Introduction: Seed Planter

This seed planter was build to dispense seeds at a constant rate. This project could be used on small farms, gardens, or any type of landscaping. The idea of the robot is to create a way to plant seed sustainably without using manual labor. This project is made with an Arduino Uno kit and other household items.

Supplies

Materials from Arduino

  1. 1 breadboard
  2. 1 Arduino Uno
  3. 1 gear motor
  4. 1 ultrasonic motion sensor
  5. 1 motor driver
  6. 1 switch
  7. 4 wheels
  8. 31 wires
  9. 1 servo motor
  10. 1 battery

Outside Materials/Building Materials

  1. 1 cardboard box
  2. 1 piece of velcro
  3. 1 roll of tape
  4. 1 pair of scissors
  5. 1 package of sunflower seeds
  6. 1 stapler
  7. 1 straw

Step 1: TinkerCAD

When creating the Arduino board in TinkerCad, reference the picture, flowchart, and code file. The code has detailed comments explaining what it does.

Attachments

Step 2: Set Up Physical Board

Now it's time to wire everything on a physical board. Reference the TinkerCad picture when creating the board. Make sure to add 2 gear motors, 1 servo motor, a switch, and a digital sensor!

Step 3: Make Base of Planter

Cut out a 10 in x 5in piece of cardboard from your box. This will be the base of the robot. It also will be used to hold the Arduino board and the wheels.

Step 4: Create Tray and Holder for Sunflower Seeds

Cut out a 14 in x 8 in piece of cardboard. Fold the edges of the piece by 2 inches on each side. Cut a small rectangular hole at the corner end of the cardboard where the sunflower seeds will be dispensed.

You can now attach your Arduino board to the cardboard.

Step 5: Add Side Pieces of Cardboard

After running the car for the first time, we realized we needed some stability. Create a 4 6 in x 8 in piece of cardboard and cut 2 holes in each of them for the straws. Then, tape them to the sides of the board so that the bottom of the cardboard piece rests on the ground. This will allow the robot to have more stability as it plants seeds.

Step 6: Add Sides to Dispensing Slot

Take a short piece of cardboard and tape above the chute, leaving space for dispensing seeds. It will make sure the seeds don't fall off the robot while running. It can be seen in the photo above.

Step 7: Create House for Robot

Here are the cardboard pieces that you need to cut out:

  1. (1) 8 in x 5 in piece (for top of robot)
  2. (1) 10 in x 6 in (for back of robot)
  3. (1) 3 in x 1 in strip (to connect top and back)
  4. (2) side pieces (shown in picture above)
  5. (1) 2 in x 2 in piece (for over ultrasonic sensor)
  6. (1) 5 in x 2 in piece (for left of sensor)

First, attach the sides to the robot with tape. You can add the 2 in x 2 in piece and 5 in x 2 in pieces to above and to the sides of the ultrasonic sensor. We initially left a space so that we could adjust wires or switch if needed as seen in picture 1.

Then, tape the top of the robot. You can staple the 3 in x 1 in strip with the 10 in x 6 in piece to create a flap as seen in picture 2. This way, the switch in the robot can be turned on and off by simply lifting the flap. Now, use tape to cover any extra area to cover all wires.

Step 8: Attach Gear Motor

The gear motor will be placed vertically in the cardboard as seen sticking up in the first photo.

To be able to attach the wheels, you will need to drill holes in the side of the cardboard as seen in the second photo. Secure with tape.

Then add both of the wheels to the white pegs on the gear motor.

Step 9: Create a Sled for Robot

You may notice that the robot has some trouble balancing. To fix this, do the following:

  1. Take a 2 x 5 piece of cardboard and make a bend in it.
  2. Tape this onto the robot close to the wheels so that it rests on the ground like a sled (like in picture 1).
  3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the area near the dispensing mechanism (may need to be taped at an incline for easy dispensing).

Step 10: Use a Straw to Add Other Wheels

Now, we will add the other two wheels to our robot. Connect them with 1 straw and tape it to the robot.

Step 11: Attach Servo Motor and Any Extra Cardboard to Robot

First, cut out a small piece of cardboard that will cover the water bottle. Tape a small piece of cardboard onto the servo motor like seen above. This piece will keep the seeds from falling out constantly. Then, attach the servo to the bottom of the board with velcro.

Step 12: Attach Plow

You may notice that when the robot runs, it sometimes get stuck on seeds. If this happens, you should create a plow with tape like in the photo above.

Step 13: Congrats! You Have Created a Seed Planting Robot

Add your sunflower seeds, upload code, and connect your battery.

The robot might need changes with wheels for different dirt conditions. The following is a video of what it should look like running on hard floor.

Attachments