An Australian engineering company has created a cardboard drone that runs on open source software, standard hardware, and can be assembled and flown with no prior experience.
The Corvo Precision Payload Delivery System (PPDS) costs less than $3,500 apiece, a price made possible by the craft’s use of FOSS and commercial-off-the-shelf hardware.
Michael Partridge, SYPAQ’s general manager for Innovation & Strategic Programs (I&SP), told The Register that Corvo uses ArduPilot autopilot software, unspecified hardware that SYPAQ customizes, and waxed cardboard.
The drone takes around an hour to assemble, we’re told, and its lithium-ion batteries give it a range of up to 100km (62 miles) with a 3kg (6.6lb) payload.
The craft ships in a flat pack complete with tape, glue, and instructions on how to assemble it. A tablet computer is also included so users can tell Corvo where to fly by entering GPS coordinates. A wired connection to upload that flight plan is required, but once Corvo is aloft, it will proceed along its route, at a specified altitude, and land itself at its determined destination.
Partridge declined to discuss details of the tech on board the drones for operational reasons but said SYPAQ has ensured that flight plans are encrypted so that if a Corvo is captured, the location of its pilots can’t be retrieved.
SYPAQ will happily ship a single Corvo, but also offers a “capability pack” that includes multiple craft, spares, and the slingshot-powered launch ramp the craft needs to get airborne.
Partridge said single Corvo units have survived more than 20 flights and that the waxed cardboard wing can handle moisture well, without losing its aerodynamic qualities.
Users in the Ukrainian armed forces have adapted the craft to different roles too. Partridge said adding a camera requires some light hacking – of the drone’s cardboard airframe.
“It has a cargo bay [and] you can do whatever you want in there within the 3kg payload. You can cut a hole through the aircraft to look through it and insert a camera.”
For now, SYPAQ hasn’t given Corvo’s onboard computer wireless capabilities, partly to reduce cost and partly to ensure stealth. But Partridge said Corvos have carried action cameras like the GoPro and users are happy to retrieve removable media once the plane lands. SYPAQ is working on payloads that allow wireless transmission of images, possibly over long distances.
https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/07/corvo_cardboard_drone/
Robin Edgar
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