FACULTY OF SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT OF SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLIED
PHYSICS
UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE
Student name: Edward Zikhali
Registration Number: R195290Q
Academic supervisor: Dr Mushore
Research topic: AUTOMATED SELF SERVICE FILLING STATION
BSc Honours Electronics and Telecommunication Technology (HETT)
INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
A filling station is a facility that sells fuel and different lubricants for motor vehicles. Filling
stations in Zimbabwe and some other under developed countries have their filling stations
running at a full service basis, where by the fuel attendant operates the pumps, frequently
wipes the windshield, occasionally checks the tire pressure and oil level, and then takes
payment hence causing long queues during rush hours or during holidays. It is also the duty
of the fuel attendants to check the amount of fuel left in the main tanks built underneath using
a deep stick as a measuring tool and this is done by almost all filling stations use these
underground tanks as main storages of fuel. Besides the fuel attendant’s job to pump fuel into
the motor vehicles, there is a lot going on for the fuel to be pumped from the main tanks
underground into the motor vehicles tanks.
These types of service stations have a very simple operation procedure. The customer would
make a request of the amount of fuel they need to the fuel attendant. The attendant then sets
the flow meter to zero on the fuel dispenser. After that the attendant inserts the fuel nozzle
into the opening of the motor vehicle’s tank then squeezes the flow calliper in turn switching
on the submersible pump which will use a propeller like device called an impeller to move
the fuel upwards into the fuel dispenser which will then push the fuel into the inlet of a fuel
nozzle then out into the tank through the outlet.
Due to the set up that the self service uses it is prone to facing many challenges that may
result in the slow growth of the service station as a company. Fuel is at a risk of being stolen
since anyone with the keys to the flow calliper can easily steal the fuel. Full service filling
stations are prone to human error in that the fuel attendant may give the customer either more
fuel or less fuel than that the customer requested. These filling stations run during the day
alone since its too risky for them to operate at night hence missing out on the income that
comes with night drivers. For those that risk and operate at night it is a security threat to both
the fuel attendants and the filling station property. Running these stations results in high wage
bills since each full service filling station needs quite a number of fuel attendants to run
smoothly. Some fuel attendants are not honest and are subjected to corruption hence putting
the filling station’s reputation on the line.
Therefore with the problems stipulated, the only viable solution to this is the implementation
of technology. Looking at how the automation of various systems has helped the operation of
various businesses. Taking for example the tolling systems used by super markets where by
each customer scans their own goods then makes the required payments. The use of such
systems has helped increase the efficiency of the operation of various super markets.
Technology can also remove the human error parts of any business. To top that technology
helps make every operation run smoothly with high efficiency in turn increasing revenues.
Hence the implementation of an automated system at a filling station will help solve the
above listed problems to a greater extent.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Looking at the problems that are faced by full service filling stations it can be concluded that
their operation is inefficient.
OBJECTIVES
The main goal of this research is to come up with a system that can be adopted by all filling
stations while offering efficient operation and technological advancement that readies the
filling stations for the future. It targets to make sure that a filling station after adopting such a
system operates as a fully automated self-service filling station.
RESEARCH QUESTION(S) AND HYPOTHESIS(ES)
The null hypothesis H0 states that a filling station can operate efficiently automatically while
the alternative hypothesis Ha is stating that the filling stations cannot operate efficiently if it
is to be automated.
JUSTIFICATION OF PROPOSED RESEARCH
With the implementation of an automated filling station, many problems faced by these
service stations will be solved. Looking at how the developed countries have adapted to the
automation of their systems has led to the improvement of the living standards and has had a
great impact on the efficient running of the various systems. Automating a filling station will
result in the reduction of the running costs. Customer complaints are reduced greatly since all
they need will be at their disposal. Night customers will now be served since implementing
such a system would mean the filling station will be operating for 24 hours. Such a system
will prepare grounds work for driverless vehicles in the future.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Figure 1 SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM
Figure 2 SYSTEM FLOW DIAGRAM
This system will adopt the coupon system hence, figure 1 is showing the block diagram of the
proposed automated filling station. Showing clearly the components that the system will use
for it to be fully functional. The system will have use the Arduino UNO microcontroller as
the heart of the system, controlling the functionality of the other components as well as
communicating with the Database. The database will be managed locally or remotely by a
node red dashboard or a web page linked to it and this database will carry the customer’s
details (i.e. name, id number, email address and the amount of fuel the customer has). The
keypad will be used to enter pin number at the fuel calliper. The LCD will be used as the
display at the fuel calliper. The pump will be used to pump fuel from the underground tanks
to the fuel calliper. The LEDs will work with the level sensor to indicate the amount of fuel
left in the tanks underneath. The sensors will also display the amount of fuel on the LCD. The
alarm will sound when the fuel levels left in the main storage tanks reached a set value. The
RFID (radio frequency identifier) card will be scanned on the RFID reader that will give the
customer the prompt to enter pin then follow the steps on fig 2.
Figure 2 shows the step by step path followed by the customer till they get the fuel from start
to end.
BUDGET
COMPONENT PRICE (USD)
Keypad
RFID
LCD
Microcontroller
Pump
Buzzer
Level sensor
REFERENCES
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%20be%20full%20service.
(“What Is a Full Service Gas Station?”)
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