Chapter 3: Methodology

3.1 Introduction
This chapter outlines the methodology behind the design and implementation of the autonomous
temperature/humidity monitoring robot. The methodology is a critical and structured approach
that ensures the proposed system meets functional requirements, reliability and efficiency. The
Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) was used to develop the proposed system. It
was structured in accordance with the DSRM frameworks by Hevner, et al (2004) and Preffers,
et al (2008). DSRM follows six key phases and these are:
i. Problem Definition – involves identification of challenges and problems.
ii. Objectives – derived from the challenges faced. Define the non-functional and functional
requirements of the project.
iii. Design and Development – involves creation of an effective artefact/solution.
iv. Working Principle/Demonstration – demonstrating how the project works.
v. Evaluation – assessing performance of the project against the set objectives to determine
effectiveness and utility.
vi. Communication – involves sharing any actionable insights and findings discovered from
design and implementation of the proposed system/solution.
Preffers et al (2008) provides a more simplified framework and breaks down project
development using the following stages:
i. Identify the problem.
ii. Design the solution.
iii. Implement the solution.
iv. Evaluate the solution.
v. Communicate work.

The phases are iterative and each can be revisited in order to refine the design of the robot.
DSRM emphasizes creation of effective artefacts and their evaluation to solve identified,
practical problems. The research framework has its roots in applied fields such as engineering,
architecture and education (STEM). Applied research is primarily concerned with design,
creation and evaluation of a product or viable solution which in DSR terms is known as an
artefact. The artefact is constructed in response to a need or requirement and this need must not
only incorporate aesthetics but also utility to be deemed useful. According to Hevner et al
(2004), DSR considers design as both a process and an artefact.
Guidelines provided specify the following:
i. A viable artefact must be produced in either the form of a model, construct, method or
instantiation.
ii. Utility and quality of an artefact must be rigorously evaluated.
iii. The design must address and solve relevant, important problems.
iv. Effective research must produce a theoretical contribution in the problem domain or area
of research.
v. Rigorous methods must be applied in both development and evaluation of an artefact.
vi. Presentation or communication of results must address both rigour and relevance.
A study by C. Atkins examines the application of DSR as an appropriate methodology in
development of innovative IT solutions. Findings revealed that DSR provides students with a
way of comprehending not only the industry needs and requirements but equips them with wider
skills of understanding and applying a research and evidence-based approach to their work.
Students are exposed to the reality of practical industrial domains but also the theoretical practice
of applying and using a research approach.
The decision to use DSRM as the primary research methodology of this project was informed by
the following reasons:
DSRM aligns with the project objectives which are practical and research-oriented. The primary
objective is not only to develop a functional robotic environment monitoring system but also
demonstrate a structured approach towards solving a real-world problem. DSR supports this
objective by providing a rigorous and structured approach focused on creating and evaluating
innovative artifacts. This contributes to both theory and industry practice.
The Iterative nature of DSR allows the opportunity to step back an re-evaluate methods and
decisions that do not produce the required outcome or behaviour from the robot. Problematic
code and logic are evaluated and refined to meet functional requirements. Definition of
requirements at the initial stage help define the robot’s scope and establish baselines and
milestones which are used to evaluate the performance at every stage of development.
The idea of research is not to provide a proof of concept which is only limited to describing an
approach to solve a problem but is centered on both the method and model. The DSR framework
facilitates design which involves crafting processes and producing an artefact. Rigorous
evaluation ensures the robot satisfies utility and quality.
Academic projects require a structured, approach and detailed documentation as well as clear
communication of insights or findings. DSR provides a formal, phased approach – problem
identification, objective definition, design and development, demonstration, evaluation and
communication that aligns with the requirements of academic research and reports.
DSR supports rigorous, evidence-based evaluation which will ensure the project’s efficacy and
effectiveness. The autonomous robot will be evaluated in terms of accuracy of
temperature/humidity recording, obstacle-avoidance, power efficiency and operational
consistency.
The project is focused on producing a functional robotic artefact and reusable framework which
will make a theoretical contribution towards development and understanding of mobile,
autonomous monitoring system.

3.2 Problem Definition

Bak Logistics faces challenges maintaining optimal humidity levels within its warehouses which
impacts the quality and longevity of stored goods such as perishables, chemicals and
pharmaceuticals. Fluctuating humidity and temperature have led to damage, increased spoilage
rates and financial losses as well as decreased customer services due to compromised product
integrity. Currently Bak logistics has no definitive system for real-time data collection, analysis
and alert mechanisms to maintain ideal humidity levels, improve operational efficiency and
support inventory management. Traditional environmental monitoring systems are often time-
consuming, fixed and manual and this poses a challenge in dynamic environments such as
warehouses.
The maximum recommended temperature and humidity thresholds for distributed warehouses
vary depending on the type of goods stored but for general-purpose storage, typical upper
thresholds are:
Temperature: 30ºC
Humidity: 60%
Threshold values are aimed at preventing damage to most common goods e.g., packaged goods,
dry food items and electronics.
Industry Specific Recommendations

Type Recommended Temp/Humidity

Electronics 27ºC | 40-60% RH

Pharmaceuticals 15-25ºC | 60% RH
Dry Food Items 25ºC | 50-60% RH
Paper/Documents 18-14ºC | 30-50% RH
For more sensitive items, thresholds should be more conservative e.g., for nitrate fertilizers the
storage conditions are strictly regulated due to chemical instability and the risk of detonation and
combustion. Maximum temperature thresholds are 30ºC and the humidity is the lower end of the
50-50% RH threshold.
Most countries including those in the SADC, EU and US regions follow similar rules on storage
safety based on UN recommendations and those of local environmental regulatory bodies.
Zimbabwe follows SADC and UN model regulations. For example in Zimbabwe storage of
nitrate fertilizers is governed by the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds and Remedies Act [Chapter 18:12].
However the act only specifies frameworks for registration, labeling, and safety, and not
necessarily temperature/humidity thresholds for storage. In this case general best practices are
followed:
Temperature: < 25ºC not exceeding 30ºC.
Humidity: Max 50-60%.
Efforts must be made to keep the temperature and humidity as low as possible to prevent caking
and decomposition.

Development of the project was motivated by the lack of local, inexpensive mobile monitoring
systems that can autonomously navigate warehouse environments while collecting real-time
environmental data (temperature and humidity). The project aims to develop a low-cost,
Arduino-based robot capable of autonomous navigation and temperature/humidity monitoring.

3.3 Objectives
Defines functional and non-functional requirements of the project. The system must meet
specified objectives and requirements in order to be considered effective.
1. To design and construct an autonomous temperature/humidity monitoring robot.
2. To incorporate temperature/humidity sensors into the robot design to enable real-time
environmental monitoring.
3. To implement wireless transmission of temperature and humidity readings to the cloud.
4. To set triggers in Arduino cloud server and generate email alerts when temperature
exceeds specified thresholds.
Functional Requirements
These define tasks the robot will perform and these are:
i. Obstacle-avoidance and indoor navigation.
ii. Measurement of temperature and humidity.
iii. Wireless transmission of collected data to Arduino cloud.
iv. Generation of alerts in response to threshold-based triggers.
Fulfillment of functional requirements will help measure the quality and utility of the
autonomous robot.

Non-Functional Requirements
i. Power-efficiency
ii. Cost effectiveness
iii. Reliability
iv. Portability
Non-functional requirements allow us to determine the warranty of the robot in terms of
reliability and efficiency.

3.4 System Design and Development

This section provides a comprehensive breakdown of system hardware, its description and
functionality; software and mechanical design which ensures a balance between efficiency;
functionality and reliability.
The overall architecture of the robot constitutes several interconnected components which ensure
autonomous navigation and environmental monitoring as well as real-time wireless data
transmission. The system is based on the Arduino Uno microcontroller which will act as the
controller/brain/central processing unit of the proposed system.
A DHT11 sensor will be connected to the ESP8266 module to measure temperature and
humidity, and an ultrasonic sensor will assist with obstacle detection/avoidance which gives the
system autonomous capabilities. The ESP8266 Wi-Fi module will facilitate real-time wireless
data transmission to the cloud or remote server. The L298N motor driver will receive input from
the ultrasonic sensor to control movement of the robot based on proximity and distance from
obstacles. The SG90 servo motor attached will be used to adjust the direction of the ultrasonic
sensor.

List of Components:
1. Arduino Uno Microcontroller
2. Arduino v5 Sensor Shield
3. NodeMCU ESP8266 v1 module
4. HC-SR04 Ultrasonic sensor
5. DHT11 temperature/humidity sensor module
6. 2WD Robot Chassis
7. SG90 Servo Motor
8. 2 x DC Motors
9. L298N Motor Driver
10. 6 x AA battery pack and power bank.
Software Requirements:
1. Arduino IDE
2. Fritzing circuit design software
3. Web Browser (Microsoft Edge)
4. Blynk IoT Cloud
5. Blynk Mobile Application
6. Email Client (Gmail)
7. Adafruit Unified Sensor Library
8. Adafruit Motor Shield Library
9. Servo Library
10. DHT Sensor Library
11. DHT11 Library
12. Adafruit ESP8266 Library
Robot Control Sequence:
1. Idle State: waits for start command and initializes servo.
2. Navigation: Ultrasonic sensor scans for obstacles and servo adjusts direction accordingly,
robot moves forward.
3. Avoidance: robot stops and reroutes if obstacle is detected.
4. Sensing: temperature and humidity data is collected and stored.
5. Stop: when powered off.

Hardware Architecture
Provides a detailed layout of key components and their roles in the proposed system:
Microcontroller: Arduino Uno R3 microcontroller and v5 sensor shield. ESP8266 NodeMCU for
Wi-Fi connectivity and real-time data transmission.
DC Motors and Chassis: 2WD robot chassis is used with two DC motors controlled through a
motor driver.
Power source: comprising 6 x AA batteries.
Sensors: DHT11 sensor for monitoring temperature and humidity, HC-SR04 for detecting
obstacles and SG90 servo motor to adjust ultrasonic sensor direction.
Arduino Uno
Contains the logic of the system. It is the main microcontroller and brains of the robot, managing
sensor readings, controlling navigation and processing data/signals. It processes sensor data and
sends control signals to the motors and communication module. The Arduino Uno is based on the
ATmega328P. It is particularly well suited to robotics, IoT applications and environmental
monitoring due to its reliable performance, low power requirements and large community
support. The microcontroller is compatible with a wide variety of sensors, shields and modules
and has a simple programming interface. The Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform
that has 20 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)
outputs and 6 can be used as analog inputs). For this project the PWM were used to connect to
the L298N motor driver input pins, in1-4 and enA and enB. These pins control motor movements
and speed. A v5 sensor shield is used in conjunction with the Arduino to expand available ports
and pins to seamlessly integrate the servo and ultrasonic sensor connections.

Specifications:
Microcontroller: ATmega328P
Operating Voltage: 5V
Recommended Input Voltage: 7V -12V
Digital I/O pins: 14
Analog Input Pins: 6
Flash Memory: 32KB
Clock Speed: 16 MHZ
Communication Protocols: UART (serial), SPI, 12C
Board Dimensions: 68.6mm x 53.4 mm

Ultrasonic Sensor Distance Sensor

Enables navigation and allows the robot to avoid obstacles by calculating the distance from the
robot to the object. The HC-SR04 is a distance measurement sensor that uses sound waves. It
detects obstacles and facilitates autonomous navigation. The HC-SR04 has a vibrator fixed to its
base. This vibrator generates ultrasonic waves, the trigger pin is activated by sending a 10µS
pulse. An emitter produces a 40 KHZ sound wave and calculates the time taken for the echo to
return after hitting and being reflected off an object. The proposed system makes use of a 4-Pin
ultrasonic sensor. The ultrasonic sensor allows the autonomous robot to navigate safely while
collecting temperature/humidity readings.

Specifications
Operating Voltage: 5V DC
Operating Frequency: 40 KHZ
Operating Current: 15mA
Angle of Detection: <15º
Sensing Range/Distance: 2cm – 400cm
Accuracy: 0.3cm
Measuring Angle: 30º
Trigger Pulse Width: 10µs
Signal Output: Digital pulse (Trigger and Echo)
L298N Motor Driver
Controls the movement of the DC motors based on Arduino control signals. The L298N is a dual
H-Bridge motor driver which can drive two motors independently. It uses PWM for motor speed
variation. The H-Bridge circuit allows current to flow in either direction through the motor
thereby enabling forward and reverse movement. The motors direction and speed are controlled
by signals from the Arduino Uno.

Specifications
Operating Voltage: 5V (logic), 5V-35V (motor supply)
Output Voltage: 5V -35V (motor output)
Output Current: 2A per channel
Control Inputs: 4 logic inputs (IN1, IN2, IN3, IN4)
Number of Motors: 2
Dimensions: approximately. 43mm x 43mm x 27mm

DHT11 Temperature Humidity Sensor

Measures temperature and humidity and sends data to the Arduino. The DHT11 is a low-cost pre-
calibrated digital sensor which constitutes a thermistor and humidity sensor. It measures ambient
temperature and relative humidity. It has low power consumption making it suitable for battery-
powered systems. The DHT11 has an embedded controller that converts analog readings to
digital data which is the transmitted to the Arduino.
Specifications
Operating Voltage: 3.3V -5V DC
Operating Current: 0.5mA (measuring), 100µA (standby)
Temperature Range: 0ºC to 50ºC
Temperature Accuracy: ±2ºC
Humidity Range: 20% to 90% RH
Humidity Accuracy: ±5% RH
Dimensions: 15mm x 12mm x 5.5mm

Servo Motor
Adjusts the sensor orientation and aids navigation by modifying the direction of the ultrasonic
sensor in0º, 90º, 180º sweeps. The SG90 is used in the proposed system. It is a compact,
lightweight servo motor commonly used in robotics and remote-control applications.
Specifications
Operating Voltage: 4.8V -6V
Operating Current: ~100mA
Rotation Range: 0º to 180º
Speed: ~0.12s/60º to 2ms (180º)
Gear Type: Plastic
Weight: ~9g
Dimensions: 23mm x 12mm x 29mm

Power Supply
Batteries power the system ensuring autonomy. A 6 x AA battery pack is required to power the
system.

ESP 8266 Wi-Fi Module

Low-cost Wi-Fi module wireless connectivity for data transmission. The module connects to a
Wi-Fi network and allows communication on the cloud or on remote servers. It communicates
with the Arduino Uno using UART protocol to send and receive environmental data.
Specifications
Operating Voltage: 3.3V
Wi-Fi Standards: 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHZ)
Wi-Fi Encryption: WPA/WPA2
Flash Memory: 512KB – 4MB
Clock Speed: 80MHZ (can be overclocked to 160MHZ)
Interfaces: UART, SPI, 12C, PWM, ADC
Max Wi-Fi Range: 100 meters (open space)

The DHT11 and Ultrasonic sensor are connected to the Arduino for signal collection and
processing. The ESP8266 receives the sensor data i.e., the temperature and humidity recordings
and transmits them to the cloud. The L298N motor driver receives control signals from the
Arduino and commands the motors accordingly. Directional adjustments are made to the
ultrasonic sensor through the servo motor controlled by the Arduino.

Software Architecture
The robot’s software facilitates data collection, decision-making, motor control and
communication.
Key software components include:
 Data Collection – The Arduino receives temperature and humidity readings from the
DHT11 sensor.
 Autonomous Navigation Logic – Based on distances calculated by the ultrasonic sensor
the robot detects and avoids obstacles, adjusting its direction using the servo motor.
 Motor Control Logic – This is provided by the motor driver which controls the robot’s
speed and direction.
 Data Transmission – the ESP8266 transmits the temperature and humidity to the Blynk
IoT cloud.

3.5 Working Principle

The HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor is connected to the front of the robot to aid in navigation. The
robot initializes and connects to the Wi-Fi using the ESP8266 module. The ultrasonic sensor
transmits waves continuously and when an object is in front of it the waves are reflected back
from the object. The motor driver receives a signal from the Arduino to move the motors left,
right, back, front and away from an obstacle. PWM pins are used to control the speed of the
motors. The robot will be deployed in a controlled environment indoors to test its obstacle-
avoidance capabilities. The robot will start collecting temperature and humidity data using the
DHT11 sensor. Sensor data is sent to the ESP8266 which then transmits it to the cloud or web
server. The robot will continue collecting environmental data and navigating autonomously until
it is turned off using a rocker switch directly attached to the power supply unit. The architecture
ensures efficient and accurate data collection and monitoring.
Flow Chart
 BLOCK DIAGRAM

DC Motors
L298N Motor Driver

Power
Supply

Arduino Blynk IOT Cloud /

ESP 8266 Wi-Fi Module
Micro-Controller Email Client
Ultrasoni
c Sensor

DHT11 Temperature/
Humidity Sensor

3.6 Evaluation
The robot will be assessed based on the following performance metrics:
i. Autonomous navigation
ii. Accuracy of temperature and humidity readings
iii. Power efficiency
iv. Efficient Alert generation
The evaluation will be primarily a field test where the robot is deployed in a mock-environment
and its operation is observed.
The primary objective is to design a mobile robot capable of autonomously navigating a
designated area while accurately capturing, recording and transmitting temperature and humidity
data.

Factors influencing the design of the proposed system include:

 1. Sensor accuracy -High precision of the temperature/humidity readings is critical to
reliable and accurate data collection. This aspect makes sensor selection an important part
in the design of the proposed system. A sensor with a minimal error margin would be an
ideal choice.
2. Power efficiency – a mobile autonomous robot continuously navigates a specified
environment taking temperature/humidity measurements for real-time analysis. Since the
robot operates with minimal to no human intervention power management is vital to
maintaining functionality and operational efficiency. Use of low-power components,
efficient battery selection and optimized data processing can help extend battery life and
overall operation time.
3. Mobility – the robot is intended to navigate dynamic environments therefore choice of
wheels, motors, algorithms and code play an important role in directing movements and
ensuring obstacle avoidance.
4. Connectivity – selection of an appropriate communication medium e.g., Wi-Fi,
LoRaWAN and Bluetooth are crucial aspects in proposed system design and
functionality. The intended system must continuously transmit temperature/humidity data
in real-time and a robust, a reliable communication medium is required.

3.7 Communication
The project research, activities, lessons learned insights and findings will be shared with peers
and lecturers in the project defence. Extensive use of diagrams and flow charts is intended to
provide a clear understanding of the project’s process flow and design requirements. The project
will demonstrate practical applications of the methodology as well as theoretical understanding
of obstacle-avoidance, environmental monitoring and robotic operation. The robot will provide
an inexpensive, mobile platform that will address challenges related to environmental monitoring
in warehouse environments. Dashboards are utilized to display environmental data and trends
and insights gathered.

Conclusion
The chapter gives a comprehensive overview of the design of the proposed system. The system
architecture, component selection, hardware and software were carefully developed to ensure
reliability, efficiency and autonomy. Emphasis was placed on selecting and using cost-effective
yet efficient components to meet the functional requirements of the proposed system at a
minimal cost. The design lays a solid foundation for subsequent implementation and testing of
the system thus ensuring the autonomous robot is well-equipped to function in production
environments with minimal intervention.