Avionics & Autonomy

The avionics stack is the brain of your UAV: flight controller hardware, the PX4/ArduPilot ecosystem, centimetre-level positioning and the companion computers that run your autonomy software. These guides help you architect a stack you won't have to rip out at scale.

Avionics & Autonomy

AI Drone Integration: How to Put Artificial Intelligence on a UAV That Ships

AI drone integration explained end to end: edge vs cloud architecture, compute hardware, model pipelines, latency budgets, safety boundaries and EU regulation — with a reference stack diagram.

4 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

Autonomous Drone Navigation: Waypoints, GPS-Denied Flight and Avoidance

How autonomous drones navigate: the localise-plan-control stack, GPS waypoint missions, visual-inertial GPS-denied navigation, obstacle avoidance and where AI fits.

3 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

Companion Computers for Drones: Onboard Compute for Real Autonomy

Choosing onboard compute for UAV autonomy: Jetson, Raspberry Pi and x86 compared, FC-to-companion architecture, power and thermal budgets, and software patterns.

3 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

Computer Vision for Drones: Detection, Tracking and What Runs Where

How computer vision works on a drone: object detection and tracking, the onboard pipeline, small-object and latency challenges, and where the AI runs safely.

3 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

Drone PID Tuning: Make Your Quadcopter Fly Like It's on Rails

What PID tuning is and how to do it: what P, I and D each do, reading the step response, a safe tuning order, and the filters that let you push the gains higher.

3 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

Drone Swarms in 2026: How Coordinated Fleets Actually Work

What a drone swarm really is: centralised vs decentralised control, the mesh networking and AI behind coordination, real 2026 applications, and the open challenges.

3 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

Flight Controller Hardware: How to Choose an FC for a Professional UAV

Choosing flight controller hardware for a commercial drone: Pixhawk standards, sensor redundancy, vibration isolation, interfaces, and supply-chain considerations.

3 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

Practical AI Drone Integration: A Starter Build That Actually Flies

A simple, practical AI drone integration walkthrough: the minimal parts list, wiring it in an afternoon, running your first onboard detection, and the mistakes to skip.

3 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

PX4 vs ArduPilot: Choosing a Flight Stack for Your Drone Startup

PX4 vs ArduPilot compared for commercial UAV development: licensing (BSD vs GPL), architecture, vehicle support, ecosystems, and how to actually choose.

3 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

RTK Accuracy Explained: Fix, Float and What Centimetre Really Means

What RTK accuracy really means: Fixed vs Float vs autonomous solution states, the numbers for each, what breaks a fix, and why vertical is always worse.

3 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

RTK and GNSS for Drones: Getting to Centimetre-Level Positioning

How drone GNSS positioning works: standard GPS vs RTK vs PPK accuracy, base stations and NTRIP corrections, multi-band receivers, antenna placement and failure modes.

3 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

RTK Base Stations and NTRIP: Getting Corrections to Your Drone

How RTK corrections reach a drone: your own base station vs NTRIP correction networks, how NTRIP works, base positioning, baseline limits and choosing a setup.

3 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

RTK vs GNSS vs PPK: What They Mean and When to Use Each

GNSS, RTK and PPK explained in plain language: how each positions a drone, the accuracy you get, and a simple rule for choosing between real-time and post-processed.

3 min read →
Avionics & Autonomy

The UAV Sensor Suite: IMU, Barometer, Magnetometer, Airspeed and Rangefinders

What each drone sensor contributes to state estimation, how they fail, and how the EKF fuses them — IMU vibration, baro drift, compass interference, airspeed icing.

3 min read →