all-inclusive solution for the automation of the irrigation process.

Keywords: Agriculture, irrigation, image processing, sensor, box-counting,


fractal dimension

1.1 Introduction
Agriculture plays a major role in the Indian economy. Due to the unpre-
dictable and inconsistent nature of factors that influence farming in India,

*Corresponding author: elngar_7@yahoo.co.uk

Ahmed A. Elgnar, Vigneshwar M, Krishna Kant Singh and Zdzislaw Polkowski (eds.) Handbook
of Computational Sciences: A Multi and Interdisciplinary Approach, (1–22) © 2023 Scrivener
Publishing LLC

1
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2 Handbook of Computational Sciences

there arises a need to extend the technology into agriculture thereby


increasing productivity. Across the wide scope of the Indian landscape,
farmers employ several styles of agriculture that could be synthesized and
enhanced with the invention of emerging technologies.
Optimum soil temperature and moisture levels should be maintained
to augment crop growth. Macronutrient levels should also be maintained
to adequacy for better yield. A smart monitoring platform is required to
monitor field conditions continuously. An effective automated system
would reduce human efforts to a great extent. This system facilitates smart
monitoring of several parameters such as optimum water and other soil
properties that cumulatively influence productivity in the primary sector.
The process of automation in the agricultural monitoring process is done
by interfacing the required sensors to NI myRIO, which is supported by
the LabVIEW platform. Image processing technique using a suitable box
counting algorithm estimates the fractal dimension of the soil particles and
further, it has been implemented to detect physical parameters of the soil.
Modern technology finds its applications in various fields for better out-
comes. Agriculture, a significant field to be monitored and enhanced, has
exploited technology to obtain higher productivity, growth, and yield rates.
Hence reducing human effort and automating the process of irrigation by
enabling remote access to field parameters would contribute to the better-
ment of yields in agriculture.
The rest of the chapter is organized as follows. Section 1.2 presents sig-
nificant research works performed to automate the process of agricultural
monitoring amidst their boundaries. Section 1.3 illustrates the proposed
work of this chapter. Section 1.4 discusses the performance study and
results of the work. Section 1.5 concludes the work and presents future
possibilities for enhancement.

1.2 Literary Survey


Through the traces of modern technological advancements, shortage of
skilled labor, and increasing demand, there is much research work focused
on the automation of agricultural monitoring systems.
A.D. Kadage and J.D. Gawade [1] have designed and implemented a
system to monitor field conditions continuously by interfacing sensors to
a microcontroller and notifying the farmer through SMS (Short Message
Service) when field conditions deviate from normal parameters. The sys-
tem utilizes a GSM module and prompts commands from the farmer to
take necessary action. However, their work has not considered network
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Sensor-Based Automated Irrigation System 3

availability and related constraints. Thus, continuous monitoring is facili-


tated without emphasizing automating the process of irrigation.
Swarup S. Mathurkar and Rahul B. Lanjewar [2] proposed a system to
develop a smart sensor-based monitoring system for the agricultural envi-
ronment using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) which comprised
of a wireless protocol, different types of sensors, microcontroller, serial pro-
tocol, and the FPGA with display element. The work was done using sen-
sors that help in checking moisture, temperature, and humidity conditions.
According to these conditions, farmers can schedule their work.
Bansari Deb Majumder, Arijita Das, Dibyendu Sur, Sushmita Das,
Avishek Brahma, and Chandan Dutta [3] have attempted to develop an
automated system that can measure different agricultural process parame-
ters (like temperature, soil moisture, sunlight intensity, humidity, chemical
contents, etc.) and control using PID controller. These parameters can be
remotely monitored and controlled. With the help of MATLAB interfaced
with NI LabVIEW, a virtual simulation of the entire process on the front
panel is made feasible. Alarm systems are incorporated to generate the
necessary alarm signal in case of the worst scenario to alert the farmer
about the consequences. This will provide the farmer with a remote-­control
approach to looking after his land and crops. It will also increase the pro-
ductivity of land through efficient control and will reduce human efforts
through complete automation of the harvesting process.
Anastasia Sofou, Georgios Evangelopoulos, and Petros Maragos [4]
proposed a system to examine the sophisticated integration of selected
modern methods for image feature extraction, texture analysis, and seg-
mentation into homogeneous regions. The experimental results in images
are digitized under different specifications and scales demonstrating the
proposed system’s efficacy. Further, this work explores the possibilities of a
smart agricultural monitoring system based on geographical constraints.
H.T. Ingale and N.N. Kasat [5] proposed a system for automatic irri-
gation by using sensors that would make farmers aware of the changing
conditions of humidity levels to schedule the proper timing for irrigation.
Due to the direct transfer of water to the roots, water conservation takes
place and also helps to maintain the moisture to soil ratio at the root zone
constant to some extent. Thus, the system is efficient and compatible with
the changing environment. Also, the system saves water and improves the
growth of plants. The influence of other climate parameters could be con-
sidered to improve the quality of the outcome in this work.
Rahul B. Lanjewar, Swarup S. Mathurkar, Nilesh R. Patel and Rohit S.
Somkuwar [6] presented a sensor system to monitor and measure param-
eters such as temperature, soil moisture, and humidity. Further, the work
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4 Handbook of Computational Sciences

done by M.K. Gayatri, J. Jayasakthi, and G.S. Anandha Mala [7] motivates
the employment of the data obtained through emerging technologies such
as the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing to automate manual
agricultural activities.
V. Vijay Hari Ram, H. Vishal, S. Dhanalakshmi and P. Meenakshi Vidya
[8] presented a framework for regulating water supply in an agricultural
field with a simple IoT model. Tanmay Baranwal, Nitika and Pushpendra
Kumar Pateriya [9] proposed an IoT-based system for from the security
perspective and further makes an example of using modern technologies
to adopt and support traditional environments. In their work, Nikesh
Gondchawar and R.S. Kawitkar [10] presented a GPS-based automation
framework for a smart agriculture system.
Yijun Hu, Jingfang Shen, and Yonghao Qi [11] have predicted the growth
of rice plants using fractal dimension parameters for the prediction of bio-
mass of the rice and have proven to improvise the prediction model. P.
Senthil and Akila I.S. [12] presented the Fire Bird V ATmega2560 robotic
kit for the prediction of soil moisture and to determine the shortest path
using Dijkstra’s algorithm for the robotic kit movement and it was proven
that the system was efficient in monitoring the moisture content of the soil.
I.S. Akila, A. Sivakumar, and S. Swaminathan [13] depict the work of
extracting the texture of the plant using image processing techniques and
the height of the plant was estimated using a virtual height measurement
scheme. The works of [14, 15], and [16] discuss the use of IoT in agricul-
ture, its issues, challenges, and solutions. They also depict different IoT
architectures which are application specific.
From the literature survey, the features such as network constraint,
distance viability, reliability, complex algorithms in image processing,
increased human efforts and manual control are identified as predominant
parameters to improve contemporary agricultural monitoring systems.
Our work is proposed to overcome these real-time challenges through
automated irrigation, remote access to field conditions, and simple image
processing techniques for determining soil physical parameters.

1.3 Proposed System


1.3.1 System Architecture
The block diagram for our proposed system is shown in Figure 1.1. The
work is aimed at automating the irrigation process by interfacing the nec-
essary sensors, namely, the temperature sensor and moisture sensors to the
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Sensor-Based Automated Irrigation System 5

IMAGES OF SOIL
SAMPLE

DATA
DASHBOARD
LabVIEW

Soil moisture
sensor
DETERMINATION OF
PHYSICAL AND
CHEMICAL
MyRio 1900 MOTOR CHARACTERISTICS OF
SOIL
1m35 temperature
sensor

Figure 1.1 Proposed system architecture.

NI myRIO board with configured Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) facility. When


the power is supplied to myRIO, the temperature sensor monitors the soil
temperature. If it exceeds 30°C, it will automatically turn on the motor. The
temperature is displayed on the Data dashboard. Similarly, irrigation takes
place when the moisture level violates the threshold range. When the tem-
perature and moisture levels go below their respective threshold values,
the motor remains off. The outcome of the sensors is used to automatically
initiate the irrigation process.

1.3.2 Flow of Automated Irrigation


Figure 1.2 shows the flow of activities involved in the automation of the
irrigation system. Initially, myRIO is configured and then interfaced with
the appropriate sensors. The data are read from the sensor, and according
to the threshold fixed, the automation control of ON/OFF the motor is
done.

1.3.3 Interfacing Sensors


YL69 soil moisture sensor and LM35 soil temperature sensor are inter-
faced with the NI myRIO as per Table 1.1. The sensors are connected to the
MXP connector pins of myRIO, where the MXP connector consists of both
analogy and digital input and output pins with 5V.
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6 Handbook of Computational Sciences

CONFIGURE NI MYRIO

INTERFACE SENSORS WITH NI MYRIO CONTROLLER

READ THE DATA FROM SENSORS USING VI IN LABVIEW

SET THE OPTIMUM THRESHOLD LEVELS FOR TEMPERATURE AND


MOISTURE

AUTOMATE MOTOR CONTROL WHEN SENSED LEVELS RISES


THRESHOLD LEVELS

CHECK FOR FIELD CONDITIONS USING DATA DASHBOARD ON


MOBILE/ON COMPUTER

Figure 1.2 Process flow of irrigation automation.

Table 1.1 Connection specification.


S. no. Sensors Sensor connector pins Myrio connector pins
1 Soil moisture Vcc MSP DIO(5V)
sensor
Ground MSP DGND
AO (analog output) MSP AI0+
2 Soil temperature Vcc MXP A1
sensor
Analog output MSP AI1+
GND MSP AI 1-

The optimum values for the soil temperature and moisture are fixed as
the threshold as depicted in Table 1.2 which is compared to the sensed
values of parameters.
Upon the comparison of the sensed values and fixed threshold values,
the motor is initiated, and irrigation is done automatically. A DC motor is
interfaced to MXP connector PIN 27 as shown in Figure 1.3.
The NI Data dashboard mobile application enables the implementation
of network-shared variables. In the irrigation automation the motor status,
temperatures in Celsius, and percentage of moisture status have been con-
figured as shared variables as shown in Figure 1.4. They can be accessed
by connecting to the Wi-Fi network in the configured myRIO as shown
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Sensor-Based Automated Irrigation System 7

Table 1.2 Threshold values for temperature and moisture.


S. no. Parameters Threshold values
1 Soil moisture content 50% of Moisture Value
2 Soil temperature Up to 30° C

B/+5V [1] B/+3.3V [33]


VDD5 VDD3

S D1
Q1
1N4001 M MOTOR
G ZVP2110
B/DIO8 [27]
B/PWM0 D

D Q2 D
Q3
G ZVN2110 G
IRF510
S S

B/GND [30]

Figure 1.3 Circuit diagram of DC MOTOR.

Figure 1.4 Project explorer window showing the network shared variables.
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8 Handbook of Computational Sciences

Figure 1.5 NI MAX window for Wi-Fi configuration on NI-myRIO.

in Figure 1.5. The NI Measurement and Automation Explorer provide a


facility for configuring on-board Wi-Fi on NI myRIO. After the configu-
ration of Wi-Fi, myRIO can be disconnected from the host computer and
deployed to work as a stand-alone system.

1.3.4 Physical Characteristics Determination Using


Image Processing
The physical characteristics of soil can be estimated through simple image
processing techniques by the estimation of fractal dimension. As depicted
in Figure 1.6 image processing involves capturing the images of the soil
and converting them into binary images, and then calculating the average
value using the box-counting method. The computed fractal dimension is
used to estimate the value of the physical characteristics of the soil.

1.3.4.1 Fractal Dimension Estimation


Fractal dimension is a mathematical descriptor of image features which
characterizes the physical properties of the soil. The box-counting method
is one of the methods to estimate fractal dimensions.
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Sensor-Based Automated Irrigation System 9

CAPTURE THE IMAGES OF THE SOIL USING DIGITAL CAMERA

USE THRESHOLDING TO CONVERT COLOUR IMAGE TO


BINARY IMAGE

CALCULATE AVERAGE FRACTAL VALUE BY BOX COUNTING


METHOD

PHYSICAL PARAMETERS OF SOIL ARE CALCULATED USING


FRACTAL DIMENSION

Figure 1.6 Process of physical parameter estimation of soil.

1.3.4.2 Box-Counting Method


The box-counting principle involves counting the number of ones covered
by a specified box size in the binary image. It consists of the following steps:

1. Convert the color image to a binary image using color


thresholding.
2. Extract the central 3x3 subarray
3. Count the number of 1’s in the extracted array
4. Estimate the fractal dimension using the Eqn. [3.1]

FD=log (N(S))/log(1/S) (3.1)

where, Box size (S=3), Number of one’s in that box.

1.3.4.3 Physical Parameters


The following physical characteristics of the soil are estimated to deter-
mine the quality of the soil content.

➢➢ Water content: Water content or moisture content is the


quantity of water contained in the soil and is estimated using
Eqn. [3.2].

w% = -22.95X3+28.84X2+85.34X-106.4 (3.2)
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10 Handbook of Computational Sciences

➢➢ Liquid limit: The Atterberg limits are a basic measure of the


critical water contents of fine-grained soil using Eqn. [3.3]
the liquid limit of the soil is estimated.

wL% = 34.31X3-10.62X2+24.83X-124.3 (3.3)

➢➢ Plastic limit: The plastic limit is defined as the moisture con-


tent at which soil begins to behave as a plastic material and
is estimated using Eqn. [3.4].

wP% = 185.9X3-893.5X2+1428X-735 (3.4)

➢➢ Shrinkage limit: The shrinkage limit is the water content


where the further loss of moisture will not result in any more
volume reduction and is determined using the Eqn. [3.5].

wS% = -144.8X3+669.6X2-1028X+543.4 (3.5)

➢➢ Specific gravity: Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the


weight of an equal volume of distilled water at that tempera-
ture both weights taken in air and computed using the Eqn.
[3.6].

G = 27.14X3-127.4X2+198.3X-99.73 (3.6)

➢➢ Uniformity and curvature coefficient: The uniformity coef-


ficient Cu is defined as the ratio of D60 by D10. So, when
Cu is greater than 4–6, it is understood as a well-graded soil
and when the Cu is less than 4, they are poorly graded or
uniformly graded. Uniformly graded in the sense, that the
soils have got the identical size of the particles and are deter-
mined using the Eqns. [3.7 and 3.8].

cc = 6.308 X3 - 25.73 X2 + 33.58 X -13.13 (3.7)

cu = 125.2 X3 - 608.7 X2 + 985.9 X - 524.8 (3.8)

➢➢ Field density: Field density or density of field is expressed in


lines of force per unit area of a cross-section perpendicular
to lines of force and is estimated using the Eqn. [3.9].
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Sensor-Based Automated Irrigation System 11

Fd = -8.046X3+32.64X2-42.66+19.31 (3.9)

The formulae used for estimating physical characteristics are shown from
Eqns. [3.2] to [3.9] where X stands for the fractal dimension of the image.
Thus, the system computes the features to determine the time to initiate
the process of irrigation. This system reduces manual effort, increases pro-
ductivity, and reduces water wastage.

1.4 Performance Studies


The results obtained from the performance evaluation of our proposed sys-
tem are discussed below.

1.4.1 Experimental Environment


Figure 1.7 shows LabVIEW VI for interfacing the temperature sensor
(lm35) and soil moisture sensor to NI myRIO. The analog output voltages
from the sensors are converted to suitable temperature and moisture (in
terms of percentage).

Figure 1.7 Block diagram for irrigation automation by monitoring soil temperature and
moisture.
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12 Handbook of Computational Sciences

Figure 1.8 Front panel for irrigation automation.

The optimum threshold values of temperature and moisture are fixed.


Any variation in soil temperature above threshold temperature (30° C) and
drop in soil moisture content below 50% is detected and it turns on a motor
that irrigates the field. The soil temperature, moisture levels and motor sta-
tus have been configured as network-shared variables.
Figure 1.8 shows the front panel containing the output voltage wave-
forms of the temperature and moisture sensors. The numeric display of
temperature and moisture in terms of Celsius and percentage moisture is
also shown across time intervals.

1.4.2 Accessing Shared Variables from NI Data Dashboard


By connecting to the Wi-Fi network configured on myRIO, the values of
shared variables for four different scenarios are given as follows and the
results are presented in Figures 1.9−1.12.
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13
Sensor-Based Automated Irrigation System

Figure 1.11 Shared variables (T<30°C and M>50%)-Motor OFF.


Figure 1.10 Shared variables (M<50%)-Motor ON.
Figure 1.9 Shared variables (T>30°C)-Motor ON.
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the ax missed his head by the fraction of a second. Then with a whir
the arm rose stiffly again to its original position and remained rigid.
The visitor moistened his lips and sighed.
“That’s a new one, a very new one,” he said under his breath, and
the admiration in his tone was evident. He picked up his overcoat,
flung it over his arm, and mounted half a dozen steps to the next
landing. The inspection of the Chinese cabinet was satisfactory.
The white beam of his lamp flashed into corners and crevices and
showed nothing. He shook the curtain of a window and listened,
holding his breath.
“Not here,” he muttered decisively, “the old man wouldn’t try that
game. Snakes turned loose in a house in London, S.W., take a deal
of collecting in the morning.”
He looked round. From the landing access was gained to three
rooms. That which from its position he surmised faced the street he
did not attempt to enter. The second, covered by a heavy curtain, he
looked at for a time in thought. To the third he walked, and carefully
swathing the door-handle with his silk muffler, he turned it. The door
yielded. He hesitated another moment, and jerking the door wide
open, sprang backward.
The interior of the room was for a second only in pitch darkness,
save for the flicker of light that told of an open fireplace. Then the
visitor heard a click, and the room was flooded with light. In the
darkness on the landing the man waited; then a voice, a cracked old
voice, said grumblingly—
“Come in.”
Still the man on the landing waited.
“Oh, come in, Jimmy—I know ye.”
Cautiously the man outside stepped through the entry into the light
and faced the old man, who, arrayed in a wadded dressing-gown,
sat in a big chair by the fire—an old man, with white face and a
sneering grin, who sat with his lap full of papers.
The visitor nodded a friendly greeting.
“As far as I can gather,” he said deliberately, “we are just above your
dressing-room, and if you dropped me through one of your patent
traps, Reale, I should fetch up amongst your priceless china.”
Save for a momentary look of alarm on the old man’s face at the
mention of the china, he preserved an imperturbable calm, never
moving his eyes from his visitor’s face. Then his grin returned, and
he motioned the other to a chair on the other side of the fireplace.
Jimmy turned the cushion over with the point of his stick and sat
down.
“Suspicious?”—the grin broadened—“suspicious of your old friend,
Jimmy? The old governor, eh?”
Jimmy made no reply for a moment, then—
“You’re a wonder, governor, upon my word you are a wonder. That
man in armor—your idea?”
The old man shook his head regretfully.
“Not mine entirely, Jimmy. Ye see, there’s electricity in it, and I don’t
know much about electricity. I never did, except——”
“Except?” suggested the visitor.
“Oh, that roulette board, that was my own idea; but that was
magnetism, which is different to electricity, by my way of looking.”
Jimmy nodded.
“Ye got past the trap?” The old man had just a glint of admiration in
his eye.
“Yes, jumped it.”
The old man nodded approvingly.
“You always was a one for thinkin’ things out. I’ve known lots of ’em
who would never have thought of jumping it. Connor, and that pig
Massey, they’d have walked right on to it. You didn’t damage
anything?” he demanded suddenly and fiercely. “I heard somethin’
break, an’ I was hoping that it was you.”
Jimmy thought of the marble statue, and remembered that it had
looked valuable.
“Nothing at all,” he lied easily, and the old man’s tense look relaxed.
The pair sat on opposite sides of the fireplace, neither speaking for
fully ten minutes; then Jimmy leant forward.
“Reale,” he said quietly, “how much are you worth?”
In no manner disturbed by this leading question, but rather indicating
a lively satisfaction, the other replied instantly—
“Two millions an’ a bit over, Jimmy. I’ve got the figures in my head.
Reckonin’ furniture and the things in this house at their proper value,
two millions, and forty-seven thousand and forty-three pounds—
floatin’, Jimmy, absolute cash, the same as you might put your hand
in your pocket an’ spend—a million an’ three-quarters exact.”
He leant back in his chair with a triumphant grin and watched his
visitor.
Jimmy had taken a cigarette from his pocket and was lighting it,
looking at the slowly burning match reflectively.
“A million and three-quarters,” he repeated calmly, “is a lot of
money.”
Old Reale chuckled softly.
“All made out of the confiding public, with the aid of me—and Connor
and Massey——”
“Massey is a pig!” the old man interjected spitefully.
Jimmy puffed a cloud of tobacco smoke.
“Wrung with sweat and sorrow from foolish young men who backed
the tiger and played high at Reale’s Unrivaled Temple of Chance,
Cairo, Egypt—with branches at Alexandria, Port Said, and Suez.”
The figure in the wadded gown writhed in a paroxysm of silent
merriment.
“How many men have you ruined, Reale?” asked Jimmy.
“The Lord knows!” the old man answered cheerfully; “only three as I
knows of—two of ’em’s dead, one of ’em’s dying. The two that’s
dead left neither chick nor child; the dying one’s got a daughter.”
Jimmy eyed him through narrowed lids.
“Why this solicitude for the relatives—you’re not going——?”
As he spoke, as if anticipating a question, the old man was nodding
his head with feverish energy, and all the while his grin broadened.
“What a one you are for long words, Jimmy! You always was. That’s
how you managed to persuade your swell pals to come an’ try their
luck. Solicitude! What’s that mean? Frettin’ about ’em, d’ye mean?
Yes, that’s what I’m doin’—frettin’ about ’em. And I’m going to make,
what d’ye call it—you had it on the tip of your tongue a minute or two
ago?”
“Reparation?” suggested Jimmy.
Old Reale nodded delightedly.
“How?”
“Don’t you ask questions!” bullied the old man, his harsh voice rising.
“I ain’t asked you why you broke into my house in the middle of the
night, though I knew it was you who came the other day to check the
electric meter. I saw you, an’ I’ve been waitin’ for you ever since.”
“I knew all about that,” said Jimmy calmly, and flicked the ash of his
cigarette away with his little finger, “and I thought you would——”
Suddenly he stopped speaking and listened.
“Who’s in the house beside us?” he asked quickly, but the look on
the old man’s face reassured him.
“Nobody,” said Reale testily. “I’ve got a special house for the
servants, and they come in every morning after I’ve unfixed my—
burglar-alarms.” He grinned, and then a look of alarm came into his
face.
“The alarms!” he whispered; “you broke them when you came in,
Jimmy. I heard the signal. If there’s some one in the house we
shouldn’t know it now.”
They listened.
Down below in the hall something creaked, then the sound of a soft
thud came up.
“He’s skipped the rug,” whispered Jimmy, and switched out the light.
The two men heard a stealthy footstep on the stair, and waited.
There was the momentary glint of a light, and the sound of some one
breathing heavily. Jimmy leant over and whispered in the old man’s
ear.
Then, as the handle of the door was turned and the door pushed
open, Jimmy switched on the light.
The newcomer was a short, thick-set man with a broad, red face. He
wore a check suit of a particularly glaring pattern, and on the back of
his head was stuck a bowler hat, the narrow brim of which seemed
to emphasize the breadth of his face. A casual observer might have
placed him for a coarse, good-natured man of rude but boisterous
humor. The ethnological student would have known him at once for
what he was—a cruel man-beast without capacity for pity.
He started back as the lights went on, blinking a little, but his hand
held an automatic pistol that covered the occupants of the room.
“Put up your hands,” he growled. “Put ’em up!”
Neither man obeyed him. Jimmy was amused and looked it, stroking
his short beard with his white tapering fingers. The old man was fury
incarnate.
He it was that turned to Jimmy and croaked—
“What did I tell ye, Jimmy? What’ve I always said, Jimmy? Massey is
a pig—he’s got the manners of a pig. Faugh!”
“Put up your hands!” hissed the man with the pistol. “Put ’em up, or
I’ll put you both out!”
“If he’d come first, Jimmy!” Old Reale wrung his hands in his regret.
“S’pose he’d jumped the rug—any sneak-thief could have done that
—d’ye think he’d have spotted the man in armor? If you’d only get
the man in armor ready again.”
“Put your pistol down, Massey,” said Jimmy coolly, “unless you want
something to play with. Old man Reale’s too ill for the gymnastics
you suggest, and I’m not inclined to oblige you.”
The man blustered.
“By God, if you try any of your monkey tricks with me, either of you
——”
“Oh, I’m only a visitor like yourself,” said Jimmy, with a wave of his
hand; “and as to monkey tricks, why, I could have shot you before
you entered the room.”
Massey frowned, and stood twiddling his pistol.
“You will find a safety catch on the left side of the barrel,” continued
Jimmy, pointing to the pistol; “snick it up—you can always push it
down again with your thumb if you really mean business. You are not
my idea of a burglar. You breathe too noisily, and you are built too
clumsily; why, I heard you open the front door!”
The quiet contempt in the tone brought a deeper red into the man’s
face.
“Oh, you are a clever ’un, we know!” he began, and the old man,
who had recovered his self-command, motioned him to a chair.
“Sit down, Mister Massey,” he snapped; “sit down, my fine fellow, an’
tell us all the news. Jimmy an’ me was just speakin’ about you, me
an’ Jimmy was. We was saying what a fine gentleman you was”—his
voice grew shrill—“what a swine, what an overfed, lumbering fool of
a pig you was, Mister Massey!”
He sank back into the depths of his chair exhausted.
“Look here, governor,” began Massey again—he had laid his pistol
on a table by his side, and waved a large red hand to give point to
his remarks—“we don’t want any unpleasantness. I’ve been a good
friend to you, an’ so has Jimmy. We’ve done your dirty work for
years, me an’ Jimmy have, and Jimmy knows it”—turning with an
ingratiating smirk to the subject of his remarks—“and now we want a
bit of our own—that is all it amounts to, our own.”
Old Reale looked under his shaggy eyebrows to where Jimmy sat
with brooding eyes watching the fire.
“So it’s a plant, eh? You’re both in it. Jimmy comes first, he being the
clever one, an’ puts the lay nice an’ snug for the other feller.”
Jimmy shook his head.
“Wrong,” he said. He turned his head and took a long scrutiny of the
newcomer, and the amused contempt of his gaze was too apparent.
“Look at him!” he said at last. “Our dear Massey! Does he look the
sort of person I am likely to share confidence with?”
A cold passion seemed suddenly to possess him.
“It’s a coincidence that brought us both together.”
He rose and walked to where Massey sat, and stared down at him.
There was something in the look that sent Massey’s hand wandering
to his pistol.
“Massey, you dog!” he began, then checked himself with a laugh and
walked to the other end of the room. There was a tantalus with a
soda siphon, and he poured himself a stiff portion and sent the soda
fizzling into the tumbler. He held the glass to the light and looked at
the old man. There was a look on the old man’s face that he
remembered to have seen before. He drank his whisky and gave
utterance to old Reale’s thoughts.
“It’s no good, Reale, you’ve got to settle with Massey, but not the
way you’re thinking. We could put him away, but we should have to
put ourselves away too.” He paused. “And there’s me,” he added.
“And Connor,” said Massey thickly, “and Connor’s worse than me.
I’m reasonable, Reale; I’d take a fair share——”
“You would, would you?”
The old man was grinning again.
“Well, your share’s exactly a million an’ three-quarters in solid cash,
an’ a bit over two millions—all in.”
He paused to notice the effect of his words.
Jimmy’s calm annoyed him; Massey’s indifference was outrageous.
“An’ it’s Jimmy’s share, an’ Connor’s share, an’ it’s Miss Kathleen
Kent’s share.”
This time the effect was better. Into Jimmy’s inexpressive face had
crept a gleam of interest.
“Kent?” he asked quickly. “Wasn’t that the name of the man——?”
Old Reale chuckled.
“The very feller, Jimmy—the man who came in to lose a tenner, an’
lost ten thousand; who came in next night to get it back, and left his
lot. That’s the feller!”
He rubbed his lean hands, as at the memory of some pleasant
happening.
“Open that cupboard, Jimmy.” He pointed to an old-fashioned walnut
cabinet that stood near the door. “D’ye see anything—a thing that
looks like a windmill?”
Jimmy drew out a cardboard structure that was apparently a toy
working-model. He handled it carefully, and deposited it on the table
by the old man’s side. Old Reale touched it caressingly. With his little
finger he set a fly-wheel spinning, and tiny little pasteboard rods ran
to and fro, and little wooden wheels spun easily.
“That’s what I did with his money, invented a noo machine that went
by itself—perpetual motion. You can grin, Massey, but that’s what I
did with it. Five years’ work an’ a quarter of a million, that’s what that
little model means. I never found the secret out. I could always make
a machine that would go for hours with a little push, but it always
wanted the push. I’ve been a chap that went in for inventions and
puzzles. D’ye remember the table at Suez?”
He shot a sly glance at the men.
Massey was growing impatient as the reminiscences proceeded. He
had come that night with an object; he had taken a big risk, and had
not lost sight of the fact. Now he broke in—
“Damn your puzzles, Reale. What about me; never mind about
Jimmy. What’s all this rotten talk about two millions for each of us,
and this girl? When you broke up the place in Egypt you said we
should stand in when the time came. Well, the time’s come!”
“Nearly, nearly,” said Reale, with his death’s-head grin. “It’s nearly
come. You needn’t have troubled to see me. My lawyer’s got your
addresses. I’m nearly through,” he went on cheerfully; “dead I’ll be in
six months, as sure as—as death. Then you fellers will get the
money”—he spoke slowly to give effect to his words—“you Jimmy, or
Massey or Connor or the young lady. You say you don’t like puzzles,
Massey? Well, it’s a bad look out for you. Jimmy’s the clever un, an’
most likely he’ll get it; Connor’s artful, and he might get it from
Jimmy; but the young lady’s got the best chance, because women
are good at puzzles.”
“What in hell!” roared Massey, springing to his feet.
“Sit down!” It was Jimmy that spoke, and Massey obeyed.
“There’s a puzzle about these two millions,” Reale went on, and his
croaky voice, with its harsh cockney accent, grew raucous in his
enjoyment of Massey’s perplexity and Jimmy’s knit brows. “An’ the
one that finds the puzzle out, gets the money.”
Had he been less engrossed in his own amusement he would have
seen a change in Massey’s brute face that would have warned him.
“It’s in my will,” he went on. “I’m goin’ to set the sharps against the
flats; the touts of the gamblin’ hell—that’s you two fellers—against
the pigeons. Two of the biggest pigeons is dead, an’ one’s dying.
Well, he’s got a daughter; let’s see what she can do. When I’m dead
——”
“That’s now!” bellowed Massey, and leant over and struck the old
man.
Jimmy, on his feet, saw the gush of blood and the knife in Massey’s
hand, and reached for his pocket.
Massey’s pistol covered him, and the man’s face was a dreadful
thing to look upon.
“Hands up! It’s God’s truth I’ll kill you if you don’t!”
Jimmy’s hands went up.
“He’s got the money here,” breathed Massey, “somewhere in this
house.”
“You’re mad,” said the other contemptuously. “Why did you hit him?”
“He sat there makin’ a fool of me.” The murderer gave a vicious
glance at the inert figure on the floor. “I want something more than
his puzzle-talk. He asked for it.”
He backed to the table where the decanter stood, and drank a
tumbler half-filled with raw spirit.
“We’re both in this, Jimmy,” he said, still keeping his man covered.
“You can put down your hands; no monkey tricks. Give me your
pistol.”
Jimmy slipped the weapon from his pocket, and handed it butt
foremost to the man. Then Massey bent over the fallen man and
searched his pockets.
“Here are the keys. You stay here,” said Massey, and went out,
closing the door after him.
Jimmy heard the grate of the key, and knew he was a prisoner. He
bent over the old man. He lay motionless. Jimmy tried the pulse, and
felt a faint flutter. Through the clenched teeth he forced a little
whisky, and after a minute the old man’s eyes opened.
“Jimmy!” he whispered; then remembering, “Where’s Massey?” he
asked.
There was no need to inquire the whereabouts of Massey. His
blundering footfalls sounded in the room above.
“Lookin’ for money?” gasped the old man, and something like a smile
crossed his face. “Safe’s up there,” he whispered, and smiled again.
“Got the keys?”
Jimmy nodded.
The old man’s eyes wandered round the room till they rested on
what looked like a switchboard.
“See that handle marked ‘seven’?” he whispered.
Jimmy nodded again.
“Pull it down, Jimmy boy.” His voice was growing fainter. “This is a
new one that I read in a book. Pull it down.”
“Why?”
“Do as I tell you,” the lips motioned, and Jimmy walked across the
room and pulled over the insulated lever.
As he did there was a heavy thud overhead that shook the room,
and then silence.
“What’s that?” he asked sharply.
The dying man smiled.
“That’s Massey!” said the lips.

Half an hour later Jimmy left the house with a soiled slip of paper in
his waistcoat pocket, on which was written the most precious verse
of doggerel that the world has known.
And the discovery of the two dead men in the upper chambers the
next morning afforded the evening press the sensation of the year.
CHAPTER III
ANGEL ESQUIRE

Nobody quite knows how Angel Esquire came to occupy the


position he does at Scotland Yard. On his appointment, “An Officer
of Twenty Years’ Standing” wrote to the Police Review and
characterized the whole thing as “a job.” Probably it was. For Angel
Esquire had been many things in his short but useful career, but
never a policeman. He had been a big game shot, a special
correspondent, a “scratch” magistrate, and his nearest approach to
occupying a responsible position in any police force in the world was
when he was appointed a J.P. of Rhodesia, and, serving on the Tuli
Commission, he hanged M’Linchwe and six of that black
desperado’s companions.
His circle of acquaintances extended to the suburbs of London, and
the suburbanites, who love you to make their flesh creep, would sit in
shivering but pleasurable horror whilst Angel Esquire elaborated the
story of the execution.
In Mayfair Angel Esquire was best known as a successful mediator.
“Who is that old-looking young man with the wicked eye?” asked the
Dowager Duchess of Hoeburn; and her vis-à-vis at the Honorable
Mrs. Carter-Walker’s “sit-down tea”—it was in the days when Mayfair
was aping suburbia—put up his altogether unnecessary eyeglass.
“Oh, that’s Angel Esquire!” he said carelessly.
“What is he?” asked the Duchess.
“A policeman.”
“India?”
“Oh, no, Scotland Yard.”
“Good Heavens!” said Her Grace in a shocked voice. “How very
dreadful! What is he doing? Watching the guests, or keeping a
friendly eye on the Carter woman’s spoons?”
The young man guffawed.
“Don’t despise old Angel, Duchess,” he said. “He’s a man to know.
Great fellow for putting things right. If you have a row with your
governor, or get into the hands of—er—undesirables, or generally, if
you’re in a mess of any kind, Angel’s the chap to pull you out.”
Her Grace surveyed the admirable man with a new interest.
Angel Esquire, with a cup of tea in one hand and a thin grass
sandwich in the other, was the center of a group of men, including
the husband of the hostess. He was talking with some animation.
“I held three aces pat, and opened the pot light to let ’em in. Young
Saville raised the opening to a tenner, and the dealer went ten better.
George Manfred, who had passed, came in for a pony, and took one
card. I took two, and drew another ace. Saville took one, and the
dealer stood pat. I thought it was my money, and bet a pony. Saville
raised it to fifty, the dealer made it a hundred, and George Manfred
doubled the bet. It was up to me. I had four aces; I put Saville with a
‘full,’ and the dealer with a ‘flush.’ I had the beating of that lot; but
what about Manfred? Manfred is a feller with all the sense going. He
knew what the others had. If he bet, he had the goods, so I chucked
my four aces into the discard. George had a straight flush.”
A chorus of approval came from the group.
If “An Officer of Twenty Years’ Standing” had been a listener, he
might well have been further strengthened in his opinion that of all
persons Mr. Angel was least fitted to fill the responsible position he
did.
If the truth be told, nobody quite knew exactly what position Angel
did hold. If you turn into New Scotland Yard and ask the janitor at the
door for Mr. Christopher Angel—Angel Esquire by the way was a
nickname affixed by a pert little girl—the constable, having satisfied
himself as to your bona-fides, would take you up a flight of stairs and
hand you over to yet another officer, who would conduct you through
innumerable swing doors, and along uncounted corridors till he
stopped before a portal inscribed “647.” Within, you would find Angel
Esquire sitting at his desk, doing nothing, with the aid of a Sporting
Life and a small weekly guide to the Turf.
Once Mr. Commissioner himself walked into the room unannounced,
and found Angel so immersed in an elaborate calculation, with big
sheets of paper closely filled with figures, and open books on either
hand, that he did not hear his visitor.
“What is the problem?” asked Mr. Commissioner, and Angel looked
up with his sweetest smile, and recognizing his visitor, rose.
“What’s the problem?” asked Mr. Commissioner again.
“A serious flaw, sir,” said Angel, with all gravity. “Here’s Mimosa
handicapped at seven stone nine in the Friary Nursery, when,
according to my calculations, she can give the field a stone, and beat
any one of ’em.”
The Commissioner gasped.
“My dear fellow,” he expostulated, “I thought you were working on
the Lagos Bank business.”
Angel had a far-away look in his eyes when he answered—
“Oh, that is all finished. Old Carby was poisoned by a man named—
forget his name now, but he was a Monrovian. I wired the Lagos
police, and we caught the chap this morning at Liverpool—took him
off an Elder, Dempster boat.”
The Police Commissioner beamed.
“My congratulations, Angel. By Jove, I thought we shouldn’t have a
chance of helping the people in Africa. Is there a white man in it?”
“We don’t know,” said Angel absently; his eye was wandering up and
down a column of figures on the paper before him.
“I am inclined to fancy there is—man named Connor, who used to be
a croupier or something to old Reale.”
He frowned at the paper, and picking up a pencil from the desk,
made a rapid little calculation. “Seven stone thirteen,” he muttered.
The Commissioner tapped the table impatiently. He had sunk into a
seat opposite Angel.
“My dear man, who is old Reale? You forget that you are our tame
foreign specialist. Lord, Angel, if you heard half the horrid things that
people say about your appointment you would die of shame!”
Angel pushed aside the papers with a little laugh.
“I’m beyond shame,” he said lightheartedly; “and, besides, I’ve
heard. You were asking about Reale. Reale is a character. For
twenty years proprietor of one of the most delightful gambling plants
in Egypt, Rome—goodness knows where. Education—none.
Hobbies—invention. That’s the ‘bee in his bonnet’—invention. If he’s
got another, it is the common or garden puzzle. Pigs in clover,
missing words, all the fake competitions that cheap little papers run
—he goes in for them all. Lives at 43 Terrington Square.”
“Where?” The Commissioner’s eyebrows rose. “Reale? 43 Terrington
Square? Why, of course.” He looked at Angel queerly. “You know all
about Reale?”
Angel shrugged his shoulders.
“As much as anybody knows,” he said.
The Commissioner nodded.
“Well, take a cab and get down at once to 43 Terrington Square.
Your old Reale was murdered last night.”
It was peculiar of Angel Esquire that nothing surprised him. He
received the most tremendous tidings with polite interest, and now
he merely said, “Dear me!” Later, as a swift hansom carried him
along Whitehall he permitted himself to be “blessed.”
Outside No. 43 Terrington Square a small crowd of morbid
sightseers stood in gloomy anticipation of some gruesome
experience or other. A policeman admitted him, and the local
inspector stopped in his interrogation of a white-faced butler to bid
him a curt “Good morning.”
Angel’s preliminary inspection did not take any time. He saw the
bodies, which had not yet been removed. He examined the pockets
of both men, and ran his eye through the scattered papers on the
floor of the room in which the tragedy had occurred. Then he came
back to the big drawing-room and saw the inspector, who was sitting
at a table writing his report.
“The chap on the top floor committed the murder, of course,” said
Angel.
“I know that,” said Inspector Boyden brusquely.
“And was electrocuted by a current passing through the handle of
the safe.”
“I gathered that,” the inspector replied as before, and went on with
his work.
“The murderer’s name is Massey,” continued Angel patiently
—“George Charles Massey.”
The inspector turned in his seat with a sarcastic smile.
“I also,” he said pointedly, “have seen the envelopes addressed in
that name, which were found in his pocket.”
Angel’s face was preternaturally solemn as he continued—
“The third man I am not so sure about.”
The inspector looked up suspiciously.
“Third man—which third man?”
Well-simulated astonishment sent Angel’s eyebrows to the shape of
inverted V’s.
“There was another man in it. Didn’t you know that, Mr. Inspector?”
“I have found no evidence of the presence of a third party,” he said
stiffly; “but I have not yet concluded my investigations.”
“Good!” said Angel cheerfully. “When you have, you will find the ends
of three cigarettes—two in the room where the old man was killed,
and one in the safe room. They are marked ‘Al Kam,’ and are a fairly
expensive variety of Egyptian cigarettes. Massey smoked cigars; old
Reale did not smoke at all. The question is”—he went on speaking
aloud to himself, and ignoring the perplexed police official—“was it
Connor or was it Jimmy?”
The inspector struggled with a desire to satisfy his curiosity at the
expense of his dignity, and resolved to maintain an attitude of
superior incredulity. He turned back to his work.
“It would be jolly difficult to implicate either of them,” Angel went on
reflectively, addressing the back of the inspector. “They would
produce fifty unimpeachable alibis, and bring an action for wrongful
arrest in addition,” he added artfully.
“They can’t do that,” said the inspector gruffly.
“Can’t they?” asked the innocent Angel. “Well, at any rate, it’s not
advisable to arrest them. Jimmy would——”
Inspector Boyden swung round in his chair.
“I don’t know whether you’re ‘pulling my leg,’ Mr. Angel. You are
perhaps unused to the procedure in criminal cases in London, and I
must now inform you that at present I am in charge of the case, and
must request that if you have any information bearing upon this
crime to give it to me at once.”
“With all the pleasure in life,” said Angel heartily. “In the first place,
Jimmy——”
“Full name, please.” The inspector dipped his pen in ink.
“Haven’t the slightest idea,” said the other carelessly. “Everybody
knows Jimmy. He was old Reale’s most successful decoy duck. Had
the presence and the plumage and looked alive, so that all the other
little ducks used to come flying down and settle about him, and long
before they could discover that the beautiful bird that attracted them
was only painted wood and feathers, ‘Bang! bang!’ went old Reale’s
double-barrel, and roast duck was on the menu for days on end.”
Inspector Boyden threw down his pen with a grunt.
“I’m afraid,” he said in despair, “that I cannot include your parable in
my report. When you have any definite information to give, I shall be
pleased to receive it.”
Later, at Scotland Yard, Angel interviewed the Commissioner.
“What sort of a man is Boyden to work with?” asked Mr.
Commissioner.
“A most excellent chap—good-natured, obliging, and as zealous as
the best of ’em,” said Angel, which was his way.
“I shall leave him in charge of the case,” said the Chief.
“You couldn’t do better,” said Angel decisively.
Then he went home to his flat in Jermyn Street to dress for dinner.
It was an immaculate Angel Esquire who pushed through the plate-
glass, turn-table door of the Heinz, and, walking into the magnificent
old rose dining-room, selected a table near a window looking out on
to Piccadilly.
The other occupant of the table looked up and nodded.
“Hullo, Angel!” he said easily.
“Hullo, Jimmy!” greeted the unconventional detective.
He took up the card and chose his dishes with elaborate care. A half-
bottle of Beaujolais completed his order.
“The ridiculous thing is that one has got to pay 7s. 6d. for a small
bottle of wine that any respectable grocer will sell you for tenpence
ha’-penny net.”
“You must pay for the magnificence,” said the other, quietly amused.
Then, after the briefest pause, “What do you want?”
“Not you, Jimmy,” said the amiable Angel, “though my young friend,
Boyden, Inspector of Police, and a Past Chief Templar to boot, will
be looking for you shortly.”
Jimmy carefully chose a toothpick and stripped it of its tissue
covering.
“Of course,” he said quietly, “I wasn’t in it—the killing, I mean. I was
there.”
“I know all about that,” said Angel; “saw your foolish cigarettes. I
didn’t think you had any hand in the killing. You are a property
criminal, not a personal criminal.”
“By which I gather you convey the nice distinction as between crimes
against property and crimes against the person,” said the other.
“Exactly.”
A pause.
“Well?” said Jimmy.
“What I want to see you about is the verse,” said Angel, stirring his
soup.
Jimmy laughed aloud.
“What a clever little devil you are, Angel,” he said admiringly; “and
not so little either, in inches or devilishness.”
He relapsed into silence, and the wrinkled forehead was eloquent.
“Think hard,” taunted Angel.
“I’m thinking,” said Jimmy slowly. “I used a pencil, as there was no
blotting paper. I only made one copy, just as the old man dictated it,
and——”
“You used a block,” said Angel obligingly, “and only tore off the top
sheet. And you pressed rather heavily on that, so that the next sheet
bore a legible impression.”
Jimmy looked annoyed.
“What an ass I am!” he said, and was again silent.
“The verse?” said Angel. “Can you make head or tail of it?”
“No”—Jimmy shook his head—“can you?”
“Not a blessed thing,” Angel frankly confessed.
Through the next three courses neither man spoke. When coffee had
been placed on the table, Jimmy broke the silence—
“You need not worry about the verse. I have only stolen a march of a
few days. Then Connor will have it; and some girl or other will have
it. Massey would have had it too.” He smiled grimly.
“What is it all about?”
Jimmy looked at his questioner with some suspicion.
“Don’t you know?” he demanded.
“Haven’t got the slightest notion. That is why I came to see you.”
“Curious!” mused Jimmy. “I thought of looking you up for the very
same purpose. We shall know in a day or two,” he went on,
beckoning the waiter. “The old man said it was all in the will. He just
told me the verse before he died. The ruling passion, don’t you know.
‘Learn it by heart, Jimmy,’ he croaked; ‘it’s two millions for you if you
guess it’—and that’s how he died. My bill, waiter. Which way do you
go?” he asked as they turned into Piccadilly.
“To the ‘Plait’ for an hour,” said Angel.
“Business?”
“Partly; I’m looking for a man who might be there.”
They crossed Piccadilly, and entered a side turning. The second on
the left and the first on the right brought them opposite a brightly-lit
hotel. From within came the sound of violins. At the little tables with
which the spacious bar-room was set about sat laughing women and
young men in evening dress. A haze of cigarette smoke clouded the
atmosphere, and the music made itself heard above a babel of
laughter and talk. They found a corner, and seated themselves.
“You seem to be fairly well known here,” said Jimmy.
“Yes,” replied Angel ruefully, “a jolly sight too well known. You’re not
quite a stranger, Jimmy,” he added.

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