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Custom Unmanned Systems Engineering and Development

When an off-the-shelf drone or robotic solution doesn’t meet your requirements, design and build your own custom hardware and software solutions with the engineering expertise of the world’s most respected UAV manufacturer.

Custom
Unmanned
Systems
Engineering
and Development

When an off-the-shelf drone or robotic solution doesn’t meet your requirements, design and build your own custom hardware and software solutions with the engineering expertise of the world’s most respected UAV manufacturer.

Engineering Capabilities

Draganfly is a contract engineering partner for government agencies, enterprise organizations, academic institutions, and businesses of all sizes. Our team’s truest capabilities are actualized during the engineering process as hardware designers, software designers, engineers, project managers, and vertical-specific experts come together to build custom drone solutions for our partners. Our end-to-end engineering services include:

Hardware design: Component, product, and system design
Software design: Custom software and interface design
Development: Including integration with 3rd party platforms, PX4, Ardupilot, DJI and more
Modeling: 3D design and modeling of mechanical components
ITAR equipment management: Approved handling and integration of ITAR, and Controlled Goods technologies
Support: Testing, training, documentation, and repairs

Prototyping

Whether we created the original design or not, we can build a prototype to make your vision a reality. We specialize in low volume, handmade hardware with a strong attention to detail. All you need is to provide us high-level specs of your components and we’ll craft a turnkey solution for your specific use case. We have the capabilities to source, supply, or fabricate any material necessary for your project. Our in-house equipment includes a CNC mill, CNC router, lathe, FDM 3D printers, vacuum forming machine, temperature calibration chamber, gyro rate table, and more to provide electronics, machining, and PCB assembly services. We are skilled in working with the following materials:
Plastics
Composites
Aluminum
Carbon fibre

Our team of engineers pioneered the Drone space more than two decades ago.

No matter the challenge, we can craft a custom solution for your business.

DESIGN SOLUTIONS

Electronics Design

A core strength of our R&D team, electronics design brings together our combined experience designing microcontroller-based circuitry for aerospace, industrial, and remotely piloted vehicles.

We’re familiar with the most advanced electronics technologies, including: data acquisition, telemetry, radio remote control, radio communications, flight controllers, motor control, sensor integration, battery monitoring, and power supply design.

PCB Design

Printed circuit board design brings together electronics design and physical hardware – an intersection we excel at.

We use the most advanced technologies while keeping miniaturization in mind, empowering your drone to be highly effective while minimizing its physical weight and size.

Electronics Design

A core strength of our R&D team, electronics design brings together our combined experience designing microcontroller-based circuitry for aerospace, industrial, and remotely piloted vehicles.

We’re familiar with the most advanced electronics technologies, including: data acquisition, telemetry, radio remote control, radio communications, flight controllers, motor control, sensor integration, battery monitoring, and power supply design.

PCB Design

Printed circuit board design brings together electronics design and physical hardware – an intersection we excel at.

We use the most advanced technologies while keeping miniaturization in mind, empowering your drone to be highly effective while minimizing its physical weight and size.

Integration Services

When an off-the-shelf solution doesn’t adequately meet your specific needs, our Integration Services can help fill the gap left by mass produced technology. Our team of expert technicians can take existing hardware, such as cameras and airframes, and enable interoperability with an existing enterprise ecosystem or operational workflow.

Bring us your sensor, your drone regardless of make or model, or just your specific need, and we can engineer a solution for you. When terrestrial cameras or sensors won’t meet your specific use case, our bespoke solutions will help you efficiently capture the data you need from the air.

As a key component to Custom Engineering, our solutions include: Design solutions: Inclusive of hardware, design and fabrication
Mechanical solutions: Modeling and electrical wiring of mechanical components

Mechanical Design

Our team starts the airframe design process by first understanding the physical requirements of your project, and designs a mechanical model that empowers your system to operate. This process includes design, prototyping, and fabrication, making Draganfly an ideal end-to-end mechanical design partner.

We are skilled in manufacturing in the following methods:
• CNC and manual machining
• Vacuum forming
• Urethane casting
• 3D printing
• Mold making
• Production fixture design and manufacturing

Software and Firmware Design

Our experience controlling and flying UAVs informs our user interface design approach, which puts you and your data needs at the forefront. We’re language and system agnostic, and select the right combination of tools and operating systems to meet your unique requirements. Some of the languages, tools, and modalities we’re familiar with include:

Software architectures: Real-time systems, client/server systems
Software development: Assembler, C, C++, C#, Python, QT
Web technologies: HTML5, JavaScript, jQuery, CSS, PHP, MySQL, Progressive Web Apps
Cross-platform mobile app development: Xamarin
Video streaming technologies: MPEG-2, MPEG-4, M-JPEG, Smooth Streaming
Communication protocols: TCP/IP, HTTP, RTSP, UPnP, Bluetooth, MAVLink, Modbus
Digital electronics: Microcontrollers, Microprocessors, Arm based microcontrollers
Operating systems: Windows, Linux, NuttX, ChibiOS, FreeRTOS, Android
Simulation software: MATLAB, Spice (analog electronics)

ADDITIONAL SOLUTIONS

Integration​

We’re skilled in bringing together multiple components and modules from 3rd party OEMs to create an integrated solution that harmonizes with your existing ecosystem.

Our process starts with the end in mind; we begin with your data requirements and design a solution that will meet your unique business needs.

Flight Testing

Flight testing a new design or concept can be stressful and challenging, but our experienced pilots know how to handle any situation and know what to look for during flight testing. We have been test flying one-off designs and concepts for more than 20 years. We can structure flight test protocols and provide critical evaluation and analysis services to help accelerate your testing phase.

Integration​

We’re skilled in bringing together multiple components and modules from 3rd party OEMs to create an integrated solution that harmonizes with your existing ecosystem.

Our process starts with the end in mind; we begin with your data requirements and design a solution that will meet your unique business needs.

Flight Testing

Flight testing a new design or concept can be stressful and challenging, but our experienced pilots know how to handle any situation and know what to look for during flight testing. We have been test flying one-off designs and concepts for more than 20 years. We can structure flight test protocols and provide critical evaluation and analysis services to help accelerate your testing phase.

Our Engineering Partner

University of Saskatchewan

We partnered with the University of Saskatchewan Plant Sciences team to maximize their agriculture phenotype research. Their team needed more sophisticated sensors with advanced image and spectral resolution. We leveraged the DJI M600Pro platform and customized it with a suite of third-party sensors from MicaSense, Sony, Corning, and other camera manufacturers. Our custom high-performance system also equipped the Plant Sciences team with a custom interface that generates real-time log files of the flight data, GPS, and camera shutter.

Reach out to a Sales Specialist today
to learn more about our Custom Solutions.

Reach out to a
Sales Specialist today
to learn more about our Custom Solutions.

Contact our team to discuss our ready-to-ship, turnkey commercial drones and custom solutions.

Tim Dunnigan

ADVISOR

Tim Dunnigan is a thought leader and serial entrepreneur who served 22-years in the U.S. Army as a Soldier, NCO, and Commissioned Officer where he filled a myriad of dynamic leadership roles and global assignments, including three combat tours of duty. His 20-years of entrepreneurial success is guided by transformational ideas and ventures in technology, innovation, and education. Tim is the CEO & Founder at CaptureTec, LLC – a Center for Verification and Evaluation Certified, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (CVE SDVOSB) focused on leadership consultation, systems integration, and solutions that provide data capture for infrastructure assets using aerial, static, and mobile scanning technologies. As the COO and Co-founder at Talon Aerolytics, Tim architected the nation’s largest aerial drone services provider from inception to all 50 states serving clients including AT&T, Nokia, T-Mobile, Ericsson, and Verizon. As the CEO & Founder at Strategic Integration (CVE SDVOSB), Tim developed the CTED (Create, Test, Educate, Deploy) turnkey business model for defense consulting and technology integration, while serving America’s interests abroad through multiple U.S. DoD classified hardware and software contracts in the U.S. and overseas. Additionally, Tim is the Founder of Innovalearn, where he created education content for clients including Aflac, Synovus, Subway, and Cox Communications; the Founder of iK9 (CVE SDVOSB), where he co-authored the Veterans Administration (VA) training protocols for service dogs for Veterans with PTSD; and the Co-founder of GameLink Lounge, where he architected innovative entertainment concepts for Service Members and their families on Military installations across the U.S.

Tim is also the Founder of the I’m a Hero Too Foundation [501(c)(3)] and a children’s book author. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development, a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Management, and has completed 2-years of PhD studies in Adult Education at Auburn University. Tim’s been awarded 6 patents and currently has two patents pending on an aerial drone delivery system he developed to fill capability gaps he witnessed during his multiple trips to Ukraine.

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