Battery Driven Walk-Behind Rice Seedling Transplanter with Solar and Piezoelectric Regenerative Power Inputs

Rice seedling transplanters are used by farmers to have better planting operational efficiency; to aid in challenges in labor scarcity and also to alleviate physical health issues that is related to manual rice planting. Philippines is an agricultural country with rice as its staple food, we have 34% of our agriculture land as rice paddies. Although we have a large area for rice planting, more than 50% of farm holdings is under one hectare. Purchase of large and expensive engine driven rice transplanters can be deemed unnecessary by local farmers. This study aims to show the prospect of replacing a gasoline fueled engine with a lead acid battery – DC Motor set up and the influence of adding STP010-12Solar panels and Piezoelectric array regenerative inputs. By computing and comparing power input and output it was observed that the solar panel can extend battery life to a hypothetical time of about eight (8) minutes as compared to using the battery alone; while the piezoelectric array can further extend it by one (1) minute. With the battery driven equipment's compact structure it will be more suitable for small scaled rice farmers use.