In this present age of information technology, the control
and automation of devices, machines and systems are
mostly achieved through mechatronic means with
emphasis on soft control. This is mostly achieved by the
use of programmed microcontrollers. Consequently, this
research paper is geared towards the design of a
microcontroller based egg incubator with temperature
value display. The electronic system is designed using an
89C59 micro controller and real time software written in
assembly language. At the input of the system is a linear
temperature sensor: an LM35IC. The output of the sensor
is fed into an ADC 0804 (Analog to digital converter) that
converts the analog signal to an 8-bit parallel digital
output. Port 0 and port 1 of the 89C51 micro controller
respectively receives the 8-bit parallel data. A seven
segment display, common cathode type is interfaced to the
micro controller that displays the temperature numerical
values between 000C to 990C. Also an interface card
realized with the combination of a transition switch and an
electromagnetic relay is connected to the micro controller
output as an interface to the heating element of the
incubator. The entire system is designed in such a way that
the sensor obtains the value of the heat generated by the
heater. At a record of 370C the heater is automatically
switched off, subsequently, the egg hatching operation is
initialised. The primary motivation for the work lies in the
fact that the end product is an electronic automated system
capable of incubating eggs from the livestock to an
optimal condition necessary for hatching. In addition, the
work is multidisciplinary and represents a form of synergy
between three engineering disciplines namely Computer
Engineering, Agricultural Engineering and Industrial
Engineering. A product of this nature is necessary in a
modern livestock farm. It can also be used in biomedical
engineering after a few modifications. A product of this
standard can also be deployed to incubate premature
animals by veterinary operatives.