Fabrication of Aluminum-Structured Drone with Built-in

Chemical Sprayer for Agriculture Applications

Micko N. Laneluz, Divine Word College of Calapan, mickolaneluz@gmai.com

ABSTRACT

Insects and pests are major problems when it comes to agriculture. Farmers apply several chemicals to
eliminate the insects and pests destroying their crops. The use of the old method of spraying is time consuming and
difficult. It is also risky due to the fact that farmers expose his/her health to dangerous chemicals that can trigger
several diseases. This project aims to develop a fully working agricultural drone with a 2:1 thrust to weight ratio that
will have the capability to help farmers to reduce their work load and lessen the risk of too much exposure in
chemicals. Several important factors such as efficiency, maximum sprayed area per unit of time, maximum capacity,
maximum diameter of spray pattern, maximum altitude flown, sprayer flow rate and maximum sprayer range will be
determined and evaluated through experimentation. Data will be recorded and analyzed. Result will be evaluated with
the help of tables, charts and several statistical tools.

Keyword: Drone, Agriculture, Insects, Pests, Agricultural Drone, Chemicals

1. INTRODUCTION: effects include stinging eyes, rashes, blisters,

Insect pests are a major hindrance to profitable
crop production, as these may cause more than a 50
percent reduction in yield. Damage caused by pests is
irreversible; the crops may not be able to recover from
the resulting infections to their shoots and other
parts. Insects are successful in destroying crops
because of the short time it takes for them to develop
(only a month from egg to adult) and their ability to
produce many offspring. Many of them can fly and
travel long distances. They are small and difficult to
detect, and their population and the damage they cause
are difficult to control. (Javier & Rodriguez, 2018).
One of the most common ways to control or
eliminate pests is to use pesticides. They work by
causing physical or biological harm to the pest
organisms and may interfere with biological processes,
such as photosynthesis, or cause damage to vital
organs. Alternatively, some pesticides are indirectly
applied or can be sprayed on a plant and later
consumed by an insect (Folnovic, 2021).
On the other hand, pesticides can cause short-
term adverse health effects, called acute effects, as
well as chronic adverse effects that can occur months
or years after exposure. Examples of acute health
blindness,
nausea, dizziness, diarrhea and death. Examples of
known chronic effects are cancers, birth defects,
reproductive harm, neurological and developmental
toxicity, immunotoxicity, and disruption of the
endocrine system[ CITATION Sar \l 1033 ]. Traditional
sprayers may cause damage to the individual that uses
it. In today’s society, the rise of modern technologies
brought significant advancements in many industries.
Such developments can also be seen in the agricultural
landscape when farmers can now grow crops using
ICT controlled technologies for the application of
various farm inputs like fertilizer and pesticides. One
of the innovations introduced is the use of Remotely
Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), more commonly
known as drones. Accordingly, drones can offer
immense relief to farmers (FPA,2015).
This project aims to develop a fully working
agricultural drone equipped with a chemical sprayer
system and achieve a 2:1 thrust to weight
ratio[ CITATION Bog18 \l 1033 ]. This project also aims
to determine the significant difference between the
fabricated agricultural drone and the traditional
spraying methods in terms of; a) Maximum Sprayed

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Area per Unit of Time b) Sprayer Flow Rate; c)
Capacity (L); d) Maximum Sprayer Range, e)
Maximum Altitude Flown; and f) Efficiency
(grams/watt).
The drone will have the capabilities to reach
remote areas, reduce the time it takes to spray crops
and avoid the potential health risks that a pesticide
may introduce to farmers who would have needed to
spray those crops manually.
The maximum load of the drone will be
limited to maximize the thrust to weight ratio. The
drone and sprayer system will be controlled by a
remote controller. It will not include an AI autopilot
that has the capability to automatically spray pre-
programmed paths.
aluminum frame will be mounted on a fiber glass sheet
(refer from Fig.1).
The drone’s arm will be made up of 4 (four) 350
mm bars (black rectangle represents the Al bar). The
fiber glass sheet (gray square/ rectangle from Fig.2)
has a measurement of 200mm x 200mm and is
supported by 4 (four) 100 mm bars. Load support
(bottom fiber glass sheet) measures 150mm x 200 mm.
And the landing gear is composed of 400 mm bars and
300 mm bar (refer to the Fig. 2)[ CITATION Jac17 \l
1033 ].

2. METHODOLOGY

This project will be composed of two separate

parts; the drone system and the sprayer system.

2.1 DRONE SYSTEM

2.1.1 FRAME

The frame and landing gear will be made up of 20

mm x 20 mm x 1.00 mm hollow aluminum bars Figure 2. Measurements of the individual parts
of the frame.
making the structure light and sturdy. It is designed to
be foldable [ CITATION OmP21 \l 1033 ]. The
2.1.2 PROPELLER

The prop size will be determined by taking the

smallest of the length or width of the drone frame, and
divided by 2. For a square frame configuration (see
Fig. 3), the maximum propeller size is X/2[ CITATION
DRO18 \l 1033 ].

Figure 1. 3D model of the structure using Tinker

CAD software.

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The distance of the arm of the square frame design
extends to about 380 mm, therefore the ideal propeller
size would be 600mm / 2 is 300 mm or 11.81 inches
and approximately 12 inches.
Figure 4. Square frame consideration for the actual
design.
GEMFAN 12x3.8 Carbon Fiber Slow Flyer will be
used as the propeller to each motors of the drone. It has
a length of 12 inches, a pitch of 3.8 inches and weighs
20 grams each for CW (Clockwise) and CCW
props[CITATION Hob \l 1033 ]. (see Fig. 5)
2.1.3 MOTOR
High Thrust 6s Compatible Brushless Motor
360kv 5010 will be used which is designed for
12 – 16 inches props. The props will be
mounted at the edge of the aluminum arm. The
recommended ESC or Electronic Speed
Controller is rated 20-40 A. Its stator width is
50 mm while its stator height is 10 mm and
shaft size of 4 mm. It has a maximum rpm/v of
360 KV and weighs 80g[ CITATION Rob \l 1033 ]
(see Fig. 6).
2.1.4 ELECTRONIC SPEED CONTROLLER
(ESC)
Four (4) 2-6S 30A ESC OPTO brushless speed
controller will be used. It can produce continuous
current of 30A, has a maximum current of 40 A and
weighs 28.5 g. It supports up to 621Hz refresh rates up
to the throttle signal, compatible with a variety of
[ CITATION Goo
flight control
\l 1033 ] (see Fig. 7)
2.1.5 POWER DISTRIBUTION BOARD
5V and 10V BEC Built-in 184A current sensor will
be used to distribute power to the system. This will be
connected to the ESC of the motors. This PDB
distribution power from a 3-6S Lipo pack to 4 ESCs,
as well as providing regulated & filtered DC 5V & DC
10V outputs for powering Cameras, RC receivers,
Flight Controllers, Video Transmitters, LEDs, etc. It
also has built-in 184A current sensor and offers a FFC
socket to connect the Matek flight controller
[
conveniently CITATION
Mat \l 1033 ] (see Fig.8).
2.1.6 BATTERY
Turnigy 10000 mAh 6S 12 C is a 170 x 69 x
56mm Lipo Pack. The Li-Po pack will be connected to
the system’s PDB. It has a 22.2 V nominal voltage
and storage charge of 3.7 V per cell. It also discharges
at a constant rate of 24C and peak discharge of 24 C.
2.1.7 FLIGHT CONTROLLER
Readytosky Pixhawk PX4 Flight Controller Pix
2.4.8 32 Bit Flight Control Board will be used. It is the
newest 32-bit chip technology and sensor technology
that get rid of the dilemma of having only 8-bit CPU of
APM, and CPU occupancy being too high. The
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processor is a 32-bit 2M flash memory STM32F427
Cortex M4, with hardware floating point. Real time
operation system 14 PWM/ Servo Output Bus interface
(UART, I2C, SPI, CAN) Integrated back up power and
lose efficacy controller, main controller loses. Efficacy
can safely alter to back up control Providing automatic
and manual mode. Providing redundant power supply
input and failover [ CITATION Des \l 1033 ] (see
Fig.10).

2.1.8 TRANSMITTER

FrSky is well known for their frequency hopping

ACCST technology, that takes advantage of the entire
2.4GHz band, resulting in excellent range and
reliability, they now offer their first full transmitter
system. Taranis X9D has 16 channels with 6-15v (2s,
3s Lipo are acceptable) operating voltage Range and
Channel 1-8 are the PWM analog outputs, in this
operating current of 260mA maximum (both RF
FrSky X8R pinout each channel corresponds to the pad
module and backlit are on). X9D’s operating
with its number written. RSSI or Received Signal
temperature is 10~60Cwith a backlit LCD screen of
Strength Indicator measured in decibels (dB), between
212 x 64 monochrome display. The transmitter is
the couple of a paired receiver and transmitter and is
expandable by SD card) and compatible with FrSky X
used to avoid failsafe, the value can be casted to the
series, D series and V8-II series receivers stick mode. [
transmitter, so you are able to know the value almost
CITATION Chr \l 1033 ] (see Fig. 11) instantly from ground. The SBUS is a digital
communication protocol which can be used in this
2.1.9 RECEIVER
receiver.[ CITATION Jor20 \l 1033 ]
The X8R is a compatible receiver to Taranis
2.1.10 GPS
X9D. The X8R supports 8 standard servo outputs, and
accesses all 16 channels by using the Sbus line with
The order of the FPA (Fertilizer and Pesticides
Sbus supported servos or use a FrSky S.BUS Decoder
Authority) of the Philippines requires Agri-drones to
for the full 16 channels. The X8 protocol is also
be equipped with GPS[ CITATION Fer \l 1033 ]. A
backward compatible [ CITATION Hel14 \l 1033 ].
M8N GPS will be used and will be connected to the
(see Fig. 12) The S. Port or Smart Port is a two-way
GPS port of the Flight Controller. (see Fig.14)
full duplex transmission of telemetry protocol used by
FrSky which allows you to get the telemetry
2.1.11 RADIO TELEMETRY
information of the model such as battery level, RC
signal strength, etc.
A Pixhawk radio telemetry that uses 433 MHz will
be equipped to determine the location of the drone and
provide connection between the drone and a device.
The telemetry radio will be connected to the telemetry
port of the flight controller. (see Fig. 15)

Figure 13. Pinout of the X8R receiver.

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Figure 16. Architecture of the Agricultural Drone OmP21 \l 1033 ]
2.2 SPRAYER SYSTEM
2.2.1 DC MOTOR PUMP
The 12V/6A / 70 W high pressure pump will
be controlled by a motor driver. The diaphragm pump
combines the advantages of self-priming pump and
chemical pump. (see Fig. 17) The maximum flow rate
of 6 L / min, can be adjusted from 0.1 to 6 liters / min
depending on the needs. Maximum pressure 130PSI
(9.0 kg) of pressure can be adjusted from 75PSI -
130PSI (9.0 Kg) according to different needs. Inlet and
outlet size: 10mm Size: 16.5 × 10 × 6 and weighs 598g
[ CITATION Ahm19 \l 1033 ].
2.2.2 SPRAYER NOZZLE
A 6mm brass nozzle sprayer will be connected to
the hose and will be attached each to the arms of the
frame. It has a solid cone-shaped spray pattern with
round impact area. It provides uniform distribution
over a wide range of flow rates and pressures to
medium to large-sized drops. It has a unique vane
design with large flow passages provides superior
control and uniform distribution. Caps and vanes are
removable for easy inspection and cleaning on most
models. The removable vane has location marks for
proper positioning after cleaning. (see Fig.18)
2.2.6 L298N MOTOR DRIVER MODULE
A motor driver (see Fig. 19) will be used to
control the motor pump. A servo will be connected to
the servo outputs at the conventional channel output of
the X8R recover. The rotary encoder of the motor
driver will be attached to the servo. The image below
shows the actual set up of the mechanism.[ CITATION
2.2.7 CHEMICAL TANK
The tank ideal capacity will be determined
with series of experimentation. It will depend on the
weight to thrust ratio of the drone. Different plastic
tanks will be used until the drone can’t lift it.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The hypothesis will be tested by means of
experimentation. Data from the experiments will be
recorded and will be analyzed accordingly. Recorded
data will be illustrated with the aid of tables, graphs
and statistical tools.
3.1 MAXIMUM SPRAYED AREA PER UNIT OF
TIME
To determine the maximum sprayed area per
unit of time, a location will be selected (e.g., rice
field). The selected location will be measured to
determine its area. Both backpack sprayer and the
drone will be timed up until the area has been sprayed
completely. The recorded time will be expressed in
area per minute or m2/min.
3.2 SPRAYER FLOW RATE
To determine its flow rate, one liter of water
will be loaded to the tank and then the sprayer
mechanism will be turned on. The time it takes to
empty the tank will be measured. Results will be
expressed in L/s (Liter/second).
3.3 CAPACITY
The maximum capacity will be determined by
filling the tank with specific amount of water. The
drone will be activated and tested if it can carry the
load. The result will be recorded until the drone can’t
lift the specific load.
3.4 SPRAYER RANGE / DIAMETER
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 The maximum sprayer range or diameter can
be calculated by measuring the diameter of the sprayed
liquid when the sprayer system is turned on. Results
will be expressed in millimeter (mm).
3.5 MAXIMUM ALTITUDE FLOWN
The drone will be full throttled to determine the
highest altitude it can achieve. Results will be
expressed in meters (m).
3.6 EFFICIENCY
The efficiency can be calculated by measuring
the total weight of the drone including its maximum
load expressed in grams (g). The results will be then
divided by total power of the motor. Efficiency will be
in terms of grams per watt (g/w)[ CITATION Jac17 \l
1033 ].
4. CONCLUSION
Insects and pests which are destructive can reduce
the profits of the farmers by about 50 % if not solve
immediately. The most popular way of solving that
problem is the use of insecticides, pesticides or other
chemicals. Famers use back pack sprayers to distribute
the chemicals to the crops. Spraying manually can be
tiring and difficult to implement because a lot of
energy from a person will be expended in walking and
carrying the backpack; heat can be included. Exposure
to chemicals is another risk, persons who are exposed
to chemicals can experience the symptoms in a matter
of weeks and months. Symptoms includes acute and
chronic diseases. The purpose of this study is to
develop a fully working and capable agricultural
aluminum framed drone with 2:1 thrust to weight ratio
that can help farmers to maintain and protect their
crops. To avoid chemical exposure that can cause
disease and reduce the work load of the farmers. The
brain of the drone is a Pixhawk PX4 flight controller.
Taranis X9D remote control will be the transmitter and
X8R is the receiver, both are compatible with Pixhawk
PX4 that is manufactured by FrSky. The sprayer
system is powered by a 12 V dc motor pump with
maximum flow rate of 6L/min and regulated by a
nozzle that produces solid cone spray patterns.
5. References

(n.d.). Retrieved from RoboKits India: https://robokits.co.in/drones-quad-hexa-octa-fpv/brushless-motor/high-thrust-

6s-compatible-brushless-motor-360kv-5010
(n.d.). Retrieved from Banggood: https://ph.banggood.com/Matek-FCHUB-6S-Hub-Power-Distribution-Board-5V-
and-10V-BEC-Built-in-184A-Current-Sensor-for-RC-Drone-FPV-Racing-p-1147591.html?
cur_warehouse=CN
(n.d.). Retrieved from DesertCart: https://greenland.desertcart.com/products/173835639-pixhawk-px-4-flight-
controller-autopilot-pix-2-4-8-32-bit-flight-control-board-safety-switch-buzzer-i-2-c-splitter-expand-module-
16-gb-sd-card
(n.d.). Retrieved from Hobbyking: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/carbon-fiber-propeller-12x3-8-black-cw-ccw-
2pcs.html
Authority, F. a. (2015). GUIDELINES ON THE USE OF DRONE SPRAYERS AS GOOD AGRICULTURAL
PRACTICE ISSUED. Retrieved from Republic of the Philippines FPA:
https://fpa.da.gov.ph/index.php/announcements/agency-news/65-guidelines-on-the-use-of-drone-sprayers-as-
good-agricultural-practice-issued
Chrome. (n.d.). Retrieved from FrSky: https://www.frsky-rc.com/product/taranis-x9d-plus-2/
Folnovic, T. (2021). Importance of Pest Protection. Retrieved from AGRIVI: https://blog.agrivi.com/post/importance-
of-pest-protection
Google Chrome. (n.d.). Retrieved from FrSky: https://www.frsky-rc.com/product/x8r/

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Google Chrome. (n.d.). Retrieved from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/bayite-Diaphragm-Priming-Pressure-
Adjustable/dp/B074MZYS37/ref=pd_lpo_60_img_0/146-8221656-9458935?
_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B074MZYS37&pd_rd_r=47960b96-cc46-48ea-9852-
9dc14cbae028&pd_rd_w=1kmQu&pd_rd_wg=m6ym5&pf_rd_p=a0d6e967-6561-454
Google Chrome. (n.d.). Retrieved from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Readytosky-Brushless-Speed-Controller-
Multicopter/dp/B07PZTB2MH
Google Chrome. (2018, January 09). Retrieved from DRONE OMEGA: https://www.droneomega.com/quadcopter-
propeller/
HeliaBatics. (2014, July 30). Goggle Chrome. Retrieved from HeliBatics.com: https://www.helibatics.com/
Jacob, A. (2017, 02 22). How to choose the right size motors & ESCs for your Drone, quadcopter, or Multirotor
build. Retrieved from Quad-Question.com: https://quadquestions.com/blog/2017/02/22/choose-right-size-
motors-drone/
Juez, J. P. (2020, December 21). Google Chrome. Retrieved from Horrus Rc: https://www.horusrc.com/en/blog/frsky-
x8r-pinout/
Morgan, R. (2016, September 29). Google Chrome. Retrieved from Drone Theory 101: Part 1. The basics, and how an
fpv quadcopter functions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K05UwsiqZ_E
Patil, O. (2021, January 25). Google Chrome. Retrieved from How to Make a Quadcopter Drone and Components Lis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvW7V4mplN4
R, H. (2016, May 29). Google Chrome. Retrieved from How to Make a Quadcopter Drone and Components List:
https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Make-a-Quadcopter-Drone-and-Components-List/
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Reform:https://www.pesticidereform.org/pesticides-human-health/
Szyk, B. (2018, 26 October). Google Chrome. Retrieved from Drone Motor Calculator:
https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/drone-motor
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PRODUCTION. Retrieved from Monthly Agriculture: https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2018/04/26/managing-
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POWERFUL MICRO DIAPHRAGM PUM: https://www.inventedelectricity.com/

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 6. APPENDICES

The following contains the image of the individual parts of the drone.

Figure 5. GEMFAN 12X3.8 inches propeller.

Figure 8. Matek FCHUB-6S Hub Power Distribution

Board

Figure 6. The motor and propeller adaptors.

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Figure 9. Turnigy 10000 mAh 6s 12C Li-Po Battery

 Figure 7. Readytosky 30A ESC
Figure 10. Pixhawk PX4 Flight Controller

Figure 11. FrSky transmitter (X9D) and receiver

(X8R) Figure 15. Pixhawk Radio Telemetry

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 Figure 17. 12 V/6A/ 70 W DC Motor
Pump

Figure 18. 6mm Brass Nozzle Sprayer

Figure 14. M8N GPS

Figure 19. L298N Motor Driver Module

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