Design and development of remote-control system for two-wheel paddy transplanter

To reduce the human effort involved in walk-behind paddy transplanter operation, a remote-control system consisting of an electronic control unit (ECU) was designed and developed. A separate remote handheld wireless kit was developed to control the ECU. The deviation from a straight-line path was measured by mounting a real-time kinematic global satellite navigation system on the transplanter to provide a real-time plot of the navigation path of the transplanter. The results from the field evaluation revealed that the system worked properly with an effective field capacity of 0.16 +/- 0.03 ha h(-1) with a field efficiency of 73.05% +/- 0.35% at 1.8 km h(-1) in sandy loam soil. The mean deviation from the predefined straight path was 0.227 +/- 0.041 m for the remote-controlled transplanter as compared to 0.171 +/- 0.041 m for a manually operated transplanter. The net benefit of using the transplanter with the developed system was $40 per hectare and $2084 per year with a payback period of 2.7 years. The developed remote-control system reduced the drudgery/fatigue by up to 90% and increased the operator's work efficiency. In addition, an operator sitting in a safe and comfortable environment outside the puddled field improved the field capacity of paddy transplanters by up to 10% and helped minimize the effects of labor shortage during the transplanting season.