Automatic irrigation and fumigation system employing PAC-based control, monitoring via HMI, and pest detection through image processing for bean cultivation

Abstract

Automation has presented great advances in the various types of industries and their different sectors, and the agricultural sector is no exception; the inclusion of new technologies has facilitated and improved the realization of activities such as irrigation control, the ideal care for the harvest treatment, the collection of specific information for problem detection during the planting process, to name a few. The present work deals with the proposal of an automatic system for the control and monitoring of the irrigation and fumigation process in the bean crop, making use of automation technologies such as the PAC for the control execution through algorithms programmed in Ladder Diagram language with the software Proficy Machine Edition; an HMI for virtual remote monitoring and control developed with Cimplicity Workbench; level and humidity sensors, and actuator motors for pumping water for irrigation and pesticide for fumigation; likewise, a simple way of image processing using LabVIEW for pest detection based on the recognition of a predefined pattern is included. The implementation and integration of this technology is carried out through the development of a technological model whose purpose is to simulate and validate the operability and functionality of the proposed system. This work constitutes a terminal academic project of practical application, with a focus on the automation of industrial-type processes.