MOTIVATION

Are you designing a small commercial unmanned airborne system (UAS)? Perhaps you have found a few suppliers for autopilots, but you have definitely faced the problem of finding the right supporting electronic modules, such as onboard power systems, motor drivers and servo controllers.

The requirements in reliability and efficiency for commercial UAS are getting close to the ones of general aviation. However, the market only offers either hobby-grade modules or military grade equipment. The hobby remote-control modules are typically designed to minimise the price, while efficiency and reliability are not the members of the equation. In opposite, the military design is not suitable because they worth well above any feasible price horizon.

To bridge the gap, we have designed a universal controller board specifically for UAS applications, which integrates the following sub-systems into one product: 
- on-board power fusion system;
- brushless motor speed controller;
- servo controller.

DESCRIPTION

All three sub-systems are integrated in a sole unit with one communication interface.

The power fusion system provides all on-board systems with three independent glitch-free power rails: for electronics, for servos and for propulsion motors. Importantly, the module is the only on the market that features power source doubling system and supplies back a valuable information on power consumption, batteries voltages etc.

The motor controller provides one or four independent brushless motor control channels with feedback allowing reading RPM and the actual motor(s) current. The motor controller includes some intellectual reliability features, such as autonomous motor restart and pre-fail conditions monitor.

Finally, the servo controller has up to six standard PWM output channels and could be used to drive both digital and analog servos.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

The controller is designed specifically for UAS from scratch by professional engineers;
Only latest electronic components with highest efficiency and reliability were used;
Modern powerful processor allows better response and runs efficient algorithms;
Reliability is our first priority. We don’t sacrifice quality or reliability to get lower price;
We provide detailed documentation, application notes and source code examples.

The commercial UAS market is just being formed, but it is already expected to reach $ 1/2 billion in the USA only. By developing reliable electronics we hope to offer a new quality standard for small autonomous flight systems.