Link Search Menu Expand Document

Qualcomm Flight RB5 Reference Drone Functional Description

Buy Here

Table of contents

  1. Qualcomm Flight RB5 Reference Drone Functional Description
    1. High-Level Specs
      1. Flight Specs
      2. Processing Specs
      3. Radio Specifications
      4. Drone Dimensions
        1. 2D Drone Dimension Drawings
      5. Sub-component Dimensions
    2. System Overview
    3. High-level Overview
    4. Low-level Block Diagram
    5. Qualcomm Flight RB5 Core Components
      1. Labeled Diagrams
      2. Core Components Part Numbers
        1. Reference Drone Part Numbers
        2. Sub-component Part Numbers
    6. PX4 Tuning Parameters
    7. Motor Configuration
    8. Connectivity for Remote Operation

RB5

High-Level Specs

Flight Specs

ComponentSpecification
Take-off Weight1235g (899g without battery)
Diagonal Size480mm
Flight Time> 20 minutes
Payload Capacity1kg
MotorsHolybro 2216-880kv Motors
PropellersQTY. 4, 10 inch / 254mm
FrameHolybro S500 V2 Frame Kit
ESCsModalAI VOXL 4-in-1 ESC V2
Maximum Speed5m/s per PX4 setting
Maximum Height122m per PX4 setting
Geographic Limits SystemPX4 Geo Fencing
GPSUblox Neo-M8N module
Power ModuleModalAI Power Module v3 - 5V/6A
Fail SafePX4 Safety Configuration
Battery4S with XT60 Connector (6S with expanded battery standoffs), 4S weight 336g

Processing Specs

ComponentSpecification
CPUQualcomm QRB5165
SensorsTDK ICM-42688-P IMU
TDK ICP-10100 Barometer
GPS/Magnetometer (Holybro)
Image SensorsTracking Sensor - Global Shutter VGA
High-resolution 4k30
Front and Rear Stereo - Global Shutter VGA
6x 4-lane MIPI-CSI2 (Up to 7 image sensors)
ConnectionsUSB 3.1 Hub
USB-C OTG
Additional I/O2 GPIO
I2C, 4 SPI
Video TransmissionWi-Fi (2.4GHz or 5GHz) or Cellular (multi-band, carrier dependent)
ExpansionsModalAI 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-Ons5G modem add-on with USB 3.1 Hub
SD Card add-on
Gigabit Ethernet add-on with USB 3.1 Hub
Open Software PackagesUbuntu 18.04
Linux Kernel 4.19
OpenCV
TensorFlow Lite
ROS 1 / ROS 2
RB5 Flight SDK hosted by ModalAI
Developer ConnectivityQGroundControl
RViz
ADB (Android Debug Bridge)

Radio Specifications

RadioFrequencyPowerRegulatory
Remote ControlSpektrum DSMX Receiver (2.4GHz)  
Wi-Fi6 (Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)2.4GHz / 5.8GHz175mW / 83mWFCC
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
5G Cellular (Optional) Sierra Wireless EM9291)5G NR Sub-6 (n1,n2,n3,n5,n7,n8,n12,n13,n14,n18,n20,n25,n26,n28,n29,n30,n38,n39,n40,n41,n46,n48,n66,n70,n71,n75,n76,n77,n78,n79) FCC

Drone Dimensions

ComponentSpecification
Motor to Motor334mm x 334mm x 133mm
Fully Extended Propellers591mm x 591mm x 187mm

2D Drone Dimension Drawings

rb5-drone-2D-dims.png

Sub-component Dimensions

PCBH x W x DWeightDrawings
QC Flight RB5 Mainboard (M0052)50 x 84 x 10.9mm24.8g2D Drawing
3D STEP
ModalAI 5G Modem Carrier Board (M0067 or M0090)67.5 x 36 x 10mm12.8g2D Drawing
3D STEP
Quectel RM502Q-AE52× 30 × 2.3mm8.7gMechanical Drawing
Thundercomm RB5 SOM45 x 56 x 9mm17.7gMechanical Drawing
Landing Skids  3D STEP
Landing Skid Mount  3D STEP

System Overview

High-level Overview

View in fullsize RB5.png

Low-level Block Diagram

View in fullsize RB5.png

Qualcomm Flight RB5 Core Components

Labeled Diagrams

View in fullsize Qualcomm-Flight-RB5-Labeled

View in fullsize Qualcomm-Flight-RB5-Labeled

View in fullsize Qualcomm-Flight-RB5-Labeled

View in fullsize Qualcomm-Flight-RB5-Labeled

View in fullsize Qualcomm-Flight-RB5-Labeled

View in fullsize Qualcomm-Flight-RB5-Labeled

Core Components Part Numbers

Reference Drone Part Numbers

ModalAI Part NumberDescription
MRB-D0004-3-F1-B1-C11-M7-T1-K0Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform Drone Reference Design and Quectel RM502Q-AE 5G Modem
MRB-D0004-3-F1-B1-C11-M0-T1-K0Qualcomm 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 NumberDescription
M10000061Thundercomm RB5 SOM (QRB5165)
MCCA-00090-1-TModem Carrier Board
MCCA-M0052-1-TQualcomm Flight RB5 Mainboard
MSU-M0014-1-01Tracking Image Sensor
MPS-00005-1Wall Power Supply
MDK-M0041-1-B-01APMv3 Power Module
MSU-M0025-2-014k High-resolution RGB Image Sensor
MCBL-00005FC-RC-Input
MCBL-00029QC Flight RB5 to VOXL ESC cables
MSU-00084-1H-flex cable for 2 image sensors
M10000056Tracking Image Sensor Mount
MDK-M0049-1-01VOXL 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.

voxl-m500-motor-configuration.png

Connectivity for Remote Operation

Connectivity OptionUse CaseDetails
Spektrum R/CManual remote control of the vehicleConfigure
WiFiShort range (~100m) IP connectivity for debug and nearby flightsSetup
5G LTELong Range, BVLOS operationSetup