MyPawApp: IOT-based Smart Pet Feeder

using mobile application

YANCO, MAEGIL B.

PERITE, MARIZ P.

LESSLY, ARIANNE G.

TRASMONTERO, MARK CHRISTIAN A.

INTRODUCTION

In this rapidly developing world, societies cultures and economics are becoming

complicated day by day. As a result, every human being is dealing with some sort of

problem in life. According to (Liyanage et al., 2020), 99% of these solutions are based

on information technology, in which data is taken as input and processed into

information, resulting in meaningful and useful outputs. The information technology

concepts have the ability to make the connection between humans and machines.

Today a word widely used in technological development is automation, which

means using mechanical or electronic devices to facilitate human work. Nowadays, the

possibilities for using automation are very large. Given the ubiquity of the Internet in

most major centers, these developed devices can access real-time information, and this

information can be anywhere in the world (Duarte et al., 2019). However, Internet of

things (IoT) is commonly used to name a set of objects that are directly connected to

the Internet. One prediction is that the number of connected things in the world will have

a thirtyfold increase between 2009 and 2020, thus by 2020, there will be 26 billion

things that are connected to the Internet. IoT applications make people’s lives easier

and more efficient in many ways. One of the areas where IoT can be useful is that

monitoring food and water supply for pets that are left unattended for either a short or a

long time (Asaner & Elibol, 2018). Moreover, Pet ownership has become an interesting

addition in the lives of the Filipino families. Keeping domesticated pets has been a

practice around the world and taking good care of them is already part of our human
culture. With the advancement in the development of Internet of Things (Luayon et al.,

2019).

Animal feed distribution systems are a very common item and are used greatly

both on a domestic scale as well as on a larger scale in commercial applications. Animal

feed distribution systems come in many different forms with different ways to control

how the feed actually gets distributed. Whether it is a manual system, an automatic

system on a timer, or a sensor based system (Sedigh, 2016)

According to (Adenowo et al., 2020), An Internet of Things (IoT) based automatic

feeder system comes handy to assist in the management of pet needs. The latter

technology will enable pet owners to remotely manage critical needs that are

automatable while engaged in other time and attention demanding tasks. On the other

hand, According to (Singh et al., 2019), automation based Internet of Things (IoT) is

becoming versatile and popular. The technology enhances human life due to its

capability to provide smart management of appliances at target locations.

The pet feeder is a programmable system which is mainly controlled by a

microcontroller. It consists of a LCD screen for input display, buzzer to alert pets for

meals, stepper motor to control the speed and a turn table which is divided into different

sections for placement of different food (Mariya, 2019). Moreover, According to

(ZANTEN, 2021), A pet feeder allows you to schedule and manage feeding times,

portion sizes, and food supply for your pets. Pet feeders are controllable on your

smartphones and computers so you can still be able to feed your pet while you’re away.
 Pet owners had been facing with the problem due to how they can feed their pet

properly when they are not at home. Unfortunately, there are certain pet owners did

not have much energy or time to fulfil their pets food because owners might not

always be at home regularly (Sodiq et al., 2018). The current scenario is in such a way

that everyone in a daily routine of very busy roles and occupied with their time bound

professions. As a part of this life style, it remains a demand where the people are

required to have pets. But busy life style of the pet owners like having other important

thing to do such as having a business trip assigned by the company, it isn’t possible to

take care of the pets and feed them regularly (Akila et al., 2018). The problem arises

when the pet owner are away, some pet owners will hire people or send their pets to the

hotels to take care of their pets which is costly (International & Exposition, 2017).

This study aimed to develop a Smart Pet Feeder that will help pet owner taking

care of their pet and will help to minimize overfeeding by measuring out the portions of

food at regular intervals, supporting steady growth and development. With this machine,

it will help pet owner to manage their pet diet wheel. When pet owner is at home, it can

be controlled by a mobile application through internet. If pet owner is not at home, user

can set the timer to feed their pet based on his chosen time. For the case of losing their

pets, the researcher proposed some additional features that can be added by adding

camera. This camera helps pet owners to monitor the activities of their pets or can take

a snapshot of their pet enjoying their food.

General Objective

The study aims to develop a MyPawApp Smart Pet Feeder with camera that will

refill food and monitor through a mobile application.

Specific Objectives

1. To develop a smart pet feeder that has the following features:

a. To set schedule to feed the pet on time using mobile application.

b. To check the status of pet at home using a camera.

2. To evaluate the satisfaction of every pet owner.

3. To test the functionality of the application.

Significance of the Study

The system proposed in this study will provide a useful device that will give

benefits to every pet owner and also by maintaining a consistent feeding schedule that

can solve the main problem.

Pet owners- The system can help pet owners by providing quick access through mobile

phone that will make it easier for owners to feed and monitor their pets during their

absence at home. In addition, it will have benefits to animal lovers who cannot afford

expensive pet feeder.

Future Researcher- This study could be an instrument for future researchers to provide

the information or features on what is lacking in this study.

The proponents of the study are in the process of creating a smart pet feeder,

which is a system to allow an owner to control the device using mobile application to set

a feed schedule anytime. The system also can give view to monitoring pets ensuring

them that they are eating or not.

The system enables the owner to set a schedule to feed their pet and will not

have a sensor to detect whether your pet is near to give them food automatic. The

release of food have the exact amount. This smart pet feeder is made only for dogs and

cats.
 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents and discusses relevant literature and studies that are

closely related to the research project. The information in this chapter was sought to

support this study and lead researchers in developing smart pet feeder using mobile

application.

Problem of traditional Pet Feeding

In today's society, the most primary problem is the Unavailability of pet owners to

feed their pets due to work and other commitments. This are difficult to be solved

without any helping device. Some people, on the other hand, fail to pay attention to their

pets because they are too busy to feed them on time. In additional to that, pet doesn’t

have ability to get the food itself, and it has to depend on the pet owner to feed them

(Ibrahim et al., 2019). One of the most common ways that pet owners try to solve this

problem is by so-called free feeding, where a pet has food available all day and eats at

will. The problem is that the pet owner has no control over how much the pet eats or

which pet eats the food (Et.al, 2021). However, not everyone is a pet expert, taking care

of your pet’s diet can be hard and time consuming. One of the top health concerns of

pets are overeating and obesity. Especially at younger age, they are usually satisfied

with however much is given to them. Many adult pets are fed unscientifically that later

may cause short lifespan (Zhao et al., 2016).

obesity. In 2018, an estimated 60% of cats and 56% of dogs in the United States were

overweight or obese (Prevention, 2019).

However, most owners will be concerned since they do not know where their pet

is in the house (Chen & Elshakankiri, 2020). In addition for the case of losing their pets,

According to (Aqraldo et al., 2021), when the pet is lost, the person who has the pet

must be troubled when he wants to find the pet. The impact of losing these pets is that

the pet owner feels sad and worried about the pet he has cared for. The high number of

cases of loss of pets is caused by recalcitrant pets and negligence of the pet owner.

The Impact of Internet of Things (IoT) to our everyday lives

The internet of things, also known as IoT, in recent years, successfully disrupted

our daily lives to the point that even the non-technologically inclined have started to buy

into the convenience, the comfort, and the valuable insights that it offers. From

connected home hubs, smart thermostats, remote door locks, and all the various app-

controlled appliances, chances are, you already know how helpful IoT is in your

everyday life. (IoT) penetration in our daily lives is on the increase too. The global

market for IoT is on track to reach $520 billion by 2021, representing a growth of about

50 percent in each successive year since 2017 (Blog, IoT, 2019).

In the present era with the help of Technology. It may provide awareness to pet

owners of its advantages and feasibility in the future. The Internet of Things (IoT)

provides the possibility to make any “thing” a user or component of such a service
infrastructure (Korzun et al., 2013). However, the future of the Internet will consist of

heterogeneously connected devices that will further extend the borders of the world with

physical entities and virtual components and will empower the connected things with

new capabilities (Li et al., 2015).

The fact that technology in various fields has evolved through the years. The

pace of connecting physical devices around us to the Internet is increasing rapidly.

According to a recent Gartner report, there will be around 8.4 billion connected things

worldwide in 2020 (Hassija et al., 2019).

Development of an Embedded System

Development of an Embedded System Course to Teach the Internet-of-Things.

The term internet-of-things refers to billions of interconnected devices, also known as

embedded devices or systems (A. R. Rao et al., 2018). On the other hand, Using

Internet of things It will help control human desired starting from industrial machine to

consumer goods by the use of different devices for controlling, by the help of web-

browser, smart phone or IR remote module (Lalit Mohan Satapathy, Samir Kumar

Bastia, 2018). An additional characteristic of embedded systems is that they frequently

operate in real-time, meaning that the system controls the environment by receiving

data, processing it, and returning the results quickly enough to affect the environment

within a reasonable time-frame, often milliseconds, or even microseconds (Writter,

2018).
 For example, Embedded system in Arduino can be used to develop interactive

objects, taking in inputs to control outputs. It has the advantages of low cost, cross-

platform, simplicity of programming, and open-source extendable software and

hardware (El-Abd, 2017). And with the help of software application (Dudhe et al., 2017).

Process become much quicker and much easier. Furthermore, by the use of smart

phones, which can provide the convenient services with various aspects for pet owners

(Kim, 2016).

The report on global embedded systems market provides qualitative and

quantitative analysis for the period of 2016 to 2024. The report predicts the global

embedded systems market to grow with a CAGR of 6.5% over the forecast period of

2018-2024. Moreover, the report is a collective presentation of primary and secondary

research findings. Porter's five forces model in the report provides insights into the

competitive rivalry, supplier and buyer positions in the market and opportunities for the

new entrants in the global embedded systems market over the period of 2016 to 2024

(Markets, 2018).
Developing Smart Pet Feeder

Smart Pet Feeder has an auto-generated machine that can feed your pet

according to the time and quantity specified. Pet dishes are filled in one container by

setting the time and date using the Arduino UNO that has been displayed on the LCD

mounted on the pet mediator (Danial et al., 2020). Moreover, with the help of RTC (Real

Time Clock) Module, which used to set time and date on which your pet should be given

food. So, by setting up the time according to your pet’s eating schedule, the device drop

or fill the food bowl automatically (T. A. Rao & Srikanth, 2019). On the other hand,

automatic pet feeder detects the presence of the pet. The distance sensor’s work is to

detect the presence of the pet as it comes closer and then the servo motor unlocks and

pours food in the bowl through the bottle (Kank & Gaikwad (Mohite), 2018).

According to the research paper entitled Arduino based Food and Water

Dispenser for Pets with GSM Technology Control, GSM is used to receive signal from

the owner’s phone. When the owner sends a message to the device at home, servo

motor and solenoid valve will be activated. Servo motor will rotate and valve will be

opened for the food and water to be dispersed. After the process is done, a text

message will be sent to the owner, informing the successful feeding. The idea was to

help people with busy schedules to feed their pets (Jr et al., 2015).

According to the research paper entitled Pet Feeding System Using Raspberry Pi

and GSM, the concept came from pet owners that is not always at home. One main
responsibility a pet owner must do is the pet’s health. Make sure that the pet does not

starve when the owner is not at home. By using a Raspberry Pi and GSM Technology, a

pet feeding system was developed. Using a GSM is one of the useful features of the

device, it is used to receive data coming from the owner. Most pet feeders used GSM

rather than Wi-Fi because GSM is more convenient and reliable to used (NICK, 2015).

According to a paper entitled NuriPet, A smart pet feeding machine for SNS, the

idea is for pets to post in social media with the use of camera, pedal, and an internet

connection. These are all connected and controlled by raspberry pi that connects to the

internet and upload data given by the camera and the pedal (Jung et al., 2016).
Technical Background

The goal of this study is to create smart pet feeder using mobile application to

overcome forgetful of the pet owner to feed their pet. In this study, Arduino is used as

the microcontroller to control the mechanism and to operate the system with a given of

set time. Arduino presents us with an alternative platform to build such amazing

products. Users can download the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

and code their own program using the C/C++ language as well as the Arduino Core

library, which provides a considerable functions and features. Arduino makes it easy to

sense and respond to touch, sound, position, heat, light, etc. However, Arduino is an

open-source platform composed of very simple and easy-to-use hardware and software,

which has mainly been developed for prototyping purposes (Pan & Zhu, 2018).

However, Arduino board can be programmed to do anything by simply programming the

microcontroller on board using a set of instructions for which, the Arduino board consists

of a USB plug to communicate with your computer and a bunch of connection sockets

that can be wired to external devices like motors, LEDs etc. (Administrator, 2016). To

develop a pet feeder device, Servo Motor Control with an Arduino is very important

tools. You can connect small servo motors directly to an Arduino to control the shaft

position very precisely because servo motors use feedback to determine the position of

the shaft, you can control that position very precisely. As a result, servo motors are used

to control the position of objects, rotate objects, move sensors etc. (Youngblood, 2015).

Cameras that we use today are smart and have a lot of features that were not present in

earlier cameras. Camera module OV7670 with Arduino UNO is the additional features
for developing pet feeder device. The camera module OV7670 can be interfaced

with Arduino Mega with same pin configuration, code and steps. The Surveillance

cameras digital image processing chip-OV0706, specially designed for image

acquisition and processing application, based on TTL communication interface, very

convenient to connect with Arduino controller, able to read image and data via UART

serial port, and then perform some image processing (Pandit, 2019). We need to add

external WiFi protocol into these device to make them compatible with the internet

channel. The best way to develop quickly an IoT application with less Integrated circuits

to add is to choose NodeMCU V3. Is an open-source firmware and development kit that

plays a vital role in designing an IoT product using a few script lines. This NodeMCU

which is based on ESP8266 WiFi SoC. This is version 3 and it is based on ESP-12E

(An ESP8266 based WiFi module) (Dahoud & Fezari, 2018).

Developing any application is a complex task. You need to build many modules

together to hold your application, such as UI, structure, configurations, etc. One such

tool is an integrated development environment (IDE). In short, an IDE is a combination

of basic tools required for the development of applications. The official IDE or Android

IDE is the Android Studio. When it comes for developing an application, Android Studio

will help to develop application in a more productive way at scale and provides the

fastest tools for building application on every android device (Medewar, 2022). On the

other hand, Database performance is a very important factor in the development of any

application. Most popular is the SQLite for database on Android. The SQLite is a

relational database management system, similar to Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL and

SQL Server. It implements most of the SQL standard, but unlike the four database
engines mentioned above, it is not a client-server database engine. Rather, it is

embedded into the end program. What this means is that you can bundle a SQLite

database with your application, and get access to all the power of a relational database

within your application. SQLite is native to both Android and iOS, and every app can

create and use an SQLite database if they so desire. In fact, in Android, device

contacts, and media are stored and referenced using SQLite databases (Organization,

2021).
Synthesis

Taking care of pets is a huge responsibility, especially when it comes to feeding

them. It has been claimed that the primary challenge of every pet owner is how to feed

their pet while they are busy with their work or other commitment. This is difficult to

solve without any helping devices. Internet of things (IoT) like smart pet feeder is one of

the useful devices with the help of Arduino Uno. This smart pet feeder is manually

control using smartphone difference to the existing automated smart pet feeder. The

features of this smart pet feeder have a camera that owners will monitor their pet when

they are not at home.

Figure 1. User Interface Login and Sign Up

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