Overview Drone Light Show Edition
Drone Light Show Edition (DLSE) of DroneBridge for ESP32 - what it is, how it fits into your show system, and how to get started.
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.
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 / 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
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.
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, buy prepaid license credits, and activate each ESP32 individually. One credit activates one ESP32. See the License page for the full overview of license types and the activation flow.
Getting Started
Follow the pages in this section in order:
Choose and source your hardware
Learn which ESP32 chip is right for your fleet and what physical module to buy. -> Hardware & Wiring
Install the DLSE firmware
Flash the DLSE firmware to each ESP32 using esptool or the online flasher. -> Installation
Read the Safety & Integration Guideline
Before wiring or flying anything, understand the safety requirements and constraints. -> Safety & Integration Guideline
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
Configure the firmware
Set up Wi-Fi credentials, UART pins, MAVLink parameters, and power management via the web interface or REST API. -> Configuration
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
Feature Overview
Wi-Fi Telemetry Bridge
Forwards MAVLink traffic between the flight controller UART and the Wi-Fi network
Skybrush Live Integration
Auto-detected as a drone component - no manual IP configuration needed in the GCS
Remote Sleep & Wakeup
The GCS can power-cycle the flight controller via the ESP32's power management GPIO
OTA Firmware Updates
Update DLSE firmware over Wi-Fi - no USB cable needed per drone
Improved Reliability & Safety
Significantly tightened code quality with many additional checks throughout the firmware, designed with drone show operations in mind
Reduced Network Load
Unnecessary services disabled - scales cleanly to large swarms
ESP32-C5 Support
The only supported chip with dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz & 5 GHz) - recommended for all new designs
Commercial Support Suite
Open-source Python tooling for bulk flashing, configuration, and fleet management
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