SMART AGRICULTURAL ROVER FOR WEED REMOVAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

Agriculture remains a cornerstone of developing economies, yet traditional farming practices continue to rely heavily on manual labor, incurring high operational costs and productivity losses. This paper presents the design and implementation of an IoT and Sensor-Based Smartphone-Operated Multipurpose Agricultural Robotic Vehicle (SARWR) capable of performing multiple farming operations—including grass cutting, seed sowing, soil moisture monitoring, and irrigation—within a single automated platform. The system utilizes an ESP32 microcontroller as the central processing unit, interfaced with soil moisture, temperature, humidity, and Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) sensors for real-time field monitoring. An L298N dual H-bridge motor driver controls the locomotion and task-specific DC motors, while a relay module manages the water pump. The robot is wirelessly controlled through a smartphone application via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi communication protocols. Solar panels provide a renewable energy source, making the system eco-friendly and energy-independent. The proposed system was tested under various field conditions, and results demonstrate significant reductions in manual labor, improved seed placement accuracy, and effective weed removal. The integration of IoT connectivity enables remote monitoring of field parameters through a cloud dashboard, supporting precision agriculture and sustainable farming practices.