Platform overview

Summary¶

libdrone is an open-source aerial payload platform designed in the Czech Republic, licensed under CERN OHL-S v2, and deployable by anyone with a consumer 3D printer and basic soldering skills. It is not a consumer product. It is open infrastructure — a flying platform with a documented payload interface that any sensor, camera, or instrument can attach to without modifying the drone. The platform family covers civilian situational awareness (Bandit, autonomous), research and mapping (Pro, manual), training (Core), reduced-emissions operations (Ghost), and fixed-wing endurance (Wing). A complete Pro build with goggles costs approximately 34,000 CZK (~€1,400) and is repairable in the field in under 10 minutes.

Concept¶

The distinction that matters: drone vs platform¶

A drone with a sensor is a single-purpose tool. When the sensor changes, the drone must be modified. When the drone is updated, the sensor integration must be reworked. Each combination is a custom project.

A platform with a payload interface is infrastructure. The interface is defined once. Any payload built to the interface works on any compliant platform, regardless of version or manufacturer. An institution that invests in developing an air quality payload can also use it on a radiation survey drone, a mapping drone, or a future platform — without electrical rework.

libdrone made this shift deliberately. The top surface of every platform is a standardised electrical and mechanical interface. The drone does not know or care what payload is fitted. The payload does not know or care which platform version it is flying on. This is what makes the platform extensible.

The supply chain gap nobody filled¶

Before libdrone, three options existed for aerial sensing:

DJI and commercial platforms: extraordinary hardware, closed software, proprietary payload interfaces, cloud-dependent data pipelines, Chinese supply chain.
Academic platforms: genuinely open, but €10,000–50,000 and requiring institutional procurement.
Racing FPV drones: cheap and community-supported, but built to crash — no payload concept, no GPS-assisted navigation, no structured data output.

None of these serve a Czech municipality, a university research group, a community preparedness group, or a component vendor that needs a reference platform for their hardware. libdrone fills this gap at €1,400 with a full documentation stack, a documented payload standard, and zero cloud dependency.

Reference¶

Platform family¶

Variant	Flight system	Primary use	Status
Pro	Betaflight, 6S	Research, mapping, payload operations	Released
Bandit	ArduPilot, 6S	Autonomous missions, ATAK integration	Released
Core	Betaflight, 4S	Training, education, backup	Released
Ghost	Betaflight, 6S	Reduced-emissions, security-sensitive	Released
Wing	ArduPilot/INAV, fixed-wing	Long-endurance, area coverage	In development

Key specifications (Pro / Bandit)¶

Parameter	Value
Wheelbase	330 mm True-X
Propellers	6-inch HQProp
Dry mass	~410 g
AUW with battery	~720–760 g
EASA category	Open A2 (< 900 g)
Flight time (cruise)	12–15 min
Flight time (with payload)	10–12 min
Payload capacity	80–150 g
Max payload (A2 compliant)	93 g
Build cost (single frame, no goggles)	~18,000 CZK
Build cost (with HDZero Goggle 2)	~34,000 CZK
Arm replacement time	< 5 min, no tools
Payload swap time	< 60 s

Documentation and licensing¶

Item	Licence
Hardware designs	CERN OHL-S v2 (strongly reciprocal)
Documentation	CC BY-SA 4.0
Betaflight firmware	GPL v3
ExpressLRS	GPL v3
AM32 ESC firmware	MIT
Payload designs	Your licence — not subject to CERN OHL-S

Procedure¶

Rationale¶

Why CERN OHL-S and not permissive hardware licensing¶

CERN OHL-S v2 is strongly reciprocal: modifications to libdrone hardware must be released under the same licence. This protects the commons. A community that has invested in building documentation, tooling, and reference builds around a platform should not find that a vendor has forked the design, improved it, and closed the improvements. The copyleft ensures that improvements flow back. Payload designs — which are separate from the platform — carry no licence obligation. Your payload IP stays yours.