Solar Powered Mobile Operated Grass Cutter

Abstract

Solar energy is a clean, freely available, and abundantly available renewable energy. It is also the most important of the non-conventional sources of energy because it is non-polluting and therefore helps decrease the greenhouse effect. Talking about the grass cutter that uses fuel for working, they emit gases contributing to the greenhouse effect as well as contribute to air pollution. Grass cutters operated through electric power also need manpower to operate. So, the best way to put an end to these problems is to use an automatic grass cutter that uses renewable energy resources for its charging as opposed to an electric cable extension. In this paper, we will show the technological progress in automatic solar grass cutters and how they have tackled some problems and also optimizations in solar power consumption.

Introduction

1. Overview

Pollution from excessive use of non-renewable energy has increased global warming. Solar energy, as a clean and renewable resource, offers a viable alternative—especially for powering devices like automatic grass cutters. These machines are increasingly replacing traditional grass cutters due to:

• Lower carbon emissions

• Cost savings

• Minimal human effort

• Improved safety and autonomous operation

2. Key Features of Solar-Powered Automatic Grass Cutters

• Powered by solar panels, generating electricity from sunlight

• Designed for public (parks, hotels) and private (gardens, homes) spaces

• Equipped with ultrasonic sensors for obstacle detection and IR sensors to differentiate cut and uncut grass

• Safety mechanisms such as collapsible blades prevent operation when lifted

• Increasingly being developed with autonomous capabilities using microcontrollers, sensors, and AI-based control systems

3. Review of Prior Work (Document Overview)

• Muhammad Naqib et al. (2022): Focused on optimizing solar power efficiency using sun-tracking and tilt angles

• Shaikh Mohd Sameer et al. (2021): Used multiple motors and stainless steel blades to improve durability

• Mahendra Kalaskar et al. (2022): Developed a dual-blade solar grass cutter to increase area coverage and reduce time

• Mallikarjun Mudda et al. (2018): Created a fully automatic cutter using sensors to reduce human effort

• Tushar Baingane et al. (2018): Integrated Arduino, IR sensors, and solar panels to enhance efficiency and safety

• Mothibeli Joseph Pita et al. (2021): Built a low-cost manual solar cutter for rural areas with solar charge control

• S.S. Gouda et al. (2017): Developed a robotic solar cutter with automatic speed control based on sunlight intensity

4. Proposed System

The new proposed model adds fire detection and extinguishing capability to the grass cutter, addressing fire risks in dry, drought-prone areas. Key enhancements include:

• Fire detection: Using an IR flame sensor to detect nearby fires

• Automatic extinguishing: A 12V water pump connected to a water tank extinguishes fires

• Irrigation functionality: The same water tank is used for watering dry soil (triggered by a soil moisture sensor)

• Dual-purpose use of components: Maximizes utility and ensures emergency readiness

5. Methodology

The system integrates multiple hardware components for automation and safety:

• Microcontrollers: UNO (main) and NodeMCU (secondary) for processing and IoT updates

• Ultrasonic sensors: Detect obstacles and redirect movement

• DC motors: Drive the wheels and control motion direction

• Grass cutting motor: Speed is controlled using PWM based on grass height

• IR flame sensor: Activates water pump on fire detection and sends alerts via Blynk IoT app

• Soil moisture sensor: Triggers irrigation if moisture falls below 30%

• L293D motor drivers: Interface motors with the UNO

6. Future Scope

Areas for further development include:

1. Advanced fire detection: For non-standard shaped lawns or distant fires

2. Stronger extinguishing systems: Integration with external water sources and higher-pressure pumps

3. Emergency alerts: Automated fire department notifications for large-scale fires

4. Heavy-duty adaptation: Use in rural/agricultural fields for wild grass cutting

5. Lower-cost solar panels: Use of slower-charging but affordable and durable solar panels

6. Lightweight design: Making robotic grass cutters under 10 kg to replace heavy, gas-powered machines (~100 kg)

Conclusion

The advancement in grass cutter technology has been significant, whether it is in terms of using renewablesolarenergyorinmakingthegrass cuttersafety equipped.Still,lawnfires areanissueofpayingattentionto,so in new designs there should be fire detection and extinguishing mechanism so that an overallsafer device can be provided to the public especially in areas of hot weather, drought conditions as when the weather is dry the vegetation is more at risk of catching fire even by a spark. Furthermore, though the grass cutter is loaded with various features, the cost to the customers should be feasible so that it can be more accessible to the public. So, here the topic of this review paper can be concluded and possibly, it can be helpful for future engineers and designers in making the grass cutter a better version of what it is today. Also. this is a good idea for a startup in Indian markets as most of the devices used in here are conventional ones. Replacing these with smart lawn movers can potentially attract customers like colleges with huge grass fields, corporate offices with lawns, big private properties etc.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Prof. Pankaj Pandey, Deepak Rahangdale, Bunty Kumar, Devanshu Thakur, Tanay Turkar, Bhavesh Thomre, Balaji Kumar, Shubham Deshmukh. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.