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Development of a GSM Based DC Powered Bird Egg Incubator

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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 4 Issue 11, November-2015

Development of a GSM based DC Powered Bird

Egg Incubator
Jimoh N. Olasunkanmi Olubiyi O. Akintade
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University
Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Lawrence O. Kehinde
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Obafemi Awolowo University
Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Abstract—This study developed a low cost, battery powered, using a DC motor and a limit switch sensor for control. The
low energy, and remotely monitored bird egg hatching system electronic part comprises the PIC18F4550 microcontroller,
(incubator). The system developed has two parts, the mechanical DHT11 sensor, LCD display and the Fastrack M1306B GSM
and electronic part. The mechanical part is a mechanism for modem. The GSM modem is used for remote monitoring and
angular tilting of egg trays up and down on an hourly basis
message transmission. The DHT11 from Aosong is an
while the electronic part provides for the electronic
measurement and control of the incubator’s incubation integrated humidity and temperature sensor that is used to
parameters (temperature, humidity, ventilation and egg tilting). monitor the conditions inside the incubator. Data from the
The various control elements in the incubator chamber are the sensors are processed by the PIC18F4550 and the various
DC motor, humidifier, ventilation fans, and a specially made low control elements are activated to moderate the conditions in
power DC heater used to regulate egg tilting, humidity, the incubator.
ventilation and temperature, respectively. The incubator system
developed was tested with quail eggs for 17 days. It was able to II. RELATED WORKS
maintain the temperature between the required range of 37 0C
Several studies have been carried out on efficient
and 38 0C. Humidity was maintained between 32% and 35%
during incubation and 60% and 75% during hatching. The
incubation systems. A highly efficient incubator implies one
incubator achieved 94% hatchability. with high hatchability rate and which consumes less energy.
Yildirim [4] studied the effects of different hatcher
Keywords—Incubator; GSM; bird egg; hatchability temperatures on hatching traits in modern commercial broiler
eggs during the last five days of incubation. Abiola [5]
I. INTRODUCTION performed an experiment to determine the influence of
An egg incubator is a device for providing enabling turning frequency of chicken eggs on hatchability in
environment for the development of embryos present in hurricane lantern incubator.
fertilized eggs. They imitate a bird’s natural brooding ability Olaoye [6] developed an electrically operated 120-egg
by providing an artificial environment with the proper capacity cabinet type incubator using mild steel as the
temperature, humidity, ventilation, as well as allowing the construction material. It was lagged with fiber material to
eggs to be turned regularly. There has been a high mortality avoid heat loss. Heat was supplied into the incubator by
rate in the incubation of bird eggs as a result of lack of means of three 100 watts electric bulbs while the relative
adequate control of the hatching process in most incubators humidity was supplied by a water pan. When tested with 20
presently found in the market [1]. Variations in weather eggs, percentage fertility and hatchability rate of 75.2% and
conditions from one region to another also affect the 64.8% respectively were recorded during an incubation
incubation and hatching process [2]. Furthermore, incubators period lasting for 21 days. Okonkwo [7] developed a
require fairly constant power supply for their continuous photovoltaic (PV) powered poultry egg incubator using solar
operations [3]. modules and an inverter system. The incubator was capable
Deviation of the incubation parameters (temperature, of handling up to 375 eggs per batch of incubation. Physical
humidity, ventilation and egg tilting) from their nominal test performance evaluation of the incubator indicates
values due to inadequate power supply and accurate temperature and relative humidity range of between 36 –
monitoring of the parameters adversely affects incubation. 390C and 77– 67% respectively. Further test using fertilized
Incubators also consume a lot of energy. Therefore, this work poultry eggs showed 74% efficiency of the incubator. In a
focusses on the development of a low cost, low energy bird recent study, Agboola [8] developed an embedded computer
egg incubator which provides for remote monitoring and also based incubator. Results show that with a preset temperature
adequate and reliable power supply. of 37 0C, humidity level of 60-75%, and proper egg turning
The system developed has two parts, the mechanical and interval, embryos’ casualty level was reduced and increased
electronic part. The mechanical part is a mechanism for hatchability rate was achieved.
angular tilting of egg trays up and down on an hourly basis

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ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 4 Issue 11, November-2015

In this work, a cost-effective embedded model of a bird microcontroller using SPI (Serial Peripheral Interfacing)
egg incubator that contains sensors for monitoring serial interface through its RS232 port.
temperature and humidity was developed. It is incorporated The various control elements in the incubator chamber are
with a controlled mechanical egg tilting mechanism for tilting the specially made low power 12 V/5 A DC heaters and 12
the eggs at an angle of 450 alternately on hourly basis. The V/5 mA heat distributor, humidifier, and ventilation fans. The
advantage of this incubator system is that it is low-cost and heater generates the heat needed in the incubator chamber
consumes less energy. It is powered by a battery which can and the heat distributor fan spreads the heat uniformly in the
also be solar-charged and hence could be independent of the incubator chamber by convection. The humidifier comprises
national grid. It is incorporated with a GSM modem for a fixed fan, blowing over a pan of water to generate and
remote monitoring of the incubation system. distribute the required humid air in the incubation chamber.
The ventilation fan ventilates the incubation chamber to
III. EMBEDDED COMPUTER BASED INCUBATOR MODEL ensure removal carbon dioxide and replacement of used
This incubator model is an embedded computer based oxygen.
system designed around the PIC18F4550 microcontroller. The PIC18F4550 is the main controller in the incubator
Figures 1a, 1b and 1c show the incubator, tilting mechanism system. The type of control in the incubator system is an on-
and the control unit, respectively. The incubator is a off control system for the temperature, humidity, ventilation
rectangular box of dimension 65 cm x 75 cm x 116 cm that and motor. The inputs to the system are the temperature and
can take 500 eggs. The inside is insulated with Styrofoam humidity set points hardcoded into the microcontroller and
sheets to prevent heat loss to the environment. Two the output is the controlled temperature and humidity
ventilation holes (4 inches in diameter) fitted with 12 V dc measured by the DHT11 sensor and feedback to the
fans for CO2 ejection and injection of fresh air were carved controller. Figures 4a and 4b show the block diagram of the
behind the incubator. temperature and humidity control system of the incubator.
The block diagram of the incubator is shown in Figure 2. The temperature and humidity data from the DHT11 sensor
The mechanical parts which is made up of a mechanism for are processed by the PIC18F4550 and the various actuators
angular tilting of the egg trays up and down alternately on are activated to moderate the condition in the incubator. The
hourly basis, at an angle of 45˚ to the horizontal was modem communicates with the PIC18F4550 using AT
fabricated using metal frames. It also includes a 12 V/6 A DC commands, which will be communicated wirelessly to the
motor and limit switch sensor for angular movement control. mobile device. The system is powered using a DC battery.
The DC motor is a simple closed loop control that sends a The first thing after start up is to select and input the bird
feedback signal to the controller (PIC18F4550) when the type to incubate. The microcontroller will then automatically
limit switch is pressed (that is when the motor has tilted the load incubation period (number of days taken to hatch),
egg trays to an angle of 45˚), and the motor is stopped on temperature and humidity set points of that particular type of
receiving the feedback from the limit switch sensor. The bird, and stores it in the microcontroller’s EEPROM memory.
electronic part comprises the PIC18F4550 microcontroller, The DHT11 sensor then measures the temperature and
DHT11 sensor, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for displaying, humidity in the incubator chamber. The microcontroller
a telecom module, the fast track M1306B GSM modem (for compares these measured parameters with the set points
monitoring the performance of the incubator from remote (temperature and humidity set points) to see if it corresponds
locations by sending and receiving SMS) and the various with the acceptable temperature and humidity range.
control elements (heater and heat distributor fan, motor, Acceptable temperature range is between 37 and 38 ˚C while
humidifier, and ventilation fan). the humidity range is between 30 and 35%. The heater and
The DHT11 sensor used is an 8 bit digital sensor for humidifier fan are turned on or off by the controller to
temperature and humidity measurements. It operates on a maintain temperature and humidity within the acceptable
power supply of 3.5 -5 V and features a wide temperature and range.
humidity range of 0-50 ˚C (required temperature is between
IV. SYSTEM DESIGN
37-38 ˚C) and 20-90% (required humidity is 30-75%),
respectively. It has an accuracy of ±2 ˚C for temperature, In developing the incubator, certain factors such as cost,
±4% for humidity, and resolution of 0.1˚C for temperature, availability, simplicity, functionality and reliability of
1% for humidity, and an average sensing period of 1 second. components were considered. The implementation of this
The fastrack M1306B modem (Figure 3) from system consists of two parts. These are the software and
WAVECON [9] is a dual 900/1800 MHz modem (which hardware design considerations. For proper functionality of
offers GPRS capability and supports a powerful software the system these two parts must be in congruence with each
platform) was used to monitor the status of the incubator other. The hardware and software parts are discussed as
remotely over the GSM network. For remote monitoring the follows.
M1306B modem features SMS (shortage message service) A. Electronic Design
gateway for sending and receiving SMS between the modem
and incubator system. It also features a dual band 900/1800 The electronic part consists of the following sub units; the
MHZ that supports a powerful open software platform (Open microcontroller unit, the sensor unit, display unit, user
AT) enabling cost effective design and capable of hosting any interface, the current drivers (ULN2003A), control elements,
protocol. The M1306B modem is controlled by firmware and the GSM modem unit.
through a set of AT commands. It communicates with the

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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 4 Issue 11, November-2015

Figure 1a: Incubator system Figure 1b: Tilting mechanism Figure 1c: Control unit

POWER DISPLAY
SUPPLY UNIT

SENSOR
UNIT
HEATER

USER
INTERFACE HUMIDIFIER
CURRENT FAN
PIC
DRIVER
VENTILATION
FAN
GSM
MODEM

MOTOR
(For tilting)

Figure 2: System block diagram

Figure 4a: Block diagram of Temperature Control System

Figure 3: Fast Track GSM Modem [9]

Figure 4b: Block diagram of Humidity Control System

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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 4 Issue 11, November-2015

1) The microcontroller unit: The microcontroller controls 4) The real time clock unit: The real time clock (RTC)
and coordinates the activities of the incubation system. The unit provides real time measure which the microcontroller
PIC18F4550 microcontroller (Figure 5) from microchip was uses to maintain the incubation period of the egg. The real
selected for this project. The following criteria were time clock was implemented in software.
considered in selecting this microcontroller; cost, number of
input/output pins, timers (one for interrupt and the other for
real-time clock operation). PIC18F4550 has enough program
memory; up to 8k. It has an 8 bit data size which makes it a
good choice for interfacing with the DHT11 sensor (an 8 bit
sensor). It has a wide operating voltage range of 2.0 V – 5.5
V, high sink/source current of 25 mA and it possesses UART
for interfacing with the GSM modem.
Figure 6: User Interface

5) The GSM modem unit: The design and configuration

of the GSM modem is basically firmware. The modem
operates in several modes to provide several services such as
SMS, MMS, fax, data and voice link over the GSM network
etc. This project uses the GSM modem in SMS mode to send
and receive messages between the incubator system and a
mobile device (mobile phone) using AT commands. To alert
the operator on the conditions in the incubator system in the
event of some abnormalities in the system, the
microcontroller automatically sends a set of commands to the
modem to configure it to operate in the required SMS mode.
It then waits for response from it before relaying the required
message as well as the destination address of the message to
the modem. Upon receiving the message and the destination
Figure 5: PIC18F4550 microcontroller. address the modem sends the message to the addressed
2) The sensor unit: To design this unit, the accuracy, mobile device. Similar operations are performed when the
availability, and cost of the sensor to be used was put into system is queried from a remote location through a mobile
consideration. To make the design cost effective and more device. Figure 7 shows the microcontroller connection to the
reliable an integrated sensor that has the capability to GSM Modem.
measure both temperature and humidity was selected. This
makes the design better as compared to previous designs
which made use of separate sensors to measure temperature
and humidity. The DHT11 sensor is used for this unit due to
its size, ease of handling, soldering and availability in the
local market as compared to the SHT sensor family (although
this may be more accurate). The DHT11 Sensor features a
temperature and humidity sensor complex with a calibrated
digital signal output [10].
3) The user interface: The user interface offers a medium
through which the operator interacts with the system. It
consists of three switches for selecting the types of bird egg
to incubate as shown in Figure 6. The controller then saves
the incubation parameters for the egg type selected. These
parameters include temperature, humidity, and incubation
period.
The user interface also consists of the display unit which is an
LCD lm016L. It provides a means for interaction between the
operator and the system during setting. It also shows the
status of the system during operation and displays the current
Figure 7: Microcontroller connection to the GSM module
temperature and humidity in the incubator chamber, as well
as number of days the egg have spent in the incubator.

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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 4 Issue 11, November-2015

6) The current driver, control elements and power supply remained unchanged [11]. Data was obtained for the 17 days
Unit: The microcontroller cannot drive the relays to which period and graphs of temperature and humidity versus time
the control elements are connected because it can only source for the whole 17 days was plotted. The graphs in Figure 9
a maximum of 25 mA. Therefore a ULN2003A high voltage show the result obtained for days one and two while Table 1
and high current Darlington transistor array was used to shows the data obtained for both days. As mentioned earlier,
amplify the current. It was used because it possesses the the type of control used in regulating the temperature and
following features; maximum output current of 500 mA and humidity in the incubator system is an on-off control. This is
50 V output voltage and it is suitable for relay driver obvious from the shape of the graph. As shown, the
application. This specification meets the requirement for
temperature fluctuates between the two set points of 37 and
switching the 30 A /12 V DC relays used for switching the
38 ˚C. The dead band (which is the region around the set
0.15 A/12 V humidifier/ventilation fans, 4 A/12 V DC
motors, and 0.15 A/12 V heat diffusion fan. The 12 A/12 V point in which no control action occurs) is the region between
heating element was interfaced with a medium power 37 and 38 ˚C. The width of the dead band is 1 ˚C. Within this
transistor. range no control action occurs because the heating element is
off. Temperature error is ±0.1 °C while humidity error is
7) Heater fabrication and interfacing: The heater was ±5%.
fabricated from a filament that is to be powered with a 12 V It is seen that the temperature is always within the
dc source (battery). It was cut into smaller pieces so that each required range almost all the time. The same applies to the
piece draws a current of 0.8 A (9.6 W), and there are 6 pieces humidity control, but in the case of humidity control the dead
of cut filaments in a single heater. Therefore a single heater band is 5% which is alright for the humidity required. Out of
has wattage of 57.6 W. The incubator is fitted with four the 57 eggs loaded into the incubator, 24 eggs were
heaters evenly distributed to generate the uniform heat unfertilized (eggs that show no sign of development after
needed in the incubator. The heater is interfaced to the incubation). So, out of the remaining 33 fertilized eggs, 31
microcontroller using a medium power transistor (TIP 42A) eggs hatched while 2 died in their shells. This represents 94%
to drive four heaters of approximately 58 W each through a success (hatchability is the ratio of the number of eggs that
relay. The transistor is operated as a switch. The heater is hatched to the number of fertilized eggs).
shown in Figure 8.
Table 1: Temperature and humidity readings for Day 1 and Day 2

Figure 8: DC Heater

B. Software Design Considerations

The control program for the microcontroller was written
in C. It was debugged and corrected for error using the
MikroC Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and the
machine code was finally transferred to the chip using a
Pickit2 programmer.
IV. RESULTS
Data obtained in the process of testing the incubator
system with fertilized quail eggs are presented in Table 1.
The incubator system was programmed to maintain ambient
temperature in the chamber in the range of 37 -38 °C. The
humidity was programmed for the range of 30-35% during
incubation and 60-75% during hatching. For the whole
incubation period of 17 days (for quail eggs), temperature and
humidity readings in the incubator chamber were taken on
hourly bases. The humidity in the incubator was increased
about three days to the end of incubation (after day 14) in
order to soften the eggs’ shells so that the chicks can easily
break the shells and emerge from them, while the temperature Figure 9a: Temperature and Humidity for Day 1

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Vol. 4 Issue 11, November-2015

REFERENCES
[1] J. A. Klea, “A Technique for Learning Egg Temperatures during
Natural Incubation”, International Foundation for the Conservation of
Birds Symposium, 1987, pp. 517-540.
[2] J. A. Oluyemi, and F. A. Roberts, “Poultry production In Warm Wet
Climates”, Macmillan publishers Limited. London and basing stoke,
1988.
[3] O. Elibol, and J. Brake, “Identification of Critical Periods for Turning
Broiler Hatching Eggs during Incubation”, Poultry Science, 2004,
45(5): 631-637.
[4] I. Yildirim, “Effects of Different Hatcher Temperatures On Hatching
Traits of Broiler Embryos during the Last Five Days of Incubation”,
South African Journal of Animal Science 2004, vol. 34, no. 4. pp. 211-
216.
[5] S. S. Abiola, “Effects of Turning Frequency of Hen’s Eggs in Electric
Table Type Incubator on Weight Loss, Hatchability and Mortality”,
Figure 9b: Temperature and Humidity for Day 2 African Journal of Biotechnology, 2008, 7 (23): 4310-4313.
[6] I. O. Olaoye, “An Electrically Operated Incubator for Household”,
V. CONCLUSION Green Journal of Science, Engineering and Technological Research,
2013, Vol. 3 (5), pp. 160-165.
In conclusion, this study has been able to successfully [7] W. I. Okonkwo, “Characterization of a Photovoltaic Powered Poultry
develop a low cost (about $550), low energy (250 W) Egg Incubator”, 4th International Conference on Agriculture and
incubator that can accommodate about 480 eggs at a time Animal Science IPCBEE vol.47 (2012), pp. 90-102.
[8] A. K. Agboola, “Increasing Livestock Production in Nigeria:
(although only 57 eggs were used for testing as a result of the Development of Cost-Effective Models for Bird-Egg Incubator”,
constraint of obtaining large number of fertilized eggs at a International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced
time). A shop-purchased incubator with the same capacity Engineering, 2013, vol. 3 (3), pp. 707-716.
with the one developed is more expensive (about $3,000), [9] Fastrack Modem M1306B User Guide, Available at
http://www.wavecon.com/ Accessed April, 2015.
and consumes much more energy (in the range of kilowatts). [10] D-Robotics. “DHT11 Humidity and Temperature Sensor” Available at
This study has also shown that deep cycle battery could be http://www.droboticsonline.com/ , Accessed September 2014.
used to successfully power incubators cheaply for the whole [11] M. Hagen, “Artificial Incubation Applied To Small Numbers of
incubation period, by making all control elements DC Artificial Bird Eggs”, Review Performed At: Department of Animal and
Poultry Science University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Available at
operated and less energy consuming. Also, remote http:/www.hagen.com/hari/docu/tabcon2.html. Accessed October,
monitoring of the system in addition to other factors has led 2014.
to reduction in mortality rate in chicks which could result [12] N. Benjamin, “Modification of the Design of Poultry Incubator”,
from unattended failure in the incubator components. International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering and
Management, 2012, vol. 1 (4), pp.90-102.
VI. FUTURE WORKS
It is expected that further research should focus on using
wireless sensor network to detect unfertilized eggs, so that
such eggs could be replaced with fertilized ones as early as
possible. This will be done by placing cheap wireless sensor
nodes underneath each egg to monitor its weight from a PC
outside the incubator. The sensor will make use of the fact
that as incubation proceeds, eggs lose weight. For instance an
egg loses 0.0002 g of its weight on the first day [12] which
means that an unfertilized egg could be detected and replaced
a day after incubation commences. Other areas of further
development include;
1. Making use of carbon dioxide and oxygen sensor to
monitor the carbon dioxide and Oxygen level in
the incubation chamber.
2. Inclusion of ammonia gas detector sensor to alert the
operator when an egg gets spoilt thereby
preventing contamination of the incubation chamber.
3. Making use of sound sensor to alert the operator
remotely when the chicks hatch.
4. Using cameras to watch from a remote location what
is happening inside the incubator.

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