DEVELOPMENT OF A HUMIDITY AND TEMPERATURE CONTROL AND MONITORING DEVICE FOR AN AUTOMATIC PADDY DRYER

Drying paddy after harvesting is very important to maintain the quality of the grains and avoid them from getting spoiled. Typically, traditional methods for drying involve manual monitoring, which may not have precise control over the drying process, resulting in inefficiencies and unpredictable outcomes. This research aims to create and evaluate a system for automatically controlling and monitoring a paddy dryer, with a specific focus on managing humidity and temperature levels. The study focused on creating a control system with an Arduino Uno microcontroller, sensors for humidity and temperature, and user control features. Testing was done in the Arduino IDE to ensure the system could interpret sensor data and control heating and dehumidification as programmed. A survey was also done with 15 farmers to understand their views on how the system could help with drying rice. Integration testing showed that the control system successfully responded to simulated sensor readings and controlled simulated drying elements. The farmer survey, which may be detailed in Table XVII, indicated positive feedback on the system's ability to enhance drying efficiency. Based on the effective technical tests and favorable user feedback, it seems like this automated paddy dryer control system, equipped with humidity and temperature monitoring capabilities, holds great potential. Further studies and improvements are advised to enhance the system and confirm its efficiency when applied in practical paddy drying situations. There are integral high-accuracy humidity and temperature sensors that form the core of the monitoring device. These sensors are interfaced with a microcontroller unit (MCU) typically used in data acquisition systems. The MCU then sends the accumulated data of the environment automatically to the user interface through cables for real-time monitoring and control of the drying process. Furthermore, control algorithms have been a part of the device and these are programmed into the MCU. These algorithms also involve the sensor data in controlling the heating parts of the dryer or the humidification systems to ensure the dryer provides a conducive environment for drying according to set standards. From the details of the described functioning of the developed control and monitoring device, it is possible to point out a number of benefits in its application as compared to traditional methods. To begin, the presence of real-time data concerning humidity and temperature within the drying process is beneficial in that it allows for accurate control of the process at hand. Secondly, it minimizes contact with persons and chances of variation in drying result from erratic human input. The features described in this study could help significantly in the development of effective and easily controllable automatic paddy dryers. This control and monitoring device has the possibility of reducing losses during drying and handling of the produce, increasing the quality of the rice produced, and help farmers and other companies in the production of paddy to become more efficient in their methods.