MIT Think Competition Project — Farming Robot

[nduka-san]

TL;DR Summary

i am trying to make a mit think robot to plant seeds and move

this is a revision of an older thread that was not well organized and didn't have the full details of my project I am now restarting to get a better response from the community but keep the jokes those were pretty funny.

BACKGROUND:
1 My goal is to make some revisions and finish a second idea for M.I.T think(to submit to my teacher for review since I have extra time before I submit to M.I.T think applications).
2 here are the rules for this M.I.T think challenge :
1000 dollars of funding will be given to you by M.I.T to build your project.
Shipping is a cost but you can pay for that with your own money.
You can spend more of your money while building to make it better but it should not be necessary nor the focus of this project the central focus is to use the M.I.T think funding to do as best as you can.

you can get a donation from a company if they donate you can use it to save on funding, for example, it can be a part that you could only buy in mass quantities like solar panels or it could be getting some software to use (currently I'm in contact with GoPro and some battery companies, and I'm writing emails later today for solar panel companies).
must be able to create it in the second semester starting January 31st

for the time available: I have one teammate and we each have experience with coding and soldering and (making Thanos truck with dc motors current best engineering project)we each have about 2 and the rest are honors or and can only spend 20-40 hours on it per week

THE PROJECT:
tier 1:(This is the minimum of what I want to make )
4 -2 motors depending on how much force is needed to move the vehicle
a ly-ion battery that is weight dependant
coding controls because code is free
a seed dispenser
a solar panel to save on energy when not in use
a radio
a camera to watch the field

tier 2:dispenses water(water is tier 2 cause water is heavy ) Enhanced design?? Aerodynamics isn't that much of a problem on my list but it would be nice to be more efficient because it could save on energy so it's a potential interest
tier 3(this option is up for grabs fertilizer dropper because I don't want to use pesticides but fertilizer and other elements could mean rust)

MY RESEARCH: edit 1
clearing the ground:
methods:
hoes:
shovel:
dispersing seeds:
methods:
using a fan inside of it to spit seeds out of a cone
using a rotating cylinder with holes to get the seeds out which would rotate every few feet measured by the motion sensors
movement:
2 motors in the back using the front for steering
4 motors faster speed but more energy usage

watering plants:
using stainless steel or galvanized steel cylinder to move water out
(more ideas on the way for watering)
fertilizer :
depends on which manure I would use I consider doing watery manure because it seems a bit simpler plus breaking solid manure in the machine seems like a crappy situation

a solar panel :
self-explanatory it's going to be at a 90-degree angle for good exposure to sunlight

an enhanced design :
I would paint the metal after cleaning the sheets and using primer)
and I would probably make the parts less clunky

this top post will constantly be edited.

 

[berkeman]

[Mentor Note -- This improved re-post of the original project thread is being allowed by the Mentors]

this top post will constantly be edited.

Please don't do that. It is extremely confusing when previous posts are edited. Just post updates as replies below. Thank you.

 

[Vanadium 50]

this is a revision of an older thread that was not well organized and didn't have the full details of my project I am now restarting to get a better response from the community but keep the jokes those were pretty funny

You probably meant "This is a revision of an older thread which was not well organized and didn't have the full details of my project. I am now restarting to get a better response from the community, but keep the jokes. Those were pretty funny."

See how much easier this is to read?

What you have written is better than some of what you have written in the past, but you are a long way from proper English.

There are only two possibilities:

1. You cannot write proper English. In that case, fixing that should be your top priority. Not only is it necessary for this challenge, it is necessary for you to succeed in life.
2. You can write proper English but choose not to.

Next, it is obvious that you ignored my advice to read the sample proposal in the instructions. That is very frustrating. Why should we supply advice if it will just be ignored? And why should we continue to supply more and more advice?

Had you done so, you would have seen every single one of them starts out the same way: "This is the problem I am trying to solve, and this is why it is important." (Perhaps the reason for this is because that's what the directions say to do) Your starts out with "here's what I want to build". You don't explain why. You don't explain what problem you are trying to solve. You don't explain why this is an important problem to solve.

 

[nduka-san]

You probably meant "This is a revision of an older thread which was not well organized and didn't have the full details of my project. I am now restarting to get a better response from the community, but keep the jokes. Those were pretty funny."

See how much easier this is to read?

What you have written is better than some of what you have written in the past, but you are a long way from proper English.

There are only two possibilities:

Next, it is obvious that you ignored my advice to read the sample proposal in the instructions. That is very frustrating. Why should we supply advice if it will just be ignored? And why should we continue to supply more and more advice?

Had you done so, you would have seen every single one of them starts out the same way: "This is the problem I am trying to solve, and this is why it is important." (Perhaps the reason for this is because that's what the directions say to do) Your starts out with "here's what I want to build". You don't explain why. You don't explain what problem you are trying to solve. You don't explain why this is an important problem to solve.

this isn't a proposal my teammates writing that cause my grammar is not eloquent.
2. for more context about what I'm trying to do here is our goal
The problem that we are trying to solve is the lack of food in some countries. This is an important problem to solve because an average of 1/10people in mostly LDCS go hungry(Least developed countries for my fellow ap geo students)
3 I had already read the sample proposal about the art but I didn't read it in detail.I'll try to analyze it more in-depth and post my thoughts on it later today on how I should apply it to my project

 

[russ_watters]

Mod Note: The OP is in 9th grade, which is below our typical education level here, so we're giving a little leeway and offering more guidance than is typically our style/guidelines. Please keep that in mind. That said, @nduka-san please note that we do still have expectations of what a 9th grade should be capable of. Talking/writing in complete sentences should not be a significant challenge for you.

 

[nduka-san]

will do

 

[Vanadium 50]

this isn't a proposal my teammates writing that cause my grammar is not eloquent.

Nonetheless, it shows disrespect to the readers (us) to write in a way that makes it hard to understand. A 9th grader should know about periods and capital letters, as well as fragments and run-ons. If you want to argue that you can't do that, that needs to be your priority. Not robotics. If you want to argue you can, but choose not to, it's disrespect. Those are your options.

but I didn't read it in detail

Do your homework. It is disrepsctful to expect us to help if you won't put the effort in first.

the lack of food in some countries

Now we're getting somewhere.

Is the problem in agriculture in least developed countries that they need better robots?

More specifically, is the problem on food production or on food distribution? And in those places where it is food production, is the limitation planting speed? If you can plant 3x faster, will it help? Do you know how farming in (say Chad) is done today? Further, $1000 is more than a typical person's income in Chad. Can they afford these robots?

You need to work this through. Before worrying about what color to paint these robots.

 

[nduka-san]

1 I reread the article
2
3.food production is the problem. The idea behind this is that with humans not having to do the labor, then the food prices would go down. It could also set up small gardens for homeless shelters and orphanages because then it would take less time to plant the seeds only problem would be access to sunlight in those areas.
4.for I was using stainless steel or aluminum for the exoskeleton, what would you recommend for no rusting.

 

[Vanadium 50]

You need to do your homework.

food production is the problem

Really? In every single least developed country? Is that the problem in Syria? In Afghanistan? In Zimbabwe?
I don't think you did your homework. I think you just made it up. MIT will not be impressed. Do your homework.

because then it would take less time to plant the seeds

You thesis is that the limiting factor in food production is the speed at which seeds can be planted. I think you just made that up too. MIT will not be impressed. Do your homework.

Here is Zimbabwe's food production over time:

Do you think that somehow planting in Zimbabwe is getting slower and slower? Do your homework.

If you ever had a garden, or worked in a garden, or read a gardening magazine, you would learn that harvesting is often much more labor-intensive than planting, Ever harvest asparagus? It needs to be cut every single day, otherwise it gets woody. Do your homework. In the case of least-developed countries, you need to understand how farming is done today before you can improve it (and thinking otherwise is very arrogant) - if it is largely slash-and-burn, what difference will faster planting make? Do your homework.

Your best step is to read a book on farming. Especially in the third world. Once you know something about farming, you can think about the best way to improve things. This may or may not involve robots.

 

[nduka-san]

Let me rephrase the thesis statement so you can understand it.
The goal of this would be to make food more cheap and accessible for underprivileged people.

some examples I had in mind are LCDs, homeless shelters, and food kitchens because then it would take off the economic strain of buying food and allow them to invest more in themselves
also number2 that statement about taking less time was about planting on orphanages and homeless shelters

quote," It could also set up small gardens for homeless shelters and orphanages because then it would take less time to plant the seeds only problem would be access to sunlight in those areas. "

 

[nduka-san]

I made a small 15-minute sample proposal to see what you think about it
notes on the mit sample proposal
work on my abstract
so far I have
motivation: to give people more access to food
goal: my goal is to make the world one step closer to everyone having a warm meal at night
approach: starting a business giving away 1 of these "farm friends" for every two that is sold and doing special events for holidays such as Nigerian independence day
problem: I am trying to solve the problem of lack of food in the world more specifically LDcs and homeless shelters
the motivation for this project: when I went to Lagos, Nigeria in 2016 to see my cousins when we were traveling through the village we saw tons of children who were malnourished and I would like to make a change.
current approaches:https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/our-approach
while this approach may help with America. worldwide there are lot more people facing starvationsolution: Project farm friends/cropba/farming Fredy
it works by using solar panels to charge as to not increase power bills.

It uses 4 motors for movement and some other motors for using farm tools such as hoes to help clear the land.

For dispensing seeds it uses a rotating cylinder with holes in it inside of another cylinder. When the larger cylinder opens up the seeds come out of the holes. (In case of seed problems there would be multiple hole cutouts just in case ). Will probably move to risk

It would be more useful compared to https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/africa-hunger-relief-facts-charity-aid because then instead of giving them money to buy food. They can use the money that they have to improve themselves, their communities, and their economy.
It could also improve upon the current technology in the USA because solar-powered tractors in the USA are not used by a majority of farmers with a smaller and cheaper farm friend they can save on money and invest more in their farm. Another piece of technology that it could work upon are solar stations it could work with solar stations to charge spare batteries while the tractor is in use.

.Implementing my project I would start implementing the project by distributing a total of 150 over the 15 countries with the highest rates of starvation then seeing how it affected their lives over 2 years. I would make a small video montage showing how it affected their lives and use it for getting investors to invest in the product for use

risks we might encounter :
seeds being placed near weeds
water is too much weight and not being able to use it because of weight constraints
money

I didn't answer all of the questions yet but I got to do my 4 30 runs so I'm going to post it now and edit it later on.
local mentor as well

 

[phinds]

Implementing my project I would start implementing the project by distributing a total of 150 over the 15 countries with the highest rates of starvation then seeing how it affected their lives over 2 years.

"YELLING" by putting things in bold capital red is NOT something that we normally do here but you are just not listening so I don't know how else to get your attention, so I say this:

Distributing WHAT ?
You do not have even the BEGINNING of a design so you really have no idea what it is that you are proposing to distribute. This whole thread has gotten to be a JOKE.

You clearly have no idea what you are getting into. You have all these hand-wavy concepts about what it is you are going to do but you have not one tiny bit of actual design. You have no NUMBERS. For example, no power requirements, no SPECIFICS for the various things you wavy your hand and say you will have. It does not appear that you are making any serious effort on this.

 

[256bits]

the motivation for this project: when I went to Lagos, Nigeria in 2016 to see my cousins when we were traveling through the village we saw tons of children who were malnourished and I would like to make a change.

I guess that has been on your mind for some time, and you find it disheartening that people go hungry,

But you have to be realistic in your approach.
If I was one of those hungry people with no money, no source of income, no plot of land, no housing, and an expensive gadgetry machine was foisted upon me, I would take it apart, sell the batteries, sell the solar panels, sell the tires and motors, and get my 100$ - 200$ so I could eat now and not wait with an empty stomach for 6 months till the crop comes in.

You can see one of the problem with first world 'solutions' imposed upon areas being less fortunate,
They don't work as planned.
Asking what the people need would be better.

So while in the abstract the goal and motivation are as expressed, the approach and problem seem to have a disconnect towards a solution. ( Just saying so - that the farm Fredy are the solution - doesn't make it true )
MIT will probably want a little bit of more detailed analysis.

 

[berkeman]

And with that excellent post by @256bits I will temporarily close the thread. The Mentors are discussing the situation.

After a Mentor discussion, this thread will remain closed. Thank you everybody for trying to help the OP.