Qualcomm Flight RB5 Reference Drone Functional Description
Table of contents
- Qualcomm Flight RB5 Reference Drone Functional Description
High-Level Specs
Flight Specs
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| Take-off Weight | 1235g (899g without battery) |
| Diagonal Size | 480mm |
| Flight Time | > 20 minutes |
| Payload Capacity | 1kg |
| Motors | Holybro 2216-880kv Motors |
| Propellers | QTY. 4, 10 inch / 254mm |
| Frame | Holybro S500 V2 Frame Kit |
| ESCs | ModalAI VOXL 4-in-1 ESC V2 |
| Maximum Speed | 5m/s per PX4 setting |
| Maximum Height | 122m per PX4 setting |
| Geographic Limits System | PX4 Geo Fencing |
| GPS | Ublox Neo-M8N module |
| Power Module | ModalAI Power Module v3 - 5V/6A |
| Fail Safe | PX4 Safety Configuration |
| Battery | 4S with XT60 Connector (6S with expanded battery standoffs), 4S weight 336g |
Processing Specs
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | Qualcomm QRB5165 |
| Sensors | 2 TDK CH-201 ultrasonic rangefinder sensors TDK ICM-42688-P IMU TDK ICP-10100 Barometer GPS/Magnetometer (Holybro) |
| Image Sensors | Tracking Sensor - Global Shutter VGA High-resolution 4k30 Front and Rear Stereo - Global Shutter VGA 6x 4-lane MIPI-CSI2 (Up to 7 image sensors) |
| Connections | USB 3.1 Hub USB-C OTG |
| Additional I/O | 2 GPIO I2C, 4 SPI |
| Video Transmission | Wi-Fi (2.4GHz or 5GHz) or Cellular (multi-band, carrier dependent) |
| Expansions | ModalAI Legacy B2B connector for backwards compatibility with 4G add-on, Microhard add-on, USB debug board. High speed B2B connector for PCIe2, I2C, SPI, UART, GPIO TDK Chirp Sensor breakout PCBAs for object avoidance capabilities |
| Optional Expansion Add-Ons | 5G modem add-on with USB 3.1 Hub SD Card add-on Gigabit Ethernet add-on with USB 3.1 Hub |
| Open Software Packages | Ubuntu 18.04 Linux Kernel 4.19 OpenCV TensorFlow Lite ROS 1 / ROS 2 RB5 Flight SDK hosted by ModalAI |
| Developer Connectivity | QGroundControl RViz ADB (Android Debug Bridge) |
Radio Specifications
| Radio | Frequency | Power | Regulatory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remote Control | Spektrum DSMX Receiver (2.4GHz) | ||
| Wi-Fi6 (Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | 2.4GHz / 5.8GHz | 175mW / 83mW | FCC |
| 5G Cellular (Optional) Quectel RM502Q-AE) | 5G NR bands worldwide (n1/n2/n3/n5/n7/n8/n12/n20/n25/ n28/n38/n40/n41/n48/n66/n71/n77/n78/n79) | FCC |
Drone Dimensions
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| Motor to Motor | 334mm x 334mm x 133mm |
| Fully Extended Propellers | 591mm x 591mm x 187mm |
2D Drone Dimension Drawings
Sub-component Dimensions
| PCB | H x W x D | Weight | Drawings |
|---|---|---|---|
| QC Flight RB5 Mainboard (M0052) | 50 x 84 x 10.9mm | 24.8g | 2D Drawing 3D STEP |
| ModalAI 5G Modem Carrier Board (M0067 or M0090) | 67.5 x 36 x 10mm | 12.8g | 2D Drawing 3D STEP |
| Quectel RM502Q-AE | 52× 30 × 2.3mm | 8.7g | Mechanical Drawing |
| Thundercomm RB5 SOM | 45 x 56 x 9mm | 17.7g | Mechanical Drawing |
| Landing Skids | 3D STEP | ||
| Landing Skid Mount | 3D STEP |
System Overview
High-level Overview
Low-level Block Diagram
Qualcomm Flight RB5 Core Components
Labeled Diagrams
Core Components Part Numbers
Reference Drone Part Numbers
| ModalAI Part Number | Description |
|---|---|
| MRB-D0004-3-F1-B1-C11-M7-T1-K0 | Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform Drone Reference Design and Quectel RM502Q-AE 5G Modem |
| MRB-D0004-3-F1-B1-C11-M0-T1-K0 | Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform Drone Reference Design |
Sub-component Part Numbers
The reference drone is built around the Qualcomm Flight RB5 Flight Dec, MDK-M0052-1-03 ‘OEM Kit’, which includes:
| ModalAI Part Number | Description |
|---|---|
| M10000061 | Thundercomm RB5 SOM (QRB5165) |
| MCCA-00090-1-T | Modem Carrier Board |
| MCCA-M0052-1-T | Qualcomm Flight RB5 Mainboard |
| MSU-M0014-1-01 | Tracking Image Sensor |
| MPS-00005-1 | Wall Power Supply |
| MDK-M0041-1-B-01 | APMv3 Power Module |
| MSU-M0025-2-01 | 4k High-resolution RGB Image Sensor |
| MCBL-00005 | FC-RC-Input |
| MCBL-00029 | QC Flight RB5 to VOXL ESC cables |
| MSU-00084-1 | H-flex cable for 2 image sensors |
| M10000056 | Tracking Image Sensor Mount |
| MDK-M0049-1-01 | VOXL ESC |
PX4 Tuning Parameters
Our engineers have spent a lot of time finely tuning this vehicle, and the parameters are available here
Motor Configuration
The propellers have arrows on them as to which way they should turn. Motor configuration in the image below.
Connectivity for Remote Operation
| Connectivity Option | Use Case | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Spektrum R/C | Manual remote control of the vehicle | Configure |
| WiFi | Short range (~100m) IP connectivity for debug and nearby flights | Setup |
| 5G LTE | Long Range, BVLOS operation | Setup |