Modified Holybro S500 for research

In WARA-PS the Mini-UAVs are the platform for the air as the Mini-USVs are for the water. The Mini-UAVs are built upon the same autonomous system hardware as the Mini-USVs where a Pixhawk is the brain and a Raspberry Pi is the companion computer, responsible for communication (mobile internet) and high-level functions such as Core System integration and video feed. The navigation system is guided by two GNSS systems, one normal and one RTK (Real Time Kinetic), both from uBlox. The Mini-UAVs are built using Holybro S500 V2 kits (S500 V2 Kits – Holybro Store) that have been adapted for WARA-PS purposes. A Mini-UAV weighs approximately 1500g and the disposable payload is 500g to 1000g dependng on the use case. The flight time in hovering mode is approximately 18 minutes. To reference the WARA-PS Core System levels, the Mini-UAVs are categorized as WARA-PS Core System level 2 agents. They can be used as an MQTT or ROS2 agent. If you want to learn more about the WARA-PS agent-levels, please go to the Core System – Agents page.

Normally the Mini-UAVs are prepared as MQTT agents with docker support connected to the Core System. You can use your preferred IDE if there is a support for ARM architecture, thus the current version of the software is in python containers. Another feature, that is commonly used with the Mini-UAVs, is the ability to simulate before going into the physical world. An ArduPilot SITL simulator can be used in place for your own tests, a simulator that closely resembles the real vehicle.

There are currently three Mini-UAVs available. Together they enable initial research on swarm technology. However, there are also DJI drones available that are provided by Liu AIICS, find out more about them on the DJI page that is linked below. If you are interested in learning more about the Mini-USVs or in using them for your research, please contact us.