Literature Review of Automated Pet Feeding

            Just as the name suggests, different researches will be reviewed in this section regarding the subject at hand, the automatic system for feeding pets. In this chapter, various technologies for the automation of feeding system will be reviewed. In the study, IoT with its role in the systems will also be reviewed. Different technologies such as Arduino, GSM, and remote-controlled feeding will be taken into consideration. Io T plays a major role in the development of an automatic pet feeder. Therefore, more than a single study will be reviewed that focuses on the contribution of Io T in the present subject.

 Literature review of Automated Pet Feeding

 Automatic Pet Feeder

        The idea of automatic pet feeder is concerned with a device that feeds food to pets at certain intervals. The timings are actually programmed into the micro-controller. Mann (2015) presents a mechanism for feeding pets even when the owners are absent. For feeding the pets, food has to be loaded first and timings must be set. The remaining work is done by the microelectronic. Below is the device’s block diagram:

            In the system, there are three devices that have been used: Two 4.Buzzer of Timing Valves, 2 DC Motors, and ATmega8 Microcontroller. The ATmega8 delivers SRAM’s 1K byte, EEPROM’s 512 bytes, and In-System Programmable Flash’s 8K bytes with capabilities of Read-While-Write. The register contents are saved by the power downmode but the oscillator is frozen by it which disables every other function of chip until the next Hardware Reset or Interrupt.

            In the standby mode, the resonator or crystal oscillator is functioning which other parts of the device are not functioning. It enables low consumption of power with a quick start-up. In the setup, a dc motor of 5v is being used. The function of this motor is change the direction of flow of current in the motor part. Most of the types of dc motors produce rotatory motions which motion and force are linearly produced by a linear motor.

        The beeper of buzzer is used in the system which is a device used for audio signaling and it might be piezoelectric, electrochemical, or mechanical. The flowchart for the device is given below:

It is explained in the results that every block has been experimented and integrated later on for making the desired device. The microcontroller was programmed successfully using the avr notepad and embedded program c for feeding pets (M, 2015).

 Automatic Pet Monitoring and Feeding System using IoT of Automated Pet Feeding

            It is quite obvious that pets require special care and treatment. However, because of the busy routine, it becomes very difficult to care for pets. S.Subaashri, et al. (2017) present a smart system for pets. The objective of the study is an automatic feeding and monitoring system for pets using IoT or Internet of Things. The proposed system is a complete device for the monitoring of every pet activity while making the pet feel carefree. There are various subdivisions of the project with a unique IR feature. They include system for pet collar, food feeder for pets, and monitoring of pet door.

            An IR sensor includes a photodiode and an IR LED in which IR radiations are emitted by the latter and radiations are detected by the former. Whenever light is detected by the photodiode, current is conducted in a reverse direction and the voltage is changed. Voltage comparator senses this voltage change and output is generated by it. In this security circuit, an IR LED has been placed by the authors in parallel with the photodiode so that light can easily be detected by it.

            The pet feeder is capable of keeping the water and food clean until the pet wishes to eat. It has a cover for bowl that closes and opens automatically.  The presence of pet is detected by the sensor and the cover is opened which enables only the pet to access the food. Moreover, the collar has a GPS tag which is used for identifying and transmitting the steps of a pet. It has been explained that the present technology is not suitable for providing the best security and indulging delays. Following is the block diagram of the system:

In the hardware kit, Wi-Fi module, Sensors, and Arduino Uno are included. +5V is supplied to Arduino from the adapter. In the system, Arduino is actually acting as the gateway and microcontroller. Depending on the IoT concept, details are sent by Arduino to cloud through the module of Wi-Fi.

This data is send to the Phone and NodeMCU automates it. It is explained that IoT is basically a platform that can be used for embedding both hardware and software. Furthermore, it is suggested that mechanism on the basis of SOAF with services of web is the best option for the management of appliances and diversified devices (S.Subaashri, et al., 2017).

 Review of IoT in Pet Management of Automated Pet Feeding

            Jigarmasekar, et al. (2018) explains that humans are exposed to such vast scope of technologies that they couldn’t have even imagined it in the past. IoT or Internet of Things is an important and rapidly advancing technology. Furthermore, its vision has only evolved because of the convergence of various methods and technologies such as Embedded Systems, Commodity Sensors, Machine Learning, Real-Time Analytics, and Ubiquitous Communication without Wires.

            In other words, it can be said that IoT is a mix of several electronic devices. In the term, the things are actually connected together and they can be realized as the operations of management, tracing, localization, recognition, and so on. It is not false in the case of management of pets through IoT.

        Even though owners of pets are not present, they still can feel the presence of their pets. Using IoT, it has become easier to depend on Smart Machines which are capable of adapting while utilizing external stimuli such as animal behavior, temperature, and so on.

        Providing food on a timely basis is the basic responsibility for every pet power. There are countless cases when the owner is unable to accomplish this task. Under such conditions, the smart machine presented by authors can understand the difficulty of situation and remind the owner about it.

         There is a functionality of pet monitoring in the device which will notify the owner about the location of the pet as there are many times when the owner is busy with something else and cannot keep a watch on the pet. Relying on this aspect, even notorious pets can be found. There is yet another feature in the device which is referred as automated calling and it can be beneficial in the cases when there is a threat and the owner wants to be notified about it.

            It can be used when the owner wishes to have visuals of the pet. Authors have concluded that at present, it has become important for pet owners to take the advantage of development of technologies. Using such technologies, pet owners can leave the care of their pets to the automated devices (Jigarmasekar, et al., 2018).

 Remote Controlled and GSM Based Automated Pet Feeder

        Automated pet feeder is basically a new technology for feeding pets. Singh, et al. (2015) explains that it will help the pet owner in taking care of every pet in the house even when he or she is not present. The device is created for helping pet owners as predetermined amounts of the food are dispensed when the user gives a common using an infrared remote control that is wireless. It is very significant for the owner to realize the diet of pets for ensuring their health. Actually, this system acts in two ways, one is sending information to owners and the other one is feeding pets.

            The time period is actually simplified as the duration for which the bowl is left outside for feeding by the system itself. Using the remote, this time can easily be adjusted. The feature concerning the quantity of feed means the quantity of food that the system will be serving in every other feed. In the system, there is a unique feature of refill alert which lets the owner know that the bowl is running empty.

            The components of the smart system include stepper motor, microcontroller, infra-red remote control, opto-isolator, SIM 900, audio playback and recorder, microphone, speaker, IR receiver, and voltage regulators.

Authors have explained that Proteus is a technology capable of enabling the development of guidelines concerned with executable decision support with only little efforts. With the creation of a condition’s guideline, it can easily be executed for providing stepwise advice. Guidelines are formed with modular entities which are referred as KCs or Knowledge components.

            Authors conclude that such a design of a pet feeder offers features which makes caring for pets a lot more convenient for both pets and owners. Additionally, this system provides the necessary information about the feeding of a pet such as how the pet is eating. This design of the system also assists in stopping the wastage by offering the left feed (Singh, et al., 2015).

Automatic Pet Feeder using Arduino

            At present, countless individuals prefer having pets at their homes. However, their care and feeding becomes an issue when there is a busy schedule at the other hand. In order to resolve this issue, Tiwari, et al. (2018) introduces a system of automatic pet feeding for ensuring that the pet is eating on different intervals. This system consists of feeding bowl, dispenser, servo motor, food storage, and so on.

            Arduino is also supported by it for controlling operations automatically. This system can be made even more proficient with the addition of audio box and cameras for checking the activities of a pet. A machine is featured by the system of automatic pet feeding that is capable of feeding pets almost automatically after relevant time intervals when the master is not even present. With the use of machine, the master doesn’t have to stay at the home looking out for the pet. There are several ways through which the dish can be filled for feeding the pet. One of them is setting date and time using the Arduino UNO that is displayed on the screen of LCD.

            The components of the automatic feeder include LCD display, Wi-Fi module, T-section of PVC pipe, Acrylic sheets, Arduino UNO, RTC or Real Time Clock, Ky-40 Rotatory Decoder Encoder, and Continuous Servomotor with MG995. Servo motor for continuous rotation is being used with digital modulation. AUGER is rotated by the motor that provides food to dish from food.

            Arduino UNO sends signals to the motor. It can be said that the shape of AUGER is similar to that of a device used for drilling. Meanwhile, Arduino UNO is actually a board of microcontroller formed on the basis of ATmega328. It contains almost everything that is needed for controlling microcontroller. It means that a simple connection with the computer is required using the cable of USB for feeding the program and getting started. Arduino IDE is used for programming Arduino UNO. It is carried out in such a way that date and time for the system can be set which is highlighted on the screen of LED.  RTC is connected to the Arduino and the time is actually adjusted using the rotatory encoder decoder of Ky-040. With the matching of RTC with the real time, a signal is given to the motor and the motor begins its rotation.

        Authors have concluded that automatic feeding can be carried out by connecting Smart Dog Feeder and server with the application of android through communication of Wi-Fi and exchanging messages with the protocol of MQTT. For enforcing the security of communication, the protocol of SSL/TLS is utilized for ensuring that communication between the components cannot be read by the other part. Authors suggest that for the future development, the device can be expanded using a larger dispenser for storing the food of dog and the application can be optimized using new features (Karyono & Nugroho, 2016).

References of Automated Pet Feeding

.D.Apturkar, A., .Maner, A. A., P.Jadhav, V. & R, S. R., 2017. Intelligent Pet Collar. Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 3(3), pp. 624-628.

Berhan, T. G., Ahemed, W. T. & Birhan, T. Z., 2014. Programmable Pet Feeder. International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Research, 3(11), pp. 99-104.

Jigarmasekar, Jashsohni & Sharma, S., 2018. Review of IOT in Pet Management. IOSR Journal of Engineering, Volume 12, pp. 59-63.

Karyono, K. & Nugroho, I. H. T., 2016. Smart Dog Feeder Design using Wireless Communication, MQTT and Android Client. 2016 International Conference on Computer, Control, Informatics and its Applications, pp. 191-196.

Manakapure, P. S. & Shah, A., 2018. Movement Monitoring of Pet Animal Using Internet of Things. International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, 5(5), pp. 3319-3325.

M, M., 2015. AUTOMATIC PET FEEDER. International Journal of Advances in Science Engineering and Technology, 3(3), pp. 9-11.

S.Subaashri, et al., 2017. Automatic Pet Monitoring and Feeding System Using IoT. International Journal of ChemTech Research, 10(14), pp. 253-258.

Singh, P., Sharma, A. K., Sood, P. & Singh, P., 2015. REMOTE CONTROLLED AND GSM BASED AUTOMATED PET FEEDER. International Journal of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, 2(2), pp. 14-18.

Tiwari, M. S. et al., 2018. Automatic Pet Feeder Using Arduino. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 7(3), pp. 2891-2897.

Wankhede, D. K. & Pednekar, S., n.d. Animal Tracking and Caring using RFID and IOT. IOSR Journal of Computer Engineering, pp. 24-27.