Introduction

DroneBridge is a system based on standard WiFi hardware and single board computers (Raspberry Pi). It is designed to send & receive data from and to a UAV running iNAV or MAVLink.

DroneBridge logo

This documentation focuses mainly on the DroneBridge for Raspberry Pi Project! DroneBridge for Raspberry Pi is functional, however it is currently not maintained. DroneBridge for ESP32 is a more recent branch of the project that focuses on a telemetry link using broadly available hardware. It is much more mature, robust and easy to setup. It currently does not offer video transmission support.

DroneBridge for Raspberry Pi is a system based on the WifiBroadcast approach. A bidirectional digital radio link between two endpoints is established using standard WiFi hardware and a custom protocol. DroneBridge is optimized for use in UAV/UAS applications and is a complete system. It is intended to be a real alternative to other similar systems, such as DJI Lightbridge or OcuSync.

While it is optimized and designed for use in UAV applications it can also be used in any other scenario where

• High data rate (1-54 Mbit)

• High range (0.5-35 km)

• Low latency (80 - 120 ms)

is important. It features software modules supporting Forward Error Correction (FEC) and a common library for C/C++ and Python supporting software diversity with multiple WiFi adapters. All of this helps increasing range and reliability compared to a traditional WiFi connection. The underlying protocol is connectionless and can carry any payload.