ModalAI, a Blue UAS Framework manufacturer of autonomous drone and robot technology, has launched its smallest, smartest, and safest development drone to date, the Starling. At only 275 grams and with an impressive 30+ minutes of flight time, the Starling is ModalAI’s lightest and longest-flying development drone. With Blue UAS Framework 2.0 autopilot, VOXL 2, at its core, the Starling accelerates the development of commercial drone solutions for OEMs.
The Starling is supercharged by the 16g VOXL 2, ModalAI’s companion computer and autopilot that was created to advance the Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit Blue UAS Framework 2.0 Program. With 15 TOPS of AI processing, VOXL 2 boasts more AI computing than any other autopilot. Powered by the 8-core Qualcomm® QRB5165, VOXL 2 Starling houses a PX4 real-time flight controller, three image sensors, TDK® IMUs and barometer, GPS and WiFi connectivity and is assembled in the USA.
The Starling offers autonomous capabilities to accelerate autonomy development and reduce time to market for companies looking to integrate VOXL 2 into their drone solutions. Starling’s powerful onboard computing from VOXL 2 and SWAP-optimized form factor elevate autonomous UAV use cases like indoor asset inspection. Some of the pre-integrated autonomy models include:
- Visual Inertial Odometry to navigate in GPS-denied environments
- Visual Obstacle Avoidance to fly safely in tight spaces
- 3D Mapping and Path Planning to fly hands-off in dynamic environments
- TensorFlow Lite Neural Networks to run object classification, detection, and other models
