LASER LAND LEVELING PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT

International Journal of Latest Research in Science and Technology Volume 3, Issue 6: Page No.130-134, November-December 2014 http://www.mnkjournals.com/ijlrst.htm

ISSN (Online):2278-5299

LASER LAND LEVELING PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT 1

Chhavi Bansal1, Gurmohan Singh2 , D.K. Jain3, Manjit Kaur4 Student, Academic & Consultancy Services Division, C-DAC, Mohali, India 2, 4 Faculty members, Academic Courses, C-DAC, Mohali, India 3 Director, C-DAC, Mohali, India [email protected]

Abstract-A laser controlled land leveling system prototype has been developed which comprises of a laser transmitter, a laser receiver, an intelligent controller and an automated level controller. A laser transmitter is rotated at an angle of 180 degrees with the help of a stepper motor, which is used to create a laser reference plane over the field. A laser beam from the laser transmitter is allowed to strike the receiver containing an array of light dependant resistors. The laser receiver receives the laser light and red organic glass employed in it weakens the disturbance from the sun and only laser light is allowed to fall on receiver array. In this system, the main controlling device is microcontroller. The ADC interfaced with microcontroller automatically sets the reference level of the sunlight, above which the ADC interprets it to be laser light. The laser receiver will act as a bridge to connect the laser transmitter section to the controller section. Before communicating with the controller, the laser receiver detects the laser signals from the laser transmitter and processes these signals to indicate the relative position between the receiver and laser reference plane. The array of light dependant resistors are used to transform the laser signals into electrical signals. The signals from the laser receiver are accepted and interpreted by the controller which determines the up and down motion of the dc motor connected to the automated level controller for leveling the field. In conclusion, this low-cost laser controlled land leveling prototype can be evolved as a complete product. This will offer attractive alternative to commercial laser controlled land leveling products having similar accuracies but much higher costs. Keywords-Laser, Transmitter, Receiver, Automated Level Controller, Light Dependant Resistor (LDR).

I. INTRODUCTION

II. PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT

A significant amount of water (20 to 25%) is lost at the time of surface irrigation during its application to the crops because of uneven land level of the fields and inappropriate farming practices. Thus low areas of the soil can be overirrigated and high areas of the soil can be under-irrigated. In case of under-irrigation, irrigation water may not reach the higher spots of the soil which can lead to penetration of the unused nutrients into the soil. In the case of over-irrigation of lower areas of the soil, accumulation of dissolved nutrients or pesticides can create major problem of water logging. This ultimately results in uneven coverage of water over the field, less productivity of the crops, increase in the weeds and fertilizer, degrades groundwater quality, uneven maturation of the crops and restricts efficient application of agricultural inputs. The Laser controlled land leveling technique has been used widely in United States and other developed countries for more than twenty years. Many companies and manufacturers have produced laser leveling systems which have similar functioning. But the price is too high to be affordable by the farmers of developing countries. In this paper, a prototype for laser land leveling system has been designed and developed consisting of a Laser transmitter section, Laser receiver section and an Automated Level Controller. A special feature of setting the reference value of sunlight automatically has been added which helps in distinguishing the Laser light from other sources of light and sunlight. The prototype is tested and it successfully demonstrates the intended operation [1][12].

The prototype consists of a laser transmitter section, a laser receiver section and a controller section. The stepper motor at the transmitter section will rotate the laser transmitter at an angle of 180 degrees. The rotating laser beam will create a rotating plane above the field which can be used as a reference plane. The laser receiver detects the laser signals from the laser transmitter and provides it to the controller which determines the up and down motion of the dc motor. A single chip microprocessor AT89S52 is used as the control unit. The controller is programmed to automatically adjust the leveling blade according to the response of laser. The microcontroller will control the up and down motion of the dc motor, to raise or lower the leveling blade so that the laser receiver is maintained at a correct height [13].

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A. Laser Transmitter Section The prototype for transmitter section consists of a laser source, stepper motor, L293D motor driver, microcontroller AT89C2051, voltage regulator and a battery. The laser source is a laser pointer which is a small handheld device and emits a very narrow coherent beam of visible light. In this prototype, the laser source is attached to the stepper motor and is made rotating with the help of it. The stepper motor rotates continuously at an angle of 180 degrees clockwise and anti-clockwise. The L293D motor driver provides the necessary current to drive the stepper motor, which is controlled by the microcontroller. The microcontroller is powered by a battery source followed by a voltage regulator

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[14]-[16]. The developed prototype for the transmitter section is shown in Figure 1.

four light dependant resistors is used in both upper and the lower section. The following figure 3 shows the spatial arrangement of LDR’s inside the receiver system [17].

Fig. 3 Spatial arrangement of Light Dependant Resistors Fig. 1 Transmitter Section Prototype The transmitter section is kept separated from the receiver section as it is fixed and is mounted with the help of a rod and a base at some height from the ground so that it makes a direct contact with receiver. The task of this section is to create a rotating reference plane above the ground. The range of the laser source used in the prototype is about 40 meters, so the transmitter can be kept at a distance of about 20 meters from the receiver section for the system to work properly. B. Laser Receiver Section The receiver makes a link between the Laser transmitter section and the controller section. It detects the laser signals by light sensors employed in it and then processes these signals, which can then be given to the microcontroller. To weaken out the disturbance from the sun rays, a red organic glass is set to the top of receiver box, through which the laser and the solar light can enter. The solar rays get filtered out by the glass and only red laser beam is allowed to pass through it. It has an additional function of automatically setting the reference value of sunlight. At the onset of the leveling process, a reference value of sunlight is set which can be used to distinguish the laser light from the sunlight. The Figure 2 shows flow of signal processing in receiver section.

Fig.2 Signal processing in receiver Section The internal structure of the receiver consists of an array of light dependant resistors. The receiver consists of three sections –upper, lower and middle section. The light dependant resistors of size 13*5 mm are used to convert the laser signals into electrical signals. A series connection of ISSN:2278-5299

When the laser beam hits the upper section of the receiver, it means the land is lower than the average position and if it hits the lower section of the receiver, then the land is higher than the average position. But if the laser beam hits the middle section, it means the land is at its average position. The designed prototype of the laser receiver is shown in the Figure 4.

Fig. 4 Designed Prototype of the Laser Receiver C. Laser Automated Level Controller Automated Level Controller is the mechanical part which consists of a rod to which a dc motor is attached. The motion of the dc motor is controlled by the microcontroller. According to the signals received from the receiver, the microcontroller controls the up and down motion of the Automated Level Controller with the help of dc motor. Initially the laser beam from the transmitter section is allowed to hit exactly at the middle section of the receiver and the Automated Level Controller is positioned automatically at an average point of leveling the land. If the laser beam hits the lower section of the receiver, that means the land level is higher than the average one. Thus the microcontroller will automatically lower the Automated Level Controller. If the laser beam hits the upper section of the receiver, that means the land level is lower than the

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average one. In this case, the microcontroller will automatically raise the Automated Level Controller. In the design of Automated Level Controller, magnetic reed sensors are used to stop its motion at a certain position. The permanent magnets are fixed at the ends of the Automated Level Controller and two magnetic reed sensors are positioned near the dc motor. Whenever the magnets come in the vicinity of the magnetic reed sensors, the motion of the Automated Level Controller is automatically stopped. The Figure 5 shows view of the designed Automated Level Controller.

Fig. 6 Block Diagram of the Controller section B. Software Development The microcontroller is used to analyse which section of the receiver has valid input signal and then gives out the correct control signal to drive the Automated Level Controller. Initially when the system is started, it will set a reference value of the surrounding light and the sunlight, so that the system does not interpret the other sources of light to be the laser light. If this happens, then the system can give the false readings. So it is highly necessary to set a reference value of the sunlight just at the start of the system. At this time, the Automated Level Controller comes to its Home Position as no light is detected at the start of the system. After the reference has been set, the system will scan for any incoming laser light onto the receiver. As soon as the laser light is detected by the system, it will check for its upper or lower position on the receiver. Fig. 5 Automated Level Controller III. Hardware and Software Development The controller has been programmed to interpret the three sections of altitude signals from the laser receiver and control the Automated Level Controller automatically. The controller consists of a microcontroller, an ADC, L293D motor driver and associated embedded control software. A. Hardware Development Figure 6 illustrates the block diagram of the controller. In this controller section, AT89S52 microcontroller is used for the control operation, an ADC 0808 is used for setting the reference value and to give the high or low indication to the microcontroller and an L293D motor driver to drive the Automated Level Controller. A LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is used to indicate the position of the field at different levels.

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The laser signal will be processed by the Light Dependant Resistors used in the receiver system and this signal will then be given to the ADC. The ADC will detect the higher or lower position of the laser light according to the signal coming onto its channels. Then according to the lower and upper position of laser light hitting onto the receiver, the controller will give commands to the DC Motor to raise or lower the Automated Level Controller respectively. Correspondingly, the system also keeps checking for any change in the position of the laser light by continuously scanning it. If any change is detected then the controller will give specific commands to the Automated Level Controller for the necessary operation. If the system does not detect any laser signal, it means there is no need of doing the leveling operation. In this case, the Automated Level Controller will remain to its reference position set by the user. The software flow diagram of the whole prototype is shown in the Figure 7.

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Fig. 9 Signal appearing at the time of scanning laser light As the laser light hits the upper section of the receiver, it will be displayed by the LCD as shown below in Figure 10. During this time, the controller will give command to the Automated Level Controller which will move the leveling blade to the up position. Correspondingly, the controller also keeps checking for the laser light hitting on the receiver to detect any change in its position.

Fig.-10 Signal appearing when laser strikes to upper section of receiver As the laser light strikes to lower section of receiver, the signal displayed on the LCD is shown in the Figure 11. During this time, the controller will give command to the Automated Level Controller which will move the leveling

Fig. 11- Signal appearing when laser strikes to lower section of receiver blade to its down position. Correspondingly, the controller also keeps checking for the laser light hitting on the receiver to detect any change in its position.

Fig 7 flowchart for development of software IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Firstly, when the system is started, the program will initialize the LCD and checks for the HOME position. During this period, the controller will send commands to the Automated Level Controller and it will automatically come to its reference position. The signal for the HOME position is shown below in Figure 8.

V. PROTOTYPE TESTING Figure 12 show that when laser beam hits at the centre of the receiver section, the Automated Level Controller automatically comes to the Home position. Also when no laser beam is hitting the receiver or the beam is hitting at the middle section, it remains in its home position.

Fig. 8 System initialization Now system will start searching for any incoming laser light. The signal appearing at the LCD is shown below in Figure 9. Fig. 12 Laser beam hitting at the middle section of receiver ISSN:2278-5299

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International Journal of Latest Research in Science and Technology. 4. B. Anuraja, P.S. Kanannavar, P. Balakrishnan, B.T. Pujari, M.B. Hadimani, "Laser guided land leveller for precision land The Figure 13 shows that when laser beam hits at the top of development ", Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 26, the receiver section, the Automated Level Controller comes no. 2, pp. 271-275, 2013.

to the up position.

Fig. 13 Laser beam hitting at the upper section of receiver Figure 14 show that when laser beam hits at the bottom of the receiver section, the Automated Level Controller moves to the down position.

5.

Severin CAZANESCU, Doru MIHAI, Radu MUDURA, " Modern technology for land levelling based on a 3D scanner ", Research Journal of Agricultural Science, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 471-478, 2010.

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S. Mohammad–reza Khadem, S. Mohsen Khadem, Ahmad Afsari, Amir-hosein Zarei, "Development and evaluation of a laser plane slope generator system for application in land levelling and construction process ”,in Proc. Third WSEAS International Conference on Engineering Mechanics, pp. 290-298, July2010.

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Iskandar Abdullaev, Mehmood UI Hassan, Kahramon Jumaboev, " Water saving and economic impacts of land leveling: the case study of cotton production in Tajikistan ", Irrigation and Drainage Systems, vol. 21, no. 3-4, pp. 251-263, October 26, 2007.

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Leena Maqsood, Tariq Mahmood Khalil, "A review of direct and indirect implications of laser land levelling as agriculture resource conservation technology in Punjab province of Pakistan ", in IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, pp. 349-354, 2013.

10. “Resource Conservation through Laser Leveling,” Department of Soil and Water Conservation, Punjab. http://dswcpunjab.gov.in/contents/data_folder/Laser_Level.htm. 11. J F Rickman, “ Manual for Laser Land Leveling,” Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains, Technical Report ICAR, pp.24, 2002. 12. M.L. Jat, Parvesh Chandna, Raj Gupta, S.K. Sharma , M.A. Gill “ Laser Land Leveling: A precursor technology for Resource Conservation, Rice-Wheat Consortium Technical Bulletin 7, Technical Report ICAR, pp.48, 2006. 13. Atmel Corporation, “8-Bit Microcontroller with 8K Bytes In-System Programmable Flash,” AT89S52 Datasheet, 2008. 14. Atmel Corporation, “8-Bit Microcontroller with 2K Bytes Flash,” AT89C2051 Datasheet, 2008.

Fig. 14 Laser beam hitting at the lower section of receiver CONCLUSION In this research work, a prototype of Laser Land Leveling system has been developed. The prototype is tested and it successfully demonstrates the intended operation. The knowledge gained in developing this prototype will be used to implement a low cost real time Laser based land leveling system which can be easily afforded by the Indian farmers.

15. Texas Instruments, “ADC0808/ADC0809 8-Bit µP Compatible A/D Converters with 8-channel Multiplexer,” SNAS535H Data Sheet, October 1999 [Revised March 2013]. 16. Texas Instruments, “L293, L293D Quadruple Half-H Drivers,” SLRS008C Datasheet, September 1986 [Revised November 2004]. 17. RS Components, “Light Dependant Resistors,” NORP12 Datasheet, March 1997.

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