Precision Aquaculture Feeder for Floating Platforms Considering Inertial Disturbances

This work presents the design and development of an automated feeder for aquaculture, mounted on an oscillating platform prototype that emulates inertial disturbances from the aquatic environment. The system employs a conveyor belt for feed dispensing, while a load cell and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) allow the correction of dispensing errors caused by the platform's dynamic inclination. Additionally, a feedback control loop is implemented to achieve the required precision in the feeding process. To validate the proposal, a prototype feeder was built and tested on an oscillating platform designed to simulate aquaculture-related disturbances. Furthermore, commercial feed was employed, and the design parameters were aligned with the specific requirements of precision aquaculture.