IAES International Journal of Robotics and Automation (IJRA)

Vol. 10, No. 2, June 2021, pp. 75~90

ISSN: 2722-2586, DOI: 10.11591/ijra.v10i2.pp75-90  75

Design and development of an irrigation mobile robot

Ahmed Hassan1, Rao M. Asif2, Ateeq Ur Rehman3, Zuhaib Nishtar4, Mohammed K. A. Kaabar5,
Khan Afsar6
1,2,4Department of Electrical Engineering, The Superior College, Lahore, Pakistan
3Department of Electrical Engineering, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan
3College of Internet of Things Engineering, Hohai University, Changzhou Campus, Changzhou, China
5Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Washington State University, Pullman, United States
6Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan

Article Info ABSTRACT

Article history: Water plays a significant role among other existing natural resources. The
daily demand for water supplies is increasingly on the rise as the population
Received Dec 14, 2020 grows. To minimize the consumption of water in irrigation, several proposals
Revised Feb 9, 2021 were suggested. The currently existing system known as the automated
Accepted Apr 9, 2021 irrigation system for effective water resource use with the prediction of the
weather (AISWP) functions with a single farm that lacks the reliability in the
precision of weather forecasting. So, a robot-based irrigation system has been
Keywords: proposed to improve the performance of the system. To minimize the water
usage for crops, an automated irrigation system has been developed which
GSM irrigates the field in acres. An additional characteristic of the system has also
IoT been given for the soil pH measurement to allow the use of fertilizers
Smart irrigation accordingly. The solar-powered robot is managed wirelessly by a designated
application. The robot is attached with various sensors and with a high-
resolution camera that tests crop conditions and senses the soil state. The
application has been created to provide information about the soil’s condition
such as temperature level, humidity level, water level, and level of nutrients
to the PC/Laptop with the real-time values via the GSM module.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license.

Corresponding Author:
Ateeq Ur Rehman
Department of Electrical Engineering
Government College University
Science Block, Katcheri Road, Lower Mall, Lahore, Pakistan
Email: ateeq.rehman@gcu.edu.pk

1. INTRODUCTION
Irrigation is the mechanism by which plants are supplied with water by artificial means. Irrigation
decreases the production of weeds and increases the growth of plants to conserve soil nutrients. Irrigation can
support landscape conservation in growing crops, especially in periods of below average precipitation [1].
Water is slowly absorbed by plant roots; therefore, water consumption is minimized. Irrigation enables
farmers and gardeners to use water effectively to ensure the growth of plants. The farmers of stocks use
irrigation to ensure that their cattle can produce enough milk. Many new crops and varieties of plants need
daily irrigation which leads to the increased irrigated demand. An autonomous irrigation machine runs a
device without human intervention. With the assistance of electronic devices and detectors, such as
processors, temporaries, sensors, and other mechanical equipment, any irrigation system such as drip,
sprinkler, and the surface become automated [2, 3]. Besides minimizing the costs of water bills and ensuring
the safety of farms, the required automatic irrigation system will also help maximize the value of our farm

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and save time. Today, the majority of new farmers foresee a greenhouse with plants such as the integrated
irrigation system. Therefore, there is no need to spend from 2 to 5 hours a week cleaning the field.
As an important technology for the planting and development of crops, agricultural irrigation is
often given importance. A sound and adequate supply of irrigation water can dramatically increase the
efficiency of agriculture and water savings. It is clear that conventional irrigation not only absorbs
wastewater but also resources, based on the local position, maybe much needed. The conventional irrigation
technique entails using water in all areas of the field as evenly as possible without taking into consideration
the complexity of soil and crop water needs [4]. Different closed-loop irrigation systems have been
developed and applied in recent decades as they are responsive to real-time soil humidity factors. Agriculture
is using 85% of worldwide available freshwater supplies, and because of the rising population and the
increasing food demand, this figure might continue to dominate for water use. Water wastage is always a
major concern of our society in daily life. Water availability varies drastically from region to region. Some
regions have plenty of water available and some face scarcity of water. Managing water resources for
agriculture is of extreme importance. Water wastage is to be minimized on an urgent basis as water
consumption is increasing with the population growth rate. To overcome these losses, a robotics-based
irrigation system has been designed in which the maximum field is irrigated. The field is distributed into
different areas. The robot is gone through all these areas sequentially and senses the condition of the soil,
which further communicates the message along with the global system for mobile communications (GSM)
module through an application or mobile phone.
In [5], the authors reviewed the latest smart solar irrigation system in depth. The solar sustainable
energy from solar panels to the groundwater tank is dependent on direct sunlight amount from the well to the
purified water. While conventional methods involved pumping water from the pot to the pot through the
pump, only a single phase of energy was absorbed by the device as the water was pumped into a ground-level
tank that controls the water flow from a basic valve mechanism into the field [6, 7]. This saved an enormous
amount of power generation and renewable energies. In order to monitor moisture content and height in the
soil, they developed a network of wireless sensors. The design of the wireless sensor network was seen and
the results of the sensor configuration and irrigation decisions were discussed in agriculture. In addition, they
have created a sophisticated wireless irrigation system with real-life humidity information and expert data for
precise farming and irrigation decisions. This system has been shown to save water and be feasible for
precision farming [8-12]. With this solution, the authors recommended an improved automated irrigation
method [13-15]. A sprinkler head was fitted to a water supply under load by a conduit with a valve. A
moisture sensor was installed on the field next to the sprinkler head. The wires between the samples and the
valves were changed for the wireless version. Additional valves were used for monitoring and installation of
located areas in branch and riser pipes. The rechargeable battery solar powered by the preferred fuel was
supplied.
Various other studies have demonstrated multiple designs to increase the intelligent irrigation
system, but the main objective of the proposed project is to create an intelligent robot to capture the crop
situation with a high-resolution camera for irrigation. Researchers have provided a wireless sensor network
measuring temperature and humidity parameters related to the soil [16-18]. Under soil, sensors attached to
relay nodes were designed using an advanced protocol to have an extremely short operating time to increase
the life cycle of the soil monitoring device. During transmission, the system was developed with the use of a
microcontroller, a universal asynchronous transmitter and sensors and was sampled every hour with the data
buffering (UART). Because of their cost and the positioning of the sensor in the ground the system was
unpleasant to reduce the RF signal. The authors suggested a photovoltaic panel system during this point, with
a duplex communication channel that can be planned using a website for data management and irrigation
using a portable internet interface [19-21].
In this way, Kim [22] proposed the remote sensing and control irrigation system using a mobile
network of wireless contact sensors for variable irrigation rates, in-house real-time monitoring, and linear
movement irrigation system control for precise information accuracy for maximum water usage. The
machine supplied with in-depth information on the device and parameters of irrigation, the wireless network
of sensors, and the field sensing and tracking for the applications concerned. The whole system was based on
five sensor systems in the field which are capturing the data and transmitting it to the Base Station via the
GPS. Rehman et al. [23] have thus suggested a basic cost-effective smart irrigation system. The device was
implemented with wireless sensor motes from a network of wireless sensors. The machine was equipped with
IRIS TINY OS motors to calculate the moisture level and set the threshold value in outdoor conditions. The
moisture content was calculated. The plan used the Crossbow technology-developed MOTEVIEW 2.0f data
visualization and surveillance platform. Compared to other manual operators, the planned scheme was simple
to enforce and demanded less of the IRIS sensor motes. The project’s authors suggested the implementation
of a drip irrigation device based on the microcontroller. This device was a feedback control device in real-

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time that could track and control all the processes in a drip irrigation system very effectively. They also built
an irrigation system that manages valves using an automatic controller, which enables farmers to use the
necessary water’s volume at the right time [24].
The authors suggested an integrated irrigation system that automatically waters and retains the
necessary soil moisture content. The Arduino UNO framework was used for the development of the control
unit with the ATMEGA328P microcontroller. The installation utilizes soil humidity sensors that determine
the exact humidity level in the soil. This importance allowed the machine to use a suitable amount of water
that prevents irrigation. IoT was used to brief farmers on sprinkler's status. The sensor details have been
frequently updated on the GSM-GPRS SIM900A modem to ensure that the water sprinklers are ON/OFF at
all times. The sensors are available on the website. The sensor readings have also been sent to a Thing
Speech channel for study [25]. The work was carried out using the soil system using sensors based on this
process [26]. Different soil sensors have been used to measure the values of temperature, humidity, and sun,
moisture, and pH. The soil sensing information was then transmitted from the A/D converter to the cloud via
Raspberry Pi to the MCP3204 A/D converter. The details were stored in the cloud on both cell and laptop
computers. They understood that based on the knowledge, the increasing crop is acceptable for the parameter
of the soil. This state-of-the-art equipment also makes land monitoring processes simple for farmers to
remember the specific soil quality. All the projects carried out up to date consist primarily of IoT irrigation
systems. In this phase [27], the authors have established an effective, inexpensive, and ready low-level
discharge calculation to implement the vast water system in the GSM/GPRS irrigation channel network of
the river basin of the Indus River as a suitable communication technology. Problems relating to power needs,
and device operation have been discussed and resolved.
The authors suggested this approach, using soil humidity sensors, to prevent wastewater and
improve irrigation productivity using a PLC-based irrigation system [28]. It is also upgraded the conventional
irrigation method, which allows for high quality and low water utilization of the irrigation system. The best
attribute was that of a PLC-based sprinkler irrigation scheme. In this approach, the authors suggested a cloud-
based IoT agricultural greenhouse monitoring system. In greenhouses, sensors including light sensors, and
others such as temperature, humidity, etc. for many environmental parameters have been efficiently regulated
for the management. Periodically (30 seconds), sensors collected and stored data from the agricultural sector
through cloud storage and the internet [29, 30]. The authors have talked about IoT-based crop surveillance
and irrigation system [31]. A system was designed to track farmland with sensors and the method of
irrigation was automated based on sensed data according to a decision of a server. The corresponding
outcomes are transmitted via wireless technology to the Web server database. This automated irrigation
guarantees that the humidity and temperature areas are below the maximum limit. The user can remotely
monitor and manage the system using an application that provides a web interface to users. The researchers
suggested an intelligent scheme of irrigation with this process. This proposed device used an Android mobile
application to decrease human interference and to remotely monitor the crop field. With the drip irrigation
system, we can save a lot of wastewater. A few more devices have been used to track the environment [32].
The advantages and disadvantages of existing irrigation models are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Pros and cons of various existing irrigation models

Ref Model Designed Advantages Disadvantages
[1-3] A cellular use of automation of soil moisture sensors for drip Self-healing Slow irrigation process
irrigation
[4-8] Remotely sensed data of a centralized WSN irrigation system Flexible and easy to expand Cannot irrigate the
maximum area
[9-13] A novel soil measuring wireless sensor network Greater precision in Requiring labor
maintaining soil moisture
[14-19] A review of wireless sensor and wireless network technologies Reduced erosion Periodic service is required
[20-22] A design of a wireless sensor network for greenhouse analysis Increased security The initial and long-term
costs are high
[23-25] Solar powered irrigation for food crop production Costs have fallen High initial cost

[26-27] Verification for smart devices with a lightweight anonymous Easy Installation Slow response
source

The authors recommended that the automated weed detection and intelligent herbicide sprayer robot should
be designed and built to detect the decrease in crops. In which photos of a plant have been obtained, the weeds of a
field can accurately be recognized [33, 34]. In the method [35], the authors suggested a framework to recognize rats,
crop decreases, and to submit information and image processing for up-to-date notification analysis. Sensors and
electronic systems have been designed using Python scripts. Based on checked cases, 84.8% of the test cases were

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successful. An experiment with IoT and image recognition has been conducted to determine biological
factors or human-produced, Smart Agriculture presented a strategy that merged IoT and image analysis that
directly inhibited plant growth. The decision-making method was used to further evaluate the process of
gathering information from the complicated environment structure, and the image of the lattice was
performed using histogram analysis by MATLAB software [36, 37]. In this approach, the authors suggested a
scheme that took into account Indian climate conditions specifications for a sugarcane crop [38]. New
knowledge retrieval and processing technologies for sugarcane were developed at WSN in agriculture. It was
better than conventional agricultural methods. The precise farm monitoring system was designed to capture
sensor node data with wireless sensor nodes and ground stations. This was a low-cost device in which the
stored information was sent through an SMS via a GSM network to a remote site. To monitor the parameters,
the farmer will use the obtained information. The efficacy and reliability of used resources have been
enhanced by this method of wireless sensing and control that results in better performance. The system's
downside was its GSM network dependence. A detailed review of various irrigation models exploiting
different model designs and wireless technologies has been demonstrated in Table 2.

Table 2. State of the art of existing irrigation models

Ref Model Designed Advantages Disadvantages
[1] A cellular use of automation of soil moisture sensors for drip Self-healing Slow irrigation process
irrigation
[2] Remotely sensed data of a centralized WSN irrigation system Flexible and easy to expand Cannot irrigate maximum
area
[3] a novel soil measuring wireless sensor network Greater precision in Requiring labor
maintaining soil moisture
[4] A review of wireless sensor and wireless network technologies Reduced erosion Require periodic service
[5] A design of wireless sensor network for greenhouse analysis Increased security The initial and long-term
costs are much higher
[6] A field modular gate system smart sensor based farm Dedicated bandwidth Lack of mobility and greater
monitoring system cost
[7] Precision agricultural device architecture and implementation Self-healing It lacked the cloud-based
using a wireless communication data storage
[8] Automatic monitor and control system of water saving Product higher crop yields Time consuming
irrigation
[9] Automated IoT irrigation system dependent on the sensor Smartly controlled Data rate is low
[10] Automated agriculture system based on WSN Capable of detecting the Lack of accuracy in sandy
moisture level soils
[11] A smart sensor array for executing irrigation in real time Wirelessly controlled Waste-full runoff
[12] Field test remote sensing of infrared thermography for the No destructive sampling of Expensive for small areas
assessment of crop water the crop
[13] Cyber interactive networks lightweight safety compliance Not limited to specific IoT Stable water supply need
services
[14] Advanced and modern agricultural real-time automation and Ability to save water Rural areas cannot fulfill that
control system requirements
[15] Wireless vehicle speed with crop tracking and routing system Ideal for first-time Limited to short distance
sensor network configuration
[16] Green Roofs' intelligent irrigation scheme focused on expected Wirelessly controlled Waste-full runoff
transition
[17] A greenhouse technology integrated network/wireless system Enhanced speed Installation and replacement
costs
[18] An intelligent farmland measurement sensor driven by It helps in the reduction of Consumption of oxygen by
microbial fuel cells pollution the bacteria
[19] A smart and regulated agricultural climate Flexible easy to expand Slow response
[20] Wireless networks and GPRS module automatic irrigation Preserves soil structure and Runoff due to overwatering
system nutrients
[21] Smart water performance: assessment and quantitative AI offers the potential for AI can be used for
analysis of water management potential in desert areas machine learning destructive purpose by
destructive people
[22] Creation and deployment of a distributed IoT framework to Enhanced speed Not suitable as a receiver, on
track freshwater water quality battery-based applications
[23] In-situ wireless sensor network in Southern Finland for river Lack of interference Requiring periodic service
basin tracking and farming
[24] Discrimination against marijuana and crops by visual Self-made decisions Complex to understand
processing and artificial intelligence
[25] Develop smart agriculture, cameras, cloud infrastructure, Avoids overuse of water in Initial cost is high
mobile devices & big data processing irrigation

[26] Solar powered irrigation for food crop production Costs have fallen High initial cost
[27] Verification for smart devices with a lightweight anonymous Easy installation Slow response
source

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2. RESEARCH METHOD
Firstly, the system is proposed in Proteus simulation. The functions of this system are:
‑ to measure the amount of NPK,
‑ to measure the percentage of humidity & moisture,
‑ to measure the temperature, and
‑ the circuit diagram of the system is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Circuit diagram of the proposed model

2.1. Case 1
In Case 1, we have given the condition of the dry soil and we get the suitable results accordingly on
the software. The soil nutrients are monitored, and the other information is shown on the virtual terminal. The
result of Case 1 of the system is also shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Results of Case 1

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2.2. Case 2
In Case 2, we have given the condition of the moist soil and we get the suitable results accordingly
to the software. The soil nutrients are monitored, and the other information is shown on the virtual terminal.
The result of Case 2 of the system is also shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Results of Case 2

2.3. Case 3
In Case 3, we have given the condition of the wet soil and we get the suitable results accordingly on
the software. The soil nutrients are monitored, and the other information is shown on the virtual terminal. The
result of Case 3 of the system is also shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Results of Case 3

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2.4. Flowcharts of remote and robot

According to Figures 5 and 6, the motors and sensors are attached to the required pins. The Arduino
board reads each signal to check if it is one of the rules defined by the user. The motors will start when the
signal is applied from the designated application. The robot will move in the direction given by the
application. The HC-05 Bluetooth module is used for the communication between the remote and the DC
motors. The servo motor is used to dip the soil sensors. The sensors are attached to the arm of the servo
motor. If the servo motor gets the pulse, it operates, and the sensors are dipped in the soil. If the sensors are
dipped in the soil, then the reading will be shown on the LCD. The Bluetooth module is used to communicate
the data between the mobile application and sensors and show the data on the PC/Laptop.

Figure 5. Flowchart of the Figure 6. Demonstration of the robot's flowchart

remote deployed in the proposed
model

3. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Figure 7 describes the methodology for our proposed system. The approach of the methodology is
given as:

3.1. GSM module

The wireless modem GSM stands for the global mobile communication system. In 1970, Bell
Laboratories invented the notion of GSM. The mobile communication system is widely used worldwide.
GSM is a free, digital cellular platform that works in the 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 1900 MHz
frequency ranges to deliver mobile voice and data services.
GSM was developed as a digital system using the time division multiple access (TDMA) technology
for communication. A GSM decodes and reduces data, and then sends them down to its specific time slot via
a channel of two separate sources of client data. The optical system can hold 64 kbps to 120 Mbps of data
rates [39].

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Figure 7. Functional diagram of the proposed system

3.2. Bluetooth module

This module can be used to either interface with two microcontrollers like Arduino or connect with
any Bluetooth computer such as a phone or laptop. There are already numerous Android applications that
make this process much easier [40]. Therefore, it is easy to communicate with any microcontroller assisted
by the USART with a 9600 baud-rate.

3.3. Relay module

As the relay has a 12V voltage source, so the +12V DC supply on one end of the coil and a switch
on the other edge of the pitch is used. A transistor, as a switching device, is used here. A diode is attached
through the relay belt, which is known as the flyback diode. The diode is designed to protect the switch from
high voltage spikes that can be created by the relay coil [41]. As seen, the load end of the typical pin may be
connected with the other end of the NO or the NC. If the charge is connected to NO, then it is already
disconnected before firing it, and it is connected to NC before triggering it.

3.4. H-bridge
The L298 (H-Bridge) is a high-power L293 IC engine unit [42]. It is a powerful, full-bridge dual-
driver designed to support normal TTL (control logic) logic levels and drive inductive loads such as relays,
solenoids, DC, and stepper. The interface may be activated or disabled separately from the input signals by
two active inputs.

3.5. Opto-coupler
Opto-isolators prohibit the device from receiving the signal from impacting high voltages. An opto-
isolator of the typical form consists of the same transparent pack of LED and phototransistor [43]. Opto-
isolators usually pass digital (ON-OFF) signals, although some techniques allow analog signals to be used.

3.6. Camera
The wireless security camera is chosen due to the easy intuitive installation, and the covered area is
very clean and 100% wire free. In addition, the camera has a 130° view angle large monitoring range as
shown in Figure 8. We are using this camera for checking the condition of our crops and for security
purposes. A buck-converter is connected to the camera to step down the 12 V battery voltages to 5 V because
of the operating voltages of the camera are 5 V. The chosen camera has the following specifications in Table 3.

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Table 3. Specifications of camera

Specifications Camera
Power supply (V) 12 V
Technology Infrared
Sensor CMOS
Audio compression PCM/G.726, Two
Way Audio
Connectivity IP/Network Wireless
Power consumption DC 5 V
(W)
Communication Two-Way

Figure 8. Security camera

3.7. Temperature sensor

The DS18B20 is a digital temperature sensor with an embedded one wire which is used often in
harsh conditions such as pesticides, soil mines, etc. as shown in Figure 9 [44].
Case 1: When we dip the temperature sensor in soil remotely, it gives the temperature of that soil area to a
mobile application or PC as provided in Figure 10. The normal temperature is from 30 to 45℃.

Figure 9. Temperature sensor (DS18B20) Figure 10. Temperature reading on application

Case 2: When we dip the temperature sensor in warm soil remotely, it gives the temperature of that soil area
to a mobile application or PC as shown in Figure 11(a). Now, in this case, temperature exceeds 40℃, when
the temperature of soil exceeds its limit, then we will be notified through SMS that irrigation process is
required as mentioned in Figure 11(b).
By substituting values from the Table 4, the amount of heat absorbed is calculated in (1). For dry
soil, we have:

𝑄 = 𝑚𝑐∆𝑇 (1)

𝑄 = 0.19 cal/g °C × 100 g × 45℃ (2)

𝑄 = 855 𝐽 (3)

𝑄 (4)
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝 = ×𝑐
𝑚

855 (5)
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝 =
0.19 𝐽/𝑔℃ ×100𝑔

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝 = 45℃ (6)

For wet soil, we have the following:

𝑄 = 0.35 cal/g °C × 100 g × 45℃ (7)

𝑄 = 854 𝐽 (8)

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𝑄 (9)
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝 = ×𝑐
𝑚

854 (10)
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝 =
0.35𝐽/𝑔℃ ×100𝑔

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝 = 24.4℃ (11)

where
∆𝑇 : change in temperature
𝑄 : heat absorption or release amount
𝑚 : mass of the body
𝑐 : specific heat of the body

Table 4. Specific heat [45]

Substance Specific Heat- cp -
(cal/gram°C) (J/kg°C)
When soil is dry 0.19 800
When soil is wet 0.35 1480

(a) (b)

Figure 11. (a) Notification of temperature and

(b) Temperature sensor case

3.8. Humidity sensor

Humidity sensor describes the moisture level of the atmosphere. During rainy or winter seasons
when there is an increase in humidity level temperature, it starts decreasing as shown in Figure 12(a). The
normal range of humidity is 65–79%. Now, in this case, humidity exceeds 79%, when the humidity exceeds
its limit, then we will be notified through SMS that the irrigation process is not required. When humidity
exceeds its normal range, we will get notified by SMS through the GSM module to our mobile or PC as
revealed in Figure 12(b).

(a) (b)

Figure 12. (a) Humidity level on application and (b) Notification of humidity

For finding relative humidity [46]:

𝐸 (12)
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦 % = × 100
𝐸𝑆

where
𝐸: Actual vapor pressure
𝐸𝑆 : Saturation vapor pressure

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17.67×𝑇𝐷𝑒𝑤
( ) (13)
𝐸 = 6.11 × 𝑒 243.5+𝑇𝐷𝑒𝑤

where
𝑇𝐷𝑒𝑤 = 24℃ (at 6am)
17.67×24℃
(14)
𝐸 = 6.11 × 𝑒 (243.5+24℃ )

𝐸 = 29.8 (15)

Now, we have:
17.67×𝑇
(16)
𝐸 = 6.11 × 𝑒 (243.5+𝑇 )

where 𝑇: 28℃.
By substituting values in the above equation, we obtain (17) and (18).
17.67×28℃
(17)
𝐸 = 6.11 × 𝑒 (243.5+28℃ )

𝐸 = 37.7 (18)

According to (12), we have:

𝐸 (19)
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦 % = × 100
𝐸𝑆

by substituting values of ‘𝐸’ and ‘𝐸𝑆 ’ in (14), we get (20) and (21).
29.8 (20)
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦 % = × 100
37.7

𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦 % = 79.0 % (21)

3.8.1. Soil sensor

The soil sensor displays the level of humidity in the soil. The range for moisture content in soil
is18–23°C. Initially, it will show 0°C. We performed this experiment by dipping the sensor in wet soil.
Therefore, the sensor reads the moisture level which is up to 50°C as shown in Figure 13(a). After that, we
were notified by SMS to mobile or PC that no irrigation is required as mentioned in Figure 13(b).

(a) (b)

Figure 13. (a) Soil moisture level on application and (b) Soil sensor case

In (22), the moisture content is calculated in (22) [47]:

𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 − 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 (22)

𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙

Pecentage moisture content (MC) calculations:

Let 𝑀 = 92 𝑔 and 𝐷 = 58 𝑔 solution:
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92 – 58 (23)
%𝑀𝐶 =
58

%𝑀𝐶 = 58.6% (24)

3.8.2. pH sensor
The normal range of pH is 7.0 (alkaline). Below pH 7, soil is acidic; and above pH 7, soil is basic.
Case 1: First, we test the pH level of mineral water as shown in Figure 14(a). The results show that the pH
level of water is alkaline and approximately equals to normal range as mentioned in Figure 14(b).

(a) (b)

Figure 14. (a) pH Level and (b) Results of mineral water

Case 2: In this case, we checked the pH level of contaminated water as shown in Figure 15 (a). Figure 15 (b)
shows the result of contaminated water which means it is acidic.

(a) (b)

Figure 15. (a) pH level and (b) Result of contaminated water

Significancy of our System

The irrigation systems are applied in many of the foreign countries because of the wastage of water.
The scope of our proposed system is:
‑ to irrigate the maximum amount of field as much as we want (remotely),
‑ to capture the condition of crops through a high pixel camera,
‑ to add the soil nutrients through the irrigation pipeline,
‑ to spray the field that kills pesticides/insects,
‑ robotics-based, and
‑ to develop an application along with the GSM module.

3.8.3. Real-time picture

This phase comprises the complete hardware equipment described with real figures. The general pin
configurations of equipment are also described in detail. The purpose of this phase is to make easy for the
reader to understand the required work for conducting this research study. Hardware results are also included.
The real-time picture of the research study is shown in Figure 16. This figure showed thoroughly the working
technique of our irrigation system based on robotics. The Arduino Mega 2560 manages the whole operation
by ‘C’ programming through a Bluetooth connection between a smartphone application and Arduino. This

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Int J Rob & Autom ISSN: 2722-2586  87

relation is often called the serial communication method that involves transmitting one-bit data at a time. We
also used Arduino mega since it runs 62.5 ns and also has a flash storage 256 kb in a very short time.
A 12 V DC dry battery charged by solar energy is used, and four 12 V DC motors are attached to robot
tyres in which robot tyres are fed directly from the battery. The speed and movement of robot tyres often
referred to as H-bridge (full bridge) are regulated by two L298 drivers. Each sensor has a servo motor, the
buck converter is attached to both sensors and a safety camera because the working voltages of the sensor
have a voltage of just 5 volts, the buck transformer is down to 5 DC volts on 12 DC volts. The tanks of the
robot are controlled with a 4-channel relay system.

Figure 16. The designed robot process

4. CONCLUSION
A comprehensive strategy for the agricultural system was established in this work. The proposed
robot-based irrigation mechanism can be deployed to achieve the high yield of crops by the minimum use of
water. We have attempted to make this analysis more practical and consistent with the current agricultural
market, which takes into account numerous suggestions. Compared to other traditional tracking devices, the
Bluetooth-based security system is very useful and effective when sensors are integrated. These sensors
detect the ground conditions at various points and then monitor the readings on the mobile application and
transmit data to farmers through the GSM module to the mobile phone or PC.

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BIOGRAPHIES OF AUTHORS

Ahmed Hassan received a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from The Superior
College, University Campus, Lahore, Pakistan, in 2020. After completing his BS Degree, He
remained with the same college in the capacity of a Lab Engineer. His research interest includes
Industrial Automation, Smart Grid, Photovoltaic System, and Digital Control System.

Rao Muhammad Asif was born in Multan, Pakistan, in 1991. He received his BS Degree in
electrical engineering from The Superior College, Lahore, Pakistan, in 2013 and MS degree in
electrical engineering with a specialization in power from The Superior College, Lahore, in
2015. After completing his BS degree, he remained with the same college in the capacity of a
Lab Engineer. Since 2016, he is working as a Lecturer in The Superior College, Lahore,
Pakistan. Currently, he is pursuing a pH.D. degree in the same institute. His research interests
include smart grid, solid state devices, and renewable energy resources.

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90  ISSN: 2722-2586

Ateeq Ur Rehman was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in 1987. He received his BS degree in
electrical (telecommunication) engineering from COMSATS Institute of Information
Technology (CIIT), Lahore, Pakistan, in 2009 and MS degree in electrical engineering with a
specialization in telecommunications from Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Karlskrona,
Sweden in 2011. From 2011 to 2012, he was a lecturer with the Department of Electrical
Engineering, University of South Asia, Lahore, Pakistan. From 2012-2016, He joined the
Faculty of Engineering and Technology, The Superior College (University Campus) Lahore,
Pakistan in the capacity of a Lecturer. Since 2016, He is working as a Lecturer in Government
College University (GCU), Lahore, Pakistan (on study leave). Currently, He is pursuing a pH.D.
degree in the College of Internet of Things (IoT) Engineering, Hohai University (HHU),
Changzhou Campus, China. His research interests include biomedical signal processing, Internet
of Things (IoTs), Social Internet of Things (SIoTs), and big data.

Zuhaib Nishtar received BSc degree in electrical engineering and MS electrical engineering in
2013 in 2017 respectively from The Superior College Lahore, Pakistan. He worked as a research
associate in the Electrical Engineering Department of Riphah International University Lahore.
He is currently pursuing his pH.D. in electrical engineering from The Superior College Lahore,
Pakistan. His current research interest includes smart grid technology, power electronics,
renewable energy resources, and wireless sensor networks

Mohammed K. A. Kaabar received all his undergraduate and graduate degrees in mathematics
from Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA. He has a global diverse experience in
teaching and research. He is currently working in the field of fractional differential equations,
applied math, fractal calculus, and applied analysis with applications to science and engineering.
He is the national ambassador for Palestine at various non-profit organizations in Italy and
Argentina, sponsored by the University of Milan-Bicocca and United Nations Global Compact,
respectively. He worked as an adjunct math professor at Moreno Valley College, USA. He
authored two math textbooks, and he is an invited referee for many international scientific and
engineering conferences and journals. He is also an invited reviewer for Zentralblatt MATH
(zbMATH) in Berlin, Germany. He is also serving as an associate editor for the Bulletin of
Electrical Engineering and Informatics, IAES International Journal of Artificial Intelligence,
Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), TELKOMNIKA, and IAES International Journal
of Robotics and Automation. He is also an editor for the Journal of Multidisciplinary Applied
Natural Science, sponsored by the Physical Society of Indonesia. He is an associate editor for the
mathematics section of the non-profit educational program at California State University, Long
Beach, CA, USA. He is also a member of the expert editorial advisory board for the big data and
advanced wireless technologies springer book series.

Khan Afsar received his B.S. in electrical (telecommunication) engineering (Feb. 2004-Mar.
2008) from COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore (Pakistan) and M.S. in
Electrical (Telecommunication) Engineering (Aug. 2009-Jun. 2012) from the same institute.
Currently, He is working as a lecturer in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department,
COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan.

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