DRONES AND UAVs
Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are aircraft that operate without a human pilot onboard. Drones & UAVs can be remotely controlled by a human operator or autonomously programmed to follow a predetermined flight path. They have gained popularity across various industries and applications due to their versatility, maneuverability, and ability to capture aerial data and imagery. With a huge spurt in commercial applications, Drones and UAVs are finding increasing use in surveillance, intelligence, early warning, military, search & rescue, law enforcement, photography & videography, gaming, communication and logistics applications. With the spurt in growth of sensors and sophisticated processor architecture, Drones and UAV Designs are gaining immense popularity. Drone Electronics use autonomous navigation to maneuver around and perform a number of missions and applications.
Drones and UAVs
Drones and UAVs present an innovative and sustainable solution for the various transportation and logistical challenges faced by the world currently. They are unmanned aircraft with no on-board crew or passengers in it. Unmanned aircrafts systems predominantly include the unmanned aerial vehicle, a remote controller, and a system of communications between them. Drones and UAV Designs can be equipped with various payloads to suit them for different applications like surveillance, intelligence, early warning, military applications, search and rescue, law enforcement, photography & videography, gaming, communication and logistics among others.
Drones and UAV Designs
Some of the advantage offered by these devices for the application mentioned above include: high-quality aerial imaging, precision and accessibility to difficult terrains, easily deployable and security. The availability of Control Apps on generic devices like tablets and mobiles are one of the key technologies that have led to a sudden spurt in drone electronics. Mistral offers range of AI-powered products and custom designs for Drone Electronics for a wide range of Drones and UAV designs.
Drone Electronics
Mistral’s MDR5165 Eagle Kit is a high-end aerial robot controller platform for Drones and Autonomous Machines) with on-device AI and 5G connectivity. Built around Qualcomm® QRB5165 SoC and Cube Pilot Cube Orange+ FCU, the MRD5165 Eagle Kit integrates a dedicated AI Engine, powerful ISP enabling high-performance Computer Vision, and supports six Concurrent Cameras, multi-Connectivity interfaces, and VSLAM among others.
The MRD5165 Eagle Kit comes fully integrated with Ubuntu core and ROS framework packages along with Vision and Robotics SDK from Qualcomm. The platform is designed to build smarter and powerful consumer, enterprise, and industrial robots, Drone Electronics with on-device AI applications and long range connectivity features. Mistral’s MRD5165 SOM is a powerful AI-powered System on Module, designed for NDAA compliant applications. Built around Qualcomm® QRB5165 Robotic SoC, features a robust heterogeneous computing architecture, complemented by the cutting-edge 5th generation Qualcomm® Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engine, delivering an impressive 15 TOPS of AI performance. The SoM is ideal for AI-enabled autonomous systems where a balance of performance, size, and power efficiency is crucial. With the advancement in technology, Drones Electronics are becoming more common and affordable.
Our expertise in Drone Electronics include real-time wireless HD streaming and the related control apps for Drones and UAV Designs. Our expert team of engineers have helped several customers build UAV Drones by developing smart, compact, light-weight and power efficient drone electronics and related software (BSP and Apps). These Drones and UAV Designs can be managed via custom Ground Control Stations or via control apps through generic devices like tablets and mobiles. Our team can help customer’s architect sophisticated Drone Electronics with remote operation and real-time streaming of wireless HD video.
Unmanned Ground Vehicles
In addition to Drones and UAVs, Mistral also has the expertise in design, development and integration of Unmanned Ground Vehicles. These UGVs can be designed for a wide variety of both civilian and military applications, for monitoring, surveillance, and hazardous tasks that pose unacceptable risks. Our Designs can be fitted with multiple sensors like LIDAR, RADAR, Ultrasonic, and Ambient light among others. These Unmanned Ground Vehicle designs support autonomous navigation based on a predefined course or can be controlled remotely.
Click here to read case studies related to Drones and UAVs – iOS Application Development for Drones and Design and Implementation of an Unmanned Navigation Vehicle and a Blog on Importance of Drones and UAV in the Current Pandemic situation.
EXPERTISE
Mistral's Drone and UAV Designs team has immense knowledge on the latest Drones and UAVs and custom Drone Electronic Designs. Our core expertise is in building Drones and UAVs, architect sophisticated Drone Electronics with remote operation and real-time streaming of wireless HD video.
Product Design Services
- Headless, single or stereoscopic display
- System Software Development
- Middleware and Embedded applications
- Prototyping and industrial design (ID)
- Thermal, signal, power and structural analysis
- Power and battery management
- UI/UX and GCS Apps
- FCC, CE, UL certification
Hardware Design
- Small form-factor, multi-board designs
- HDI PCB technology / Flex PCB designs
- Multi-camera, multi-sensor integration design
- PoP assembly
Embedded/Web Applications
- Android framework customization
- Custom flight control & image capture
- Apps for Android/Embedded Linux/iOS
- HMI for Control Panel and Base Station Unit
- Gesture Control, Voice Recognition
- App Development in HTML5, .NET, Qt/QML, Swift and Java with database servers
- Database Servers: SQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL
- Application servers: IIS, Tomcat and JBOSS
System Software Development
- Android/Embedded Linux firmware
- Board Support Package and Device Drivers
- Firmware Development for MCUs
- BLE/WiFi connectivity
- Hardware abstraction layer customization
- Hardware accelerators integration
- Boot time optimization
Sensor Integration and Connectivity
- Multi-sensor Integration
- Sensor and codec integration
- CMOS and CCD camera integration
- Media Streaming / Media Encryption
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyro, Temperature, Humidity, Compass, Magnetometer, Barometer, 9-axis MEMS, 6dof, ToF, ALS, Proximity
- Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, BLE, NFC, Type-C
Power and Battery Management
- High efficiency power supply architecture
- Multi-battery designs
- Power optimization for extended battery life
- Optimal heat dissipation
APPLICATIONS
Surveillance
Designs for surveillance drones equipped with latest SOCs, DSPs and a range of sensors including LiDAR, IR/Optical Camera, in additon to advanced AI algorithms, cutting-edge GCS Apps and UI.
Photography
Drone designs that feature UHD cameras and support various imaging formats like RAW and DNG, low-light sensors, 3-axis gimbals in addition to longer flight duration, and advanced image analytics.
Farming
Designs for farming drones equipped with compact multispectral imaging sensors, GPS map creation, heavy payload transportation and thermal-imaging camera for phenotyping, terrain modelling, disease identification, fertilizer and water management, livestock tracking, etc.
Search and Rescue
Designs for search and rescue drones equipped with a range of sensors, LiDAR,infrared, and thermal cameras, weather detection, night operation, autonomous mode, good speed and longer flight range for the military, humanitarian aid, medical and food supply.
Logistics Management
Designs for all-weather Heavy Payload Drones, ideal for logistics and warehouse management that feature IR/optical Cameras, GPS and GNSS, host of sensors, LiDARs & Radars for obstacle avoidance, Various Alerts and Warnings.
Inspection and Survey
Designs for Inspection and Survey drones equipped with laser scanners, range of sensors and cameras, automated GIS analysis, LIDAR, photogrammetry payload, autonomous flight system, long flight time and range.