# Overview Drone Light Show Edition

{% hint style="info" %}
**This section is exclusively for the Drone Light Show Edition (DLSE) of DroneBridge for ESP32.**\
For the general-purpose release, see the DroneBridge for ESP32 section.
{% endhint %}

## What is the DLSE?

The **Drone Light Show Edition (DLSE)** is a firmware for the ESP32 microcontroller. It turns a small, low-cost ESP32 module into a **dedicated Wi-Fi telemetry bridge** between your drone's flight controller and your ground control software.

In a drone light show, every drone in the swarm needs a reliable wireless data link. The flight controller (running [Skybrush](https://skybrush.io/) / Lightbrush firmware) receives mission commands and sends telemetry back - all over Wi-Fi. The ESP32 running DLSE **is that Wi-Fi bridge**, sitting on each drone between the flight controller's UART port and your Wi-Fi network.

## System Architecture

A typical drone light show system using DLSE looks like this:

```
[ Skybrush Live (GCS) ]
         |
         |  Ethernet
         v
[ Wi-Fi Access Point ]
         |
         |  Wi-Fi
         v
[ ESP32 running DLSE ]  <- on every drone
         |
         |  UART
         v
[ Flight Controller (Skybrush firmware) ]
```

The ESP32 is wired directly to one of the flight controller's UART telemetry ports. Depending on your drone design, additional hardware such as a power management board may also be connected to the ESP32 to enable remote power control of the drone.

## Why DLSE?

DroneBridge for ESP32 also has a free general-purpose release. That version is suitable for hobby use and single-drone setups, but it is **not designed for, tested for, or supported in drone light show operations**. Drone light shows have requirements that simply do not exist in single-drone use: fleet-scale OTA updates, remote power management, tight Skybrush Live integration, and the kind of robustness and reliability that commercial operations demand.

The DLSE was built specifically to meet those requirements:

* **Skybrush Live integration** - auto-detected as a MAVLink component, no manual IP configuration needed in the GCS
* **Remote sleep & wakeup** - the GCS can power the flight controller on or off via the ESP32's power management GPIO, enabling fully automated pre-show and post-show workflows
* **OTA firmware updates** - update the firmware on every drone in the fleet over Wi-Fi, without touching a single USB cable
* **Improved reliability and robustness** - significantly tightened code quality, extensive additional safety checks throughout the firmware, and reduced complexity compared to the general-purpose release - all with drone show operations specifically in mind
* **Reduced network load** - unnecessary services are disabled, so each ESP32 puts less traffic on the shared show network as the fleet grows
* **ESP32-C5 support** - first to support the C5 chip with dual-band Wi-Fi capability
* **Commercial Support Suite** - open-source Python tooling for bulk flashing, configuration, and license activation across the whole fleet
* **Show-specific documentation and parameters** - every setting is documented in the context of a Skybrush/Lightbrush setup

{% hint style="info" %}
If you are setting up a drone light show fleet with Skybrush Live, the DLSE is the correct choice. The general-purpose release is not a supported path for this use case.
{% endhint %}

## Licensing

The DLSE uses a per-device license model. By default, every ESP32 starts in **TRIAL** mode, which limits operation to 10 minutes before the telemetry link is cut - this is not suitable for actual shows. To move to production use, register at [drone-bridge.com/dlse](https://drone-bridge.com/dlse/), buy prepaid license credits, and activate each ESP32 individually. One credit activates one ESP32. See the [License](/docs/dronebridge-for-esp32-drone-light-show-edition/license.md) page for the full overview of license types and the activation flow.

## Getting Started

Follow the pages in this section in order:

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
**Choose and source your hardware**

Learn which ESP32 chip is right for your fleet and what physical module to buy.\
-> [Hardware & Wiring](/docs/dronebridge-for-esp32-drone-light-show-edition/hardware-and-wiring.md)
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Install the DLSE firmware**

Flash the DLSE firmware to each ESP32 using esptool or the online flasher.\
-> [Installation](/docs/dronebridge-for-esp32-drone-light-show-edition/installation.md)
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Read the Safety & Integration Guideline**

Before wiring or flying anything, understand the safety requirements and constraints.\
-> [Safety & Integration Guideline](/docs/dronebridge-for-esp32-drone-light-show-edition/safety-and-integration-guideline.md)
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Wire the ESP32 to your flight controller**

Connect the ESP32 to the flight controller UART port and to the power management board.\
-> [Hardware & Wiring - Wiring](/docs/dronebridge-for-esp32-drone-light-show-edition/hardware-and-wiring.md#wiring)
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Configure the firmware**

Set up Wi-Fi credentials, UART pins, MAVLink parameters, and power management via the web interface or REST API.\
-> [Configuration](/docs/dronebridge-for-esp32-drone-light-show-edition/configuration.md)
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Obtain and activate a license**

Register at `drone-bridge.com/dlse`, buy license credits, and activate an EVALUATION or ACTIVATED license for each ESP32 in your fleet.\
-> [License](/docs/dronebridge-for-esp32-drone-light-show-edition/license.md)
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Feature Overview

<table data-full-width="false"><thead><tr><th>Feature</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Wi-Fi Telemetry Bridge</td><td>Forwards MAVLink traffic between the flight controller UART and the Wi-Fi network</td></tr><tr><td>Skybrush Live Integration</td><td>Auto-detected as a drone component - no manual IP configuration needed in the GCS</td></tr><tr><td>Remote Sleep &#x26; Wakeup</td><td>The GCS can power-cycle the flight controller via the ESP32's power management GPIO</td></tr><tr><td>OTA Firmware Updates</td><td>Update DLSE firmware over Wi-Fi - no USB cable needed per drone</td></tr><tr><td>Improved Reliability &#x26; Safety</td><td>Significantly tightened code quality with many additional checks throughout the firmware, designed with drone show operations in mind</td></tr><tr><td>Reduced Network Load</td><td>Unnecessary services disabled - scales cleanly to large swarms</td></tr><tr><td>ESP32-C5 Support</td><td>The only supported chip with dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz &#x26; 5 GHz) - recommended for all new designs</td></tr><tr><td>Commercial Support Suite</td><td>Open-source Python tooling for bulk flashing, configuration, and fleet management</td></tr></tbody></table>


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://dronebridge.gitbook.io/docs/dronebridge-for-esp32-drone-light-show-edition/overview-drone-light-show-edition.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.