Research Plan

Anda: Remote-Controlled Grass Cutting Machine

A. RATIONALE

In cultivating crops, homegrown plants or even in landscaping gardens, one of the most

common problem faced is the emergence of collective ground covering plants, referred to as

grass.

Grass is a type of plant from the Poaceae or Gramineae family. It is locally known in the

Philippines as “damo”. It is originally covering the solid ground, and is actually useful to people

in some ways. Lawn grass is often planted on sports fields and in the area around a building

wherein sometimes chemicals and water is used to help lawns to grow. People utilize many types

of grasses as food, including corn, wheat, barley, oats, rice and millet which are cereals, or

common grains whose seeds are used for food and to make alcohol such as beer. Even the sugar

from the sugar cane, is also a plant in the grass family. Moreover, people have grown grasses as

food for farm animals for about 4000 years. People use bamboo to build houses, fences, furniture

and other things. Grass plants can also be used as fuel, to cover roofs, and to weave baskets.

Though most people don't think so, grass shouldn't be cut; it shreds the grass and causes brown

spots on a lawn. Once grass has grown 9 inches, it will cut its self, from the bottom, up from the

tiller. (Chapman & Peat, 1992)

However, grasses are often pertained to as weeds. The term “weed” refers to a plant that

is growing in an undesirable condition or situation. Besides, according to Zimdahl (2013),

Oxford defines weed as any herbaceous plant not valued for use or beauty, growing wild and

rank, and regarded as cumbering the ground or delaying the growth of superior vegetation.
Grasses, specifically those such as crabgrass, pigweeds, foxtails, witch grass and orchard grass,

which often act as weeds are hindering the growth of plants agriculturally and visually.

Because of their unwanted growth, people thought of ways to get rid of grass weeds.

Traditional ways of weed control were introduced. One method is the hand-weeding, which

refers to pulling out weeds by hand or uprooting weeds by using small hand tool which will

control the weed for15 to 20days. Hand hoein, on the other hand, refers to which entire surface

soil is dug to a shallow depth with the help of hand hoes. After hand hoeing, the field is

subjected to drying to avoid re-establishing of uprooted weeds. Other methods are digging,

cutting, burning, and mowing. (TNAU Agritech Portal, 2013)

Mowing is the cutting of weeds to the ground level. It is usually practiced in non-cropped

areas, lawns and gardens wherein the grass is cut to a uniform height to improve the aesthetic

value.The common mowing tools are sickle, scythe and lawn mower. It is the most common

method of eliminating grass weeds nowadays.

Lawn mowers are machines that use a rotating blade or blades to cut a lawn grass at an

even height or pattern. Lawn mower design has come a long way since the invention of the

original one (LawnEQ, 2012). The original traditional push lawn mower was invented in 1830.

Push reel mowers are simple machine, the gears of which spin a whorl of between five and eight

spiral-shaped blades that pass by a stationary blade at the rear of the mower. The two, working

together, slice the blades of grass to provide a smooth, fine grass surface. Although it is easy and

safe to use, their blades stop cutting when you stop pushing. Moreover, it is quite to use as it

does not use engine to operate. They have limited cutting ability and is not suitable to large and

uneven lawns.
 Meanwhile, power lawn mowers are either rotary or reel. These types of lawn mower are

the most popular lawn mowers found around the world. It comes in either gas or electric. The

most common power lawn mower is the rotary lawn mower. Rotary mowers are less expensive

and require less maintenance than its reel counterpart. The second reason is that fact that rotary

mowers have the capability to cut tall swards. They mow through tall grasses and weeds with

ease. They operate either on gas or electricity. Further, small electric powered mowers are either

corded or cordless that runs on rechargeable battery.

Alternatively, ride-on lawn mowers became in demand as the lawns became larger. These

lawn mowers are fitted with seat and controls where the operator can settle and control the lawn

mower. They are basically in between the normal lawn mowers and tractors. Most of these lawn

mowers have manual transmission though there are certain types that have hydrostatic

transmission. Hydrostatic transmissions are more expensive than mechanical transmissions but

they are easier to use and can transmit greater torque to the wheels as compared to a typical

mechanical transmission. The least common drive type, and the most expensive, is electric.

Another type, which are hover mowers, are powered rotary push lawn mowers that utilize

an impeller above the spinning blades to push air downwards, thereby creating an air cushion

that lifts the mower above the ground. The lawn mower then can be easily moved as it floats

over the grass. Hover mowers are built to operate on steep slopes, waterfronts, and high-weeded

areas, so they are often used by golf courses and commercial landscapers. (Nelson, 2012)

In addition to this, the innovative technology brought into effect by continuous

modernization has also driven people to produce more intelligent machines that could eliminate

weed grass in their lawns. Robotic mowers can mow the lawn unsupervised. Simply turn it on
and let it wander around your lawn cutting the grasses. It is contained by a border wire around

the lawn that defines the area to be mowed. The robot uses this wire to locate the boundary of the

area to be trimmed and in some cases to locate a recharging dock. These types of lawn mowers

are becoming popular especially to those who cannot spare time for mowing their lawn.

However, robotic mowers, which are programmed and are proven to be environmentally

friendly has its disadvantages that may not just damage people with its cost, but also with its

performance. As stated in the website Top Gadgets (2011) robotic mowers are greatly expensive.

Its high price is the main disadvantage that discourages people from buying a robot lawn mower.

Moreover, using this type of lawn mower makes you less active. The fact that you won’t be

doing anything to move the mower minimizes your physical effort and makes you more

sedentary. While this is an advantage for elders and people with a weak health, it may be a

disadvantage for those who used the mowing time as an exercise.

Further, the lack of service and specialists is also a problem. Repairing regular lawn

mower is easy, as electronic or electrical specialists are available at every hour of the day, but a

good technician to fix your robot lawn mower can be hard to find, not to mention that more

expensive as well. And besides, according to most robot lawnmower reviews, the battery of such

a mower lasts very little compared to other mowers, and the random patterns of mowing use

even more battery, meaning they will need to charge more often. Although they head to the

charging station on their own, if they encounter an obstacle, they remain there, which means you

will have to remove the obstacles and make sure they reach to the recharging station. Lastly, it

endangers safety for kids and pets. Being small and wandering along the garden, it may be

tempting for children or pets to jump on it and mistake it for a toy, which could be very

dangerous. Additionally, some newly improvised robotic mowers have slower movements, and
some has their power function manually operated which could mean a risky chase. (Top Gadgets,

2011)

Nevertheless, robotic intelligence is playing a big role in developing useful products for

the benefit of mankind, with a goal to make lives safer and easier. Due to this, the researchers

decided to create a remote-controlled grass cutting machine which will be with performance and

functions that are more innovative and environmental friendly compared to commercial robotic

lawn mowers. The researchers will utilize robotic intelligence, however, with the use of a simple

remote-controlled car, together with materials that can be easily found in electronic shops, which

will pass to be an alternative yet a mower with a more satisfactory function output than the

commercial robotic mower.

The researchers believe that Anda, which stands for “Anti-Damo” remote controlled

grass cutting machine, will be a productive innovation that can be improved and highly

developed in the future. It will combine the convenience of other past lawn mower inventions,

without setting aside cost-friendliness, performance, exercise and safety.

B. HYPOTHESES/QUESTIONS BEING ADDRESSED/GOALS/EXPECTED

OUTCOMES

Hypotheses

The researchers will make tests to validate the following hypotheses:

1. The Anda grass cutting machine will not be effective in removing the weeds with

repect to the grass’ height in a certain area.

2. The Anda grass cutting machine will not adapt satisfactorily in different locations.
 3. The Anda grass cuting machine will not give satisfactory results in terms of time

usage and charging tim.

Questions Being Addressed

This study aims to evaluate the effectivity of Anda as a remote controlled grasscutting

machine. Hence, it seeks to answer the following questions:

1.What is the effectivity of the Anda grasscutting machine function in removing weeds

with regards to the height of the grass in a certain area/lawn?

2. How does the grasscutting machine adapt to locations in terms of the distance it

travelled in a minute, and its speed as it run on the following:

a. flat track;

b. rough track;

c. rockyt track?

3. How long is the Anda machine’s total usage time?

4. How long are the Anda machine’s batteries’total charging time?

C. DESCRIPTION IN DETAIL OF METHODS AND PROCEDURES

Materials

The researchers will utilize the following materials for grass cutting machine: ordinary

remote-controlled car with remote controller, and two dynamos for turning, forward and reverse

functions, 12 V battery, high speed dynamo or DC motor with speed of 12,000 rpm, nine mm

and four mm cutter blades, aluminum sheet, wireless transmitter, and receiver motor driver. The
researchers will also utilize tools such as screwdrivers, wire stripper, soldering iron, lead and a

hand drill.

Methods

A. Construction of the Machine

First, the researchers will obtain an ordinary remote-controlled car and removed its outer

cover, using the screwdriver, leaving only the circuit board and the bottom part of the toy. Next,

the researchers will install the 12V battery to the car by means of manipulating the board and

arranging the wirings to form a series-parallel combination connection, using a soldering iron,

wire stripper and lead, which will modify the flow of electricity within the machine. The

manipulation of the board and the wirings was supervised by an electronic technician to ensure

accurate process. Afterwards, the researchers will submit the machine’s body under chassis to

remodel the remote-controlled car using the aluminum sheet and, to a desired lawn mower.

Then, the researchers will drill holes and connect the cutter blades on the high-speed

dynamo. One hole will be with a 25.4 mm in diameter on the bottom part of the machine wherein

the 12,000-rpm high speed dynamo with blades will be installed. Finally, the researchers will

rewire the connection of the transceiver and receiver of the remote-controlled car for it to be

attached to the high-speed dynamo and make the grass cutting function work.

The researchers will control the machine using the remote controller, and will conduct

tests for the following: machine’s grass cutting function, location adaptivity, total up time, speed,

battery’s charging time and the extent of the distance it can run within the range of the controller.

B. Machine’s Grass Cutting Function

 The researchers will test the machine’s grass cutting function by means of placing it in a

grassy area wherein the widths of certain area, and heights of grass samples are already measured

beforehand. The researchers will conduct three trials to determine how wide the area can the

machine mow, as well as how short can it cut the weed grasses. The resulting measurements will

be then subtracted with the original measurement.

C. Location Adaptivity and Speed

The researchers will assess the performance of the grass cutting machine by means of

placing it on different grassy locations one at a time, namely: rocky, flat, slightly moist, and

muddy locations. The researchers will evaluate the distances it could travel and compare it with

one another.

Moreover, the researchers will also test for the speed of the machine under different

location through the use of a timer.

D. Total Up Time

The researchers will test the total up time of the machine by means of draining its battery

by using it continuously for hours until it shuts down for charging. The researchers will also

record its up time without it being run but just switched on.

E. Extent of the Distance Travelled Within the Controller’s Range

Lastly, the researchers will determine the farthest distance the machine could travel

within it’s controller’s range in a straight path. The researchers will use a measuring tape for this

testing.
Schematic Diagrams

Figure 1. Relay Drive

 Figure 2. Remote Control Panel

Figure 3. Diameter of dynamo/DC

motor to be installed

Figure 4. Top and Bottom View of the Modified remote-controlled car

Figure 5. Arrangement of the wirings connected to the DC Motor Driver

Figure 6. Parts for the Assemblage of the DC Motor Driver

 Figure 7. Assemblage of parts

Submitted by: Submitted to:

S12 Milk Thistle Mrs. Concordia I. Villasis

Subject Teacher