176 Sourin Acharjee, Arunabho Kanti Som, Arpita Ghosh

International Journal of Electronics, Electrical and Computational System

IJEECS

ISSN 2348-117X

Volume 6, Issue 5

May 2017

Liquid Level Controller using ARDUINO Board andZigbee

Module

Sourin Acharjee

Department of ECE,

RCCIIT,Kolkata

Arunabho Kanti Som

Department of ECE,

RCCIIT,Kolkata

Arpita Ghosh

Department of ECE,

RCCIIT,Kolkata

Abstract: In this paper we have presented a remote

liquid level controller using ARDUINO UNO Module.

The level of the liquid is sensed , determined and

transmitted and accordingly the pump can be controlled

by a computer at a remote location. So far many works

have been reported on the liquid level sensing but no

work so far has been reported on the liquid level sensing

and controlling from a remote location computer. The

data related to the liquid level is transmitted to a

computer situated in another location. The wireless

transmission is done with the Zigbee module. The liquid

level is sensed by simple BC547 transistor and several

resistors and probes. The circuit diagram, hardware

implementation and the output are also shown in this

paper.

Keywords: ARDUINO UNO, ZigBee Module, Liquid

Level Detection

I. Introduction

In our day today life we need automation for

reducing the time consumption .Several automation

in the traffic light control system[1-4], vehicle

tracking system[5] has been reported so far. Sensing

the water level of the tank [6-8] and automatically

switching off the pump motor is a common scenario

and example of automation. But for controlling the

liquid level using a ZigBee module and ARDUINO

board from a remote location has not been done.In

this work we have used XBee module for wirelessly

transmitting the data from the liquid storage to the

control room, where anybody can see and control

the pump without checking it physically. This

device is cost-effective and low power consuming

and thus suitable for medium level industries where

power consumption is a concern. Also, installing a

wireless module lessens the hackles of faulty wiring

and abrasion faults of the wires. ATMega 328

microcontroller is used which ensures numerous

options of future up gradation .Here for the

complete hardware implementation we have used

BC547 ,LED, Probes, Zigbee (Xbee),ARDUINO

Uno , 9V Battery and USB to UART Bridge

Controller.

For interfacing and programming the Zigbee

modules, we have used the ARDUINO Uno board.

We have used Xbee Series 2 Zigbee. This circuit

has various advantages over the other circuits that

are now functioning. The wireless transmission

enables the user at some location to control the

liquid level at remote locations. Due to high range

of the Zigbee, a mesh network [9] can also be done

so as to control a city or village. The simplest

application of this circuit will be the control of

overhead tanks in large apartments with several

flats. In those circumstances, people face problems

regarding switching of the pump. With the

implementation of this circuit, which is easy to

install, these people can make their pump automated

in a very low cost.

II. Circuit Implementation

(a)

177 Sourin Acharjee, Arunabho Kanti Som, Arpita Ghosh

International Journal of Electronics, Electrical and Computational System

IJEECS

ISSN 2348-117X

Volume 6, Issue 5

May 2017

(b)

Figure 1: circuit implementation of the work (a)

transmitter section and (b) Receiver section

Figure 1 shows the circuit implementation of the

proposed work. Here we have connected the

transistors and the LED’s for indication purpose.

Figure 1 (a) shows the interfacing connections

between the ARDUINO board and XBee. In our

main liquid level detector circuit, we have used BC

547 as our sensor .We have connected and tested

the circuit using a 9v battery. After connecting the

circuit as the diagram, we have put all the probes

from the bases of the transistors to the simple water

tank that we have created. As shown in the diagram,

we have put the probes in the levels accordingly.

Now, after finishing the circuit design, we have test

run it by filling up the tank. The LEDs light up

showing the different levels. The receiver section is

formed using a computer and a XBeemodule[10]

shown in figure 1 (b). The Xbee Series 2( XBee

XB24-Z7WIT-004 module from Digi ) is used for

wireless transmitter. The. Series 2 XBee improves

on the power output , data protocol andit allows to

create complex mesh based networks .These

module allows a very reliable and simple

communication between microcontrollers,

computers.

The first stage of the work is to interface the XBee

module with the computer using the USB

explorer.After accomplishing that next work is to

connect the two XBee modules with each other for

proper functioning. X-CTU software is used for

necessary troubleshooting.

III. Flow Chart

The flow chart shown in figure 2 gives the overview

of the software implementation part ,which has been

implemented using the ARDUINO UNO board. The

programming is done in C++ language. The

different functions used for the program are

discussed.

The function digital write(Pinno, STATE) is used to

order the Arduino to switch the digital pin number

(pinno) to a certain STATE (HIGH or LOW). The

function pinMode(Pinno, INPUT or OUTPUT)

drives a certain pin number to take input or to give

The function output Serial available()-checks if

there is any signal available at the Rx and Tx of the

ARDUINO.

Figure 2: Flow chart of the overall work

178 Sourin Acharjee, Arunabho Kanti Som, Arpita Ghosh

International Journal of Electronics, Electrical and Computational System

IJEECS

ISSN 2348-117X

Volume 6, Issue 5

May 2017

IV. Output

The complete hardware implementation of the

circuit is done on a bread board and the outputs are

shown in the following figure 3. Figure 3 (a),

(b),(c),(d) shows the different liquid levels such as

first level, second level, third level, forth level

respectively detected by the ARDUINO board. The

detection of the level is indicated using the

corresponding glowing LED.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Figure 2. Different level detections (a) First

level,(b) Second level ,(c) Third level, (d) Forth

level and (e) Warning level

The two XBee modules are configured using the

XCTU software. The output for the different liquid

levels are indicated using the LED at the vicinity of

the circuit but the information of the levels are

transmitted by the XBee module and it is received

by a receiving XBee module fitted with the

computer place in a remote location. The liquid

level can be detected from the computer as well as

the pump can be also controlled by the computer

remotely. The computer screen at the output end is

shown in figure 4 (a). Figure 4 (b), (c), (d), (e) and

(f) shows the detection of 1st level,2

nd level, 3

rd

level, 4th level and warning level respectively.

179 Sourin Acharjee, Arunabho Kanti Som, Arpita Ghosh

International Journal of Electronics, Electrical and Computational System

IJEECS

ISSN 2348-117X

Volume 6, Issue 5

May 2017

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

Figure 4. Different level detections in the computer

screen (a) Output Screen ,(b) First level,(c) Second

level , (d) Third level, (e) Forth level and

(f)Warning level

180 Sourin Acharjee, Arunabho Kanti Som, Arpita Ghosh

International Journal of Electronics, Electrical and Computational System

IJEECS

ISSN 2348-117X

Volume 6, Issue 5

May 2017

Conclusion

The complete work gives the detailed overview of

the liquid level detector and controller implemented

using ARDUINO Uno board and ZigBee module. It

provides the user to control the pump operation

according to the detected level displayed in his

computer which is situated away from the location

of the liquid tank. The complete work gives a low

power consuming and low cost automation solution

to the Liquid level control from a distance.

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