<![CDATA[Paddy is one of the agricultural commodities that requires a drying process to reduce water content so that the quality of the paddy is maintained and ready for milling. The traditional drying process still depends on weather conditions so it takes a relatively long time and is less efficient. This study aims to design and test a microcontroller-based rotary type paddy dryer prototype that is able to control the drying process automatically based on weight and temperature parameters. The system uses Arduino as the main controller, a DHT22 sensor to measure temperature, a load cell sensor and an HX711 module to measure the weight of the paddy, and a DC motor and blower as actuators. Tests were carried out on the sensor, temperature control system, and the overall performance of the tool. The results of 10 load cell tests showed an average error in measuring the initial weight of 0.762% and the final weight of 0.453%. The weight loss of unhusked rice during the drying process ranged from 17 to 75 grams, with an average weight loss percentage of 9.66%, approaching the target weight loss of 10%. Testing the DHT22 sensor against a reference temperature sensor resulted in an average error of 1.97%, with a reading difference of 0.3 to 1.0°C. In the overall test, the weight of unhusked rice decreased from 229 to 407 grams to 204 to 362 grams, with a drying time of 5 to 23 minutes and a drying temperature of 41.8 to 47.2°C. These results indicate that the prototype is capable of automatically carrying out the drying process, controlling the temperature, and detecting changes in unhusked rice weight. Thus, the designed prototype can be used as an alternative to a more controlled and efficient small-scale unhusked rice drying system.]]>
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