A purpose-built avionics system designed from the ground up for large-format agricultural drones. Dual-core processing, triple-redundant IMUs, RTK GPS, and integrated spray control — all on a single board.
Every component selected and validated for the demands of precision agriculture — not repurposed hobby hardware.
ARM Cortex-M7 at 480 MHz handles flight control and sensor fusion. Cortex-M4 co-processor at 240 MHz manages telemetry, logging, and communications — true hardware task isolation with no shared-resource conflicts.
u-blox ZED-F9P delivers centimeter-level RTK positioning for precision path planning and autonomous waypoint following. SAM-M10Q backup ensures GPS lock is never lost.
Lattice ECP5-85K handles real-time multispectral camera ingest via MIPI CSI-2 interfaces. Offloads image capture and pre-processing from the flight MCU entirely.
Dual TPS54560B buck converters with INA228 high-side current/voltage monitoring. Real-time battery state estimation enables intelligent return-to-home before power runs critical.
RTL8211F Gigabit Ethernet PHY for high-bandwidth data transfer. M.2 Key E slot supports WiFi 6 or LTE modules for remote telemetry and OTA firmware updates.
Triple-redundant inertial measurement with automatic failover, barometric altitude, and magnetic heading.
6-axis accel/gyro with low noise floor and 32kHz output rate. Handles primary attitude estimation for flight control loops.
Identical secondary unit on a separate SPI bus for hot-standby redundancy. Automatic crossover on primary fault detection.
Third unit enables voting-based fault isolation — two-out-of-three consensus ensures corrupted readings are rejected in real time.
High-resolution barometric pressure sensor for altitude hold with ±0.03 hPa noise. Critical for maintaining consistent spray height above canopy.
3-axis digital compass for heading reference. Hard/soft iron calibration compensates for motor and frame magnetic interference.
20-bit high-side power monitor tracks battery voltage, current draw, and power consumption with 0.1% accuracy for precise fuel gauging.
Multiple independent failure domains ensure the aircraft can handle component failures and complete its mission safely.
Three identical IMUs on separate buses. Two-of-three consensus rejects corrupted sensor data without interrupting flight.
ZED-F9P primary with SAM-M10Q backup. If RTK fix is lost, the system seamlessly falls back to standard GPS positioning.
Flight-critical loops run on the M7 core independently. A crash on the M4 communications core cannot affect flight stability.
INA228 continuously tracks power state. Automatic return-to-home triggers before voltage drops below safe threshold.
Flight logs and multispectral data write to separate storage devices. A full or failed data drive doesn't affect flight logging.
Hardware watchdog resets the MCU if the flight loop stalls. Independent window watchdog catches timing violations before they cascade.
Not a hobby flight controller with spray features bolted on — every design decision starts with the needs of precision agriculture.
Integrated pump and solenoid driver circuits with IRLML6244 N-FET switching. Flow rate automatically adjusts to ground speed for uniform coverage across varying terrain.
FPGA-driven camera pipeline captures synchronized multispectral data for NDVI, chlorophyll content, and water stress analysis — processed post-flight on your ground station.
Centimeter-level positioning enables autonomous row following, headland turns, and overlap-free coverage patterns. Every pass sprays exactly where it should.
Designed for 8ft+ wingspan agricultural drones carrying liquid payloads. Power system and motor outputs are rated for the high current demands of heavy-lift platforms.
Integrated sensor interfaces for obstacle detection — radar, LiDAR, or ultrasonic inputs for terrain following and obstacle avoidance during low-altitude spray passes.
Gigabit Ethernet enables rapid data offload to your trailer-based processing server. No waiting for slow wireless transfers between missions.
The CloudBorn FC is designed as an open hardware platform. Full schematics, PCB layout, and firmware source will be available for operators who want to customize, extend, or integrate with existing systems.
We're actively developing the flight controller and looking for early testers and agricultural partners. Get in touch to learn more or join the early access program.