Automating Egg Collection and Sorting For Local Poultry Farms

Poultry production is undoubtedly one of the most lucrative and popularly known agriculture business ventures in the world. The ever-increasing needs have led to the development, adaptation and utilization of new standards and technologies in developed countries. Goal number two of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focuses on eradication of hunger. While Goals 8 and 9 focusses on economic growth, and industry and innovation, respectively. These SDGs can be contributed to by the poultry production industries by implementing an efficient and cost effective production chain. However, developing countries like Ghana still deploy traditional method of handpicking of eggs and their separation into various sizes. To address this gap, this paper presents the design and development of an egg collecting and sorting system with a associated mobile application for poultry farms.

Link to full paper: http://conference.umat.edu.gh/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Design-and-Development-of-an-Egg-Collecting-and-Sorting-System-equipped-with-an-HMI-for-Poultry-Farms.pdf

A video of device in operation https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tbsoVZTRa4-S0fsm_n0rdqA7x4EbbMbJ/view

It employs the use of sensors combined with servo and conveyor system in its operation. Sorting of the eggs is based on a weight sensing system. The overall system is equipped with a Human Machine Interface for configuration purposes and a remote mobile application for monitoring combined with a statistical data view. The system is modelled and simulated using SolidWorks for optimal design before prototyping it practically. The designed mobile application runs on an android operating system. A battery backup for power support during outages is included in the design for an effective power supply.

This designed system is able to sort the eggs in large (56-64.9 g), medium (49-55.9 g) and small (42-48.9 g) size ranges as per to the FAO standards. Periodically, the designed system updates the mobile application with a progress report of the performance of the system. The proposed system is affordable, portable, safe and effective for small- and large-scale production.