M0254 Feature Matrix

Table of contents

1. Summary
   1. QCS6490 platform
2. Specifications

Summary

VOXL 3 (M0254) is a drop-in sustaining replacement for VOXL 2 (M0154), built on the Qualcomm QCS6490 to carry the VOXL platform forward and introduces many new system improvements. It preserves the VOXL 2 board outline, mounting pattern (31 x 62.5mm), and core connector positions and pinouts, so existing carriers, harnesses, and airframe integrations transfer with minimal-to-no redesign.

Customer interoperability is the top priority. J3 (Legacy B2B), J5 (High-Speed B2B), the J6–J8 CSI ports, J9 (USB-C), J10, J18 (ESC), and J19 (FC) all retain their VOXL 2 positions. Where the QCS6490 exposes fewer native QUP ports, an on-board SiLabs CP2105 USB-UART bridge restores the dropped serial interfaces preserving the full VOXL 2 customer interface map without a carrier redesign.

Direct battery power — no power module required. VOXL 3 accepts 2S–6S VBAT directly (ModalAI Yellow VBAT Format, JST SM02B-SFHL, 4A max) with on-board input voltage sensing, eliminating the external power module (M0041) or ESC-derived 5V rail. This removes a board, a harness, and a conversion stage from every build representing a significant system integration and airframe-mass win.

Side Sensor Port (J10). The J10 SPI port now supports a selectable sensor source: use the on-board IMU, or route an external flight-control sensor module (IMU/Baro) directly into the DSP sensor path. This lets integrators bring qualified external sensors to the flight stack without contention — the on-board IMU is deselected when an external module is active.

Improved cable routing. Input power (J4) and the fan connector (J2) are relocated adjacent to the ESC connector, cleaning up power and cooling harness runs. Corners are radiused to 2mm — reducing edge stress and easing enclosure and isolator fitment.

Upstream mainline Linux. Unlike the QRB5165’s closed BSP, the QCS6490 runs an upstream mainline kernel — a longer-supported, more maintainable software foundation with an open GPU stack, directly extending platform longevity. Platform-specific behavior and hardware deltas are handled in the VOXL SDK layer, leaving the base kernel unmodified.

VOXL SDK. The VOXL SDK is already fully featured on VOXL 3, running the same applications as VOXL 2, with planned support for the full range of existing customer use cases.

QCS6490 platform

The Qualcomm QCS6490 is a 6nm octa-core SoC (Kryo 670: 1× 2.7GHz + 3× 2.4GHz + 4× 1.9GHz), with Adreno 643 graphics @ 812MHz, a Hexagon AI engine (12 TOPS), dual-channel LPDDR5/5X, and Wi-Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.2 support.

Specifications