Design of a Robust Microcontroller-to-Microcontroller Redundancy Protocol for Space Environments

Abstract

Reliability in space-based electronic systems is often compromised by single points of failure such as intermediate microcontrollers. This work develops a software-based redundancy mechanism enabling direct Microcontroller-to-Microcontroller (Arduino-based) communication for improved system fault tolerance for low-cost small satellites. Traditional architectures rely on intermediary controllers to coordinate communication and synchronization between Arduino nodes. However, under harsh environmental conditions such as radiation exposure, extreme temperatures, and vibration, these microcontrollers are equally susceptible to damage, leading to a complete communication breakdown and system failure. To address this challenge, this study eliminates the dependency on intermediary devices by establishing a direct communication protocol between Arduinos that can autonomously detect and respond to faults.The proposed mechanism employs a heartbeat-based communication model, where each Arduino periodically transmits and monitors “alive” signals from its peers. If a heartbeat is missed beyond a predefined threshold, the system identifies a potential node failure and automatically activates a standby Arduino to assume the operational responsibilities of the failed unit. This approach is implemented entirely in software, thereby reducing hardware complexity and minimizing additional points of failure. The communication framework is designed to support multiple channels such as serial, I²C, or SPI, depending on the application environment, ensuring adaptability and scalability for various mission-critical systems. Experimental results demonstrate that interconnected Arduinos can successfully establish mutual heartbeat detection, enabling reliable failure identification within seconds of a node going offline. The system automatically transfers control to the standby Arduino, maintaining continuity of operations without manual intervention. Overall, this research contributes to the development of resilient embedded networks suitable for mission-critical and space applications by enhancing fault tolerance, reducing hardware dependencies, and providing a foundation for scalable, self-healing Arduino networks.