This is a single lens spherical vision camera capable of streaming 360 x 240 degrees Field of View (FOV) video. It is optimized for drones and robotics due to its small size and weight.

The viewer can visualize the live or recorded stream as either a 3D georegistered video bubble placed on the map or enter the sphere for a more immersive experience. Additional viewing modes are: “Virtual pan-tilt”, “target lock-on” and “video draping” where the video Region of Interest (ROI) is rectified in real time. The VR-Eye cam software is also compatible with Android based VR headsets i.e. Gear-VR or other generic VR headsets that work with Android Smartphones i.e. Google cardboard. An iOS version is on the works.

The VR-Eye cam software can combine the spherical video with the MAVlink stream and offer a unique “geo-registered” view where the video sphere is placed on its exact location and orientation on the map.

The video below is a screen recording of a real-time stream as received by the ground station. The immersive video can be viewed live using the VR-Eye cam software or VR headsets and simultaneously recorded. The recorded video can be reproduced for post mission analysis where the viewer can select and monitor the camera surroundings from any desired camera angle combined with geolocation information.

For more information about the VR-Eye cam click here

The VR-Eye cam is expected to be in production early September 2016

This is a smart directional antenna for drones and robotics. It comes pre-assembled as a 5.8GHz antenna or as core board so you can add your own directional antennas (x4). It works with any antenna from 10KHz-6GHz.

The Pharos Antenna can be used on both the drone and the Ground Control Station (GCS) sides. When used at the GCS side it works as a solid state 360 degrees tracking antenna but without moving parts i.e. motors.

It is compatible with the Pixhawk autopilot so its plug and play on the drone side. On the GCS side it can either use a Pixhawk or a Teensy board as a controller. 

We have developed a custom firmware version for both the Pixhawk and the Teensy board that works with Mission Planner. It is open source and will be available by the end of the campaign at GitHub. We have also developed a custom 3D mapping software application that adds more functionality and control over the antenna that we offer for free for the duration of the campaign. 

Geo-Registered Pharos Antenna Control 

Drone Version Pharos Antenna

GCS Version Pharos Antenna 

Kickstarter link

We are eager to launch this technology and we are always open to suggestions for improvement and additional features!