1 of 10

Automatic Leaf Removal System

Zach Tomberg, Aric Donerkiel, Caleb White

2 of 10

Problem Statement:

Leaves keep accumulating on my lawn. I don’t have time to deal with them. I need some way to remove them on a regular basis during the fall season.

3 of 10

Context:

Reasonable sized lawn with some hills and delicate areas.

4 of 10

Constraints:

  • Must be safe and easy to use or setup.
  • Relatively automatic. Programmable time slots.
  • Electric.
  • Financially feasible.

5 of 10

Mobile Automated Leaf Blower (MALB)

This is a mobile robotic apparatus that will be similar to a roomba. The leaf blower will be mounted on a swivel system. The swivel system will allow for more precise cleaning and the ability to make neater piles. The MALB will have the ability to be turned on remotely.

  • Pros:
    • Single Unit system
    • Adjustable
  • Cons
    • Portable power supply
    • Movement system

​

6 of 10

Robotic Automatic Vacuum (Caleb)

  • Picks up leaves on lawn with vacuum on front
  • Detects fallen branches and other obstacles to avoid them with sensor on front
  • Has bag on back for collecting leaves
  • 4 wheels for easy movement and rotation

Pros: Safe way to clean up leaves, able to move on own

Cons: May not detect objects, not easily programmable

7 of 10

Stationary Automatic Leaf Blower Network. (SALBN)

This system is a network of several leaf blowers mounted like turrets around a house. The blowers work together to funnel leaves into manageable piles or off of the lawn completely. The blowers come on automatically during selected times on certain days much like a sprinkler system.

Pros - Can be tied into power grid. No need for batteries - Parts are stationary, so they won’t run into anything. - No need for a local positioning system.

Cons - Needs many blowers. - Blowers need to communicate with each other.

8 of 10

Solution We Are Pursuing

We would like to pursue the idea of having a network of stationary automatic leaf blowers. We are choosing this one as it is the most practical out of the three, along with being the most feasible. We have limited access to machining tools as well, which is why this solution is the most plausible.

9 of 10

Research Topics

Zach - Freedom Board vs Arduino vs Raspberry Pi

​

Caleb - Physical aspect: Motors, power, torque

​

Aric - How to network different controllers together to a single interface

10 of 10

Questions