Report of Solar Powered Ploughing Robot, Project Undertaken by DBCE Students

Final year Mechanical Engineering students of Don Bosco College Of Engineering, Dhirendra Singh, Akash Yadav, Sawant Krishnanath Sundar, Abhinav Parulekar and Santosh Mishra have developed a Solar Powered Ploughing Robot. The Project was guided by Prof. Ajit Salunke, HOD Mechanical Engineering Department. With successful implementation of the prototype, it is possible to eliminate the use of bullocks and maual labor for ploughing and reduce the dependency of farmers on diesel powered vehicles. The device can save energy and avoid air pollution due to emissions of toxic gases into the atmosphere.
The autonomous mobile robot effectively utilizes the available solar energy for ploughing small fields, gardens etc. Farmers who own these small fields/lands constitute 70% of the agriculture sector. A 14 W capacity solar panel converts the solar radiations into electricity which is stored in a 12 V battery. A cast iron plough is mounted on a aluminium body. The motion of the robot is controlled by Arduino Microcontroller using 3 ultrasonic sensors for obstacle detection. The battery drives 4 DC motors for vehicle movement and one motor for ploughing. The robot can also be controlled remotely by bluetooth, wireless or through SMS.

This device can be a boon to farmers in areas where there is acute shortage of power. With around 20% electricity consumption in India being in the agriculture sector, there is a urgent need for framing equipments which use unconventional energy.