william wong | Technology Editor

Build Your Own Drone

on Intel’s Platform
Intel is making a big splash in the world of drones, and now its customers can join
the fray.

I
ntel’s presence at this year’s 2017 Xponential show (see
“Intel Takes to the Air at Xponential 2017”) was significant,
including CEO Brian Krzanich as the keynote speaker. The
company has been active in buying up and partnering with
a number of vendors in this space, and tying them in with
other major investments such as augmented and virtual reality
as well as artificial intelligence (see “Intel Buys Chip Startup
Movidius, Betting on Machines That See and Think”).
Intel has highlighted its “Shooting Stars” multi-drone
technology at events like Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime
show (Fig. 1), where 300 drones put on an impressive light
show. In other events, it’s had up to 500 drones operating in
coordination with each other.
The company’s venture capital arm, Intel Capital, includes
investments in Airware, PrecisionHawk, Yuneec, and E-Volo.
E-Volo’s Volocopter 2X is a vertical takeoff and landing
(VTOL) aircraft powered purely by electricity and capable
of carrying two passengers (Fig. 2). PrecisionHawk brings a
collection of analytics, tracking, and mapping software that’s
key in the commercialization of drones. Airware delivers
database and management solutions for aerial devices.
Yuneec’s Typhoon H (Fig. 3) takes advantage of Intel’s 3D
RealSense technology (see “Getting a Sense for RealSense and
Merged Reality”). The professional system has a gimbaled
4K camera and a flying time of over 25 minutes. The ground
station can view 720p video in real time. The arms fold down
for easy carrying and its retractable landing gear provides the
camera with a 360-degree view.

1. For Lady Gaga’s Super-

bowl halftime show, Intel
flew 300 “shooting stars”
drones to make a flag in
the air.

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 RealSense modules (Fig. 4), which
continue to advance while shrinking in
size, are used in a variety of applications,
such as augmented- and virtual-reality
glasses. They add mixed reality support by
detecting the surrounding environment
in 3D.
Intel’s own Falcon 8+ optocoupler
(Fig. 5), equipped with a high-precision
GPS system, features redundancy
2. The electric Volocopter 2X is a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft that can carry and safety. It also leverages a triple-
two passengers. redundant autopilot technology called
AscTec Trinity, which was developed by
Ascending Technologies (now part of
Intel). The Falcon 8+ is available now,
unlike technology such as the Shooting
Stars, which is currently a research
platform.
In fact, much of the technology
presented thus far is either research or
end-user technology or services, but
Intel offers much more in this space for
developers. For instance, the Intel Aero
Compute Board (Fig. 6), an open-source
3. Yuneec’s Typhoon H takes advantage of Intel’s 3D RealSense technology in addition to an platform for building drones, is designed
HD camera. to support a range of sensors including
the firm’s RealSense technology in
addition to wireless plug-ins. The board
is based on a quad-core, Atom x7-Z8750
processor with 4 GB of LPDDR3, 32 GB of
eMMC flash, and a dual-band Wiresless-
4. Intel RealSense modules are available from electronic distributors. They use time-of-flight AC 8260 with 802.11ac support using a
technology to provide 3D images. 2×2 MIMO configuration. It includes
MIPI CSI-2 camera interfaces.
The board can be used in projects
ranging from drones to robotics. It’s also
found in the Intel Aero Ready to Fly
Drone (Fig. 7). The package features a
ground station controller.
The open-source system runs
Linux and the flight controller is
preprogrammed with Dronecode PX4
from the Dronecode project and the PX4
project. PX4 autopilot is the core of the
5. The Falcon 8+ developed by Dronecode project—it can be used in
Intel can continue to fly even unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as well
if one propeller stops func- as unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).
tioning. The optocoupler also I suspect it may be usable in unmanned
features a redundant battery surface vehicles (USVs) and unmanned
system. underwater vehicles (UUVs), too.
Developers can also take advantage of
the AirMap SDK. The SDK consist of a

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6. The Intel Aero Compute Board is an open-source platform for building drones.

7. The Intel Aero Ready to Fly Drone is a quadcopter that integrates the Intel Aero Compute
Board and a RealSense sensor.

number of modules and interfaces, including the Pilot API,

the Status API that supports geofencing, and the Flight API.
The Flight API will support the Digital Notice and Awareness
System (D-NAS). The system is being set up to address the
FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which states
drone operators have to give notice when flying within five
miles of an airport. The SDK also has an iOS and Android
component to interactively access airspace data.
Much of Intel’s endeavors in this area are open source or
supporting open-source projects like Dronecode. Quite a bit
of technology remains proprietary as well, some of which
is done in conjunction with partners. Figuring out what’s
available can be a challenge, but it may save a significant
amount of development effort.

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