Development of an Embedded System-Based Dropper Payload for Drones

Echinococcosis hydatidosis is a chronic disabling disease of parasitic origin that constitutes an exemplary case of one-health. According to data from the national epidemiological bulletin, is one of the most important zoonoses in terms of the number of cases, severity, and economic costs in Italy. This paper aims to contribute to the prevention of the spread of this infection by proposing the development of an embedded system on a drone that can release decoys containing canine medicine. To this aim has been chosen a microcontroller, which is responsible for interfacing and controlling the different peripherals required to accomplish the release of decoys from the custom payload. In addition to the hardware part of the embedded system, has been implemented an ad hoc program that is able to coordinate all the elements, satisfying the proposed purpose. In particular, suitable software architecture has been implemented by means of an ARM-Cortex microcontroller not only for the advantages related to size, cost, and power consumption but also to exploit their high-performance and safety requirements.