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Doodle Labs is preparing to integrate its Mesh Rider Radios into a new NDAA-compliant variant of Freefly Systems’ freefly Astro UAS platform.
The Freefly Astro is engineered for rapid deployment, transitioning from storage to flight in just over a minute. This unmanned aerial system (UAS) features a versatile ecosystem of modular payloads that can be quickly swapped. It boasts high-precision RTK/PPK capabilities, LTE cloud connectivity, a tablet-based controller, intelligent batteries, and an onboard mission computer, among other advanced features.
As a provider of industrial-grade wireless networking solutions tailored for advanced robotics, Doodle Labs will supply its compact Mesh Rider Radio as the onboard interaction link for the updated Freefly Astro.
These high-performance mesh radios operate within an unlicensed frequency spectrum, facilitating commercial drone operations while minimizing RF interference in both urban and rural settings.
Moreover, the incorporation of Doodle Labs’ low-SWaP radio technology will provide long-range, high-bandwidth, and low-latency capabilities, ensuring a dependable connection for the Astro drone. Freefly asserts that this setup will comply with the requirements of their fire management clientele, including the US Department of the Interior and the US Forest Service, as well as other industrial and commercial users.
Freefly also notes that the Astro is nearing the final validation stages to be included in the Department of Defense/Defense Innovation Unit’s Blue UAS Cleared List, a list that Doodle Labs is already part of as a component supplier.
The United States Forest Service has successfully utilized freefly’s Alta-X equipped with Doodle Labs’ radios in challenging environments.The introduction of the Astro, featuring the unlicensed Doodle Labs Mesh Rider Radio, will provide the agency and other federal organizations with a more compact and portable NDAA-compliant model.
The Astro is designed, tested, manufactured, and supported by the Freefly team based in Woodinville, WA, USA.
Doodle Labs Co-CEO Amol Parikh remarked, “Freefly is known for their rigorous standards—they subject their platforms to extensive testing to ensure reliability and user-friendliness for their clients.”
“At Doodle Labs, we operate in a similar fashion. The integration of our mini Mesh Rider Radio as the datalink for the NDAA-compliant Astro is a natural outcome of our partnership, and we are pleased to support Freefly’s expansion in the public safety, commercial, and defense sectors.”
doodle Labs will present the Freefly Astro at AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2024 in San Diego, from april 23-25, at Booth #4825.
