Development of a Prototype of an Automated Dog Feeding System
SERGEY KOSTAREV1, TATYANA SEREDA2
1Department of the Informatics
Perm Institute of National Guard Forces of the Russian Federation
1, Gremyachy Log, 614030, Perm, RUSSIA
2Department of Infectious Diseases
Perm State Agrarian-Technological University named after academician D N Pryanishnikov
23, Petropavlovskaja Str, 614990, Perm, RUSSIA
Abstract: - In large kennels, canine services have difficulties in feeding dogs. Known dog feeding systems are
studied and the development of an automated system using Omron PLC is described. The developed
technological scheme is given. For simplification of installation, the equipment is divided into modules. A table
of signal addresses used in Omron series industrial controllers is given. The system of logical equations for
controlling the main modules of the equipment device drive is given. Purpose of the research: development of
the project of the automated system of dog feeding in kennels. Materials and methods: the theory of finite
automata, the theory of synthesis of logical equations and ladder diagram technique were used. The software
was developed using Software CX-One. Results: a laboratory bench prototype of the automated feeding system
was developed. Practical significance: implementation of this system in departmental organizations will reduce
the time spent on food dosing, reduce the probability of error associated with the human factor, as well as
provide the process of feeding dogs while reducing the labor input of service personnel.
Key-Words: - automated system, dog feeding process, cynology, PLC.
Received: July 14, 2022. Revised: October 26, 2023. Accepted: November 25, 2023. Published: December 31, 2023.
1 Introduction
The issues of automation of animal feeding systems
were raised at the dawn of computer development.
At present, the development of automated animal
feeding systems is given much attention [1–3]. The
greatest progress has been made in the livestock
industry on farms: cattle, pig farms and poultry
farms. Articles on farm animal feeding systems are
mainly of a review nature [4,5]. Feeding control
systems mainly consist of a microcomputer, ration
management software, a weighing kit for portion
distribution and a module for remote data
transmission (GPRS or Wi-Fi) [6]. Also the industry
produces feeders for dogs and cats for home use, but
at the same time the automated systems for feeding
service dogs are not given enough attention. The
problem of the relevance of creating automated
systems for feeding service dogs for departmental
organizations was raised in [7,8]. This issue became
especially acute during the pandemic, when the on-
duty staff of canine services was significantly
reduced. At present, automated systems for feeding
service dogs have not been developed, in connection
with which, cynologists have difficulties with
accurate dosage of food and feeding of food in
enclosures to aggressive dogs in the absence of the
dog's "master".
Many computer programs have been created for
the formation of skills in the use of feeding systems
for animals [9,10]. When implementing an
automated monitoring system, it is easier to monitor
the condition of dogs from the feeding ration, as
well as to issue the right amount of food from the
weight of the dog. The experimental sites will
facilitate the ability to calculate and plan the optimal
diet of animals [11,12].
The article deals with the construction of the
project of an automated system for feeding service
dogs, in order to further develop the elements of the
system and create a prototype of the industrial
sample.
Due to the fact that the food for service dogs can
be diverse, the designed system should take into
account the peculiarities of the daily ration from the
type of food and weight of dogs. The developed
automated dog feeding system will be based on
industrial controllers and is designed to reduce the
use of human resources.
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2 Materials and Methods
The methodology of automating the process of
feeding service dogs is coordinated with the
regulatory documents that govern the work of the
canine service, in particular: with the Order of May
13, 2008 N 330 "On approval of the norms of
providing feed (products) and the norms of
replacing feed (products) in the provision of regular
animals of institutions and bodies of the penal
system in peacetime"; Order of the Federal
Penitentiary Service of Russia from July 4, 2018 N
570 "On approval of the norms and procedure for
providing institutions of the penal system with
equipment, products of general economic For the
development of the automated feeding system the
theory of finite automata, the theory of synthesis of
logical equations and the methodology of
construction of ladder diagrams were used. The
canine operator screen was developed using the CX-
Designer module of the CX-One Software. The
relay contact circuits are programmed using the CX-
Programmer module [13–16]. Dry peleted dog food
is proposed to be used as the food.
3 Results of the study
3.1 Development of technological scheme of
feeding
When developing an automated feeding system, it is
necessary to take into account the necessary
technological regulations of food preparation and
feeding, it can be the preparation of special feed
mass or the use of primary ingredients (meat, fish).
The analysis of feeding dry and wet dog food has
been studied in a number of papers [17,18]. In this
work it is proposed to use dry granular feed soaked
in a reactor, just before the feeding cycle.
The process of food preparation and feeding will
be described by the following operations: granulated
feed is put into the reactor and water is supplied. In
winter time, heating of the mixture is carried out.
Feed is distributed to feeders through a system of
pipelines with the help of pneumatic conveying
(Figure 1). Water is supplied to the drinkers using a
system of pipelines. As the drinkers are emptied,
water is supplied up to the upper level (the water
bowls have sensors for controlling the minimum and
maximum liquid levels).
Input
Begin
Time
Time
Hopper
feed
Water supply
Timer
feed
Timer
End
Switching off
the mixer
and heater
Switching on
the pneumatic pump
and feed delivery
The trough
is emptied
Closing
the flaps
Switching
on the cleaning
system
Switching
off the cleaning
system
Switching
on the mixer
and heater
No
No
No No
No
No
No
Fig. 1: Algorithm of feed mixture preparation
3.2 Synthesis of analytical solution
To develop the project of the automated system it is
necessary to select the drives of devices, actuators,
sensors and other technological equipment. The
main technological elements of the designed system
are presented in Table 1.
To create a relay-contact circuit, logic equations
of the main modules of the automated feeding
system: feed preparation and water supply were
made.
Development of a block of logical equations for
feed preparation (1)-(7):
The start of the feeding cycle is initiated with a
signal from the real time clock (1):
FS D14 D15 SS = Q100.00, (1)
where FS is the signal from the real time clock, D14
is the signal from the feed sensor in the reactor, D15
is the water sensor in the hopper, SS is the start of
feeding, Q100.00 is the water supply to the reactor.
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Table 1. Designation of the main technological
elements of the system automated dog feeding
system
Model
Module
CP1L-M30DR-
D OMRON
Automatic
NB5Q-TW00B
OMRON
Automatic
DF50 50 l/min
Samoa 552021
Feeding
BV-4
Feeding
MATEUS
MS05101
Water
supply
RCA
2 kW
Water
supply
240 l
Utilization
ECOPROM
500 l
Water
supply
With electronic
control
Water
supply
Load cell 50 kg
Feeding
Electronically
controlled
63 mm
Water
supply
Dkc 63963
Water
supply
¾'', 3 м
Water
supply
Universal
Feed / water
supply
Metal
To develop the system of logical equations and
PLC programming, the address system of sensor and
equipment drive signals was specified (Table 2).
After the reactor is filled with water, it is
necessary to turn on the heater (to work in winter
period) and mixer, the equations for their inclusion
will look as follows (2)-(3):
FS SS D15 = Q100.01 Q100.02 V PS (2)
where FS - signal from the real time clock, SS - start
of feed, Q100.01, Q100.02 - PLC memory settings,
PS - signal from the timer on completion of feed
mixture preparation.
In order to turn off the heater and mixer, as well
as for the feed to cool down and it can be fed to the
feeders, it is necessary to set the delay timer:
Q100.01 SS V T0 = TIM 1.00 PS, (3)
where Q100.01 - PLC memory setting, SS - feed
start, T0 - feed preparation time, TIM - timer, 1.00 -
temperature relay, PS - feed preparation.
At this stage feed preparation is completed.
Table 2. Address system for sensor and actuator
signals
Equipment
Receiver
Mnemonic/
address
Lower level in bowls
1-5
PLC
D0 (0.00)
D0 (0.04)
Upper level in bowls
1-5
PLC
D5 (0.05)
D9 (0.09)
Manual feeding of
feed into the feeders
PLC
D10 (0.10)
Manual feeding of
water into bowls
PLC
D11 (0.11)
Manual flushing of
the system
PLC
D12 (0.12)
Reset (shutdown)
PLC
D13 (0.13
system reset
PLC
D14 (0.14)
Feed in the hopper
PLC
D15 (0.15)
Water in the hopper
PLC
D16 (1.0)
Weight (net) of
animals 1-5
WR10- WR14
Weight (net) of
feeders 1-5
WR15-WR19
Water supply to the
hopper
О0 (100.00)
Switching on the
heater
О1 (100.01)
Switching on the
mixer
О2 (100.02)
Pneumatic pump
О3 (100.03)
Hydraulic pump
О4 (100.04)
Hopper flaps
О5 (100.05)
Feeder flaps 1-5
О6 (100.06)
О10 (100.10)
Drinker valves 1-5
О11 (100.11)
О15 (100.15)
Weight (net) portions
1-5
WR20 - WR24
Next, it is necessary to make the distribution of
the feed mixture. Operation of the pneumatic pump
for feed supply and opening of the hopper flap is
described by the formula:
1.00 PP=Q100.05 V Q100.03, (4)
where 1.00 – temperature relay, PP - signal of feed
preparation completion, Q100.05 - signal for hopper
flap, Q100.03 - signal for pneumatic pump.
Then opening of valves on feeders (5) takes
place:
1.00 CF PS, (5)
where CF – signal about filling of the feeder, PS -
signal about completion of feed preparation, 1.00 -
signal from the temperature relay.
Calculation of the portion size is made with the
help of the program flashed in the PLC.
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After filling the troughs with the required
portion, a signal is given to close the valve (6):
CSCF01CF02CF03&
CF04CF05 = FESM, (6)
where CS is the flag to close the first feeder, CF is
to stop feeding the feeders, FE is the flag to end the
feeding cycle, SM is the manual stop.
After these operations (1)–(6), all variables and
I/O are reset. At the end of the feeding cycle, the
system for flushing the pipelines of food mass
residues is activated (7):
SF SM=TIM (T0 V0.12) Q100.04, (7)
where SF - start of cleaning system operation, SM -
manual stop of the system, TIM - timer of system
operation, T0 - timer of cleaning start, 0.12 - manual
cleaning button, Q100.04 - signal to drive the
hydraulic pump and valve.
Development of a command system for
monitoring the filling of drinkers
Monitoring the condition of dog drinkers is to
maintain the necessary level of drinking water. The
process of automatic refilling of water bowls is
defined by means of a system of logical equations:
,
11.1005D
11.1005DD11D0
Rset
Set
(8)
where the upper equation is water supply, the lower
equation is water supply pump shutdown.
Based on the synthesis of logic equations (1–8),
ladder diagrams were developed for Omron PLC
programming.
The next operation was the development of the
kinolog operator screen.
3.3 Development of the screen-operator of the
cynologist
During the design of the screen operator-cynologist
were formed fields with bunkers-reactors, a field
with aviaries, which shows the state of feeders and
drinkers. Level sensors are monitored at each site.
The operator's screen displays load cell readings to
measure the weight of the feed. The weight of the
dog is entered by the operator based on their pre-
weighing. The circuit has feeder gate control
actuators and reactor control actuators. On the
screen there are windows for writing to the memory
registers, the current weight of the dogs in the
enclosures. Figure 2 shows the operator panel,
which monitors the feeding system, as well as its
control elements. The feeding cycle is started
automatically at the programmed time (morning and
evening), 2 times a day in accordance with the dog
feeding schedule.
Fig. 2: Development of the design of the operator
panel
3.4 Simulation of the circuit operation
The feeding system was tested in software
simulation mode, all modules worked according to
the planned technological mode. Figure 3 shows the
drinking water supply mode. Water availability in
dogs is monitored by level sensors. Water heating is
provided for the system operation in winter
conditions.
Fig. 3: The water supply process takes place
Figure 4 shows a simulation of the feeding cycle
operation.
Fig. 4: Simulation of PLC relay contact circuit
operation. The process of filling feed troughs with
fodder is taking place
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4 Conclusion
Nowadays not enough time is given to the
development of industrial systems for feeding dogs,
which are designed for a large number of animals,
there are only automatic feeders for home use.
In the article the project of the automated system
for feeding of service dogs is developed, that within
the limits of import substitution by the Russian
software is the decision of the important applied
problem. Practical significance of the work consists
in the possibility of implementation of the
developed project in departmental organizations
when feeding service dogs, due to which it is
possible to solve the problems of dog care at the
limited composition of cynological services and to
improve the rationing and dosage of food in
accordance with the Orders of departmental
organizations.
According to the system requirements, operation
algorithm and technological scheme, relay contact
circuits were constructed to control the feeding
process. As a hardware and software programmable
logic controller PLC Omron. Development of relay-
contact circuit programmable logic controller CP1L
was carried out using CX-Programmer. An operator
screen was developed to monitor the system status
and manual control. Simulation of the circuit
operation was carried out. Simulation of the device
circuit operation showed positive results in
controlling the process of dog feeding. As a result of
the introduction of the proposed computer system in
kennels it is possible to achieve reduction of the
operative on-duty staff of cynologists up to five-six
times, one on-duty cynologist will be enough to
manage the technological process of dog feeding.
Due to the introduction of the automated
information system the system of accuracy of feed
dosing will be improved by 15–20% and also
feeding will be carried out at the exact scheduled
time and will not depend on the human factor. The
introduction of an automated feeding system will
also help to solve the problem of infection transfer
on the clothes of dog handlers and prevent the
development of an epidemiological situation in
kennels intended for keeping service dogs.
Currently, the project has attracted interest in
designing a kennel for stray dogs in the Yaroslavl
region of the Russian Federation. The capacity of
the shelter will be up to 1000 animals per year. It
will fully comply with all requirements of the
federal law "On Responsible Treatment of Animals
and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of
the Russian Federation". During the 25-day animal
confinement in the shelter, the animals will be
quarantined, vaccinated, sterilized, and treated if
necessary. A feasibility study is currently underway
to implement an automated feeding system in the
kennel.
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Author Contributions:
Conceptualization and research Sergey Kostarev;
methodology and formal analysis, writing-reviewing
and editing Tatyana Sereda.
Sources of funding for research presented in a
scientific article:
No funding was received for conducting this study.
Conflict of Interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare
that are relevant to the content of this article.
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
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DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE
DOI: 10.37394/232022.2023.3.27
Sergey Kostarev, Tatyana Sereda
E-ISSN: 2732-9984
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Volume 3, 2023