Vilya Systems

American electro-optics for the drone age. EO/IR payloads & stabilized gimbals for tactical UAS. NDAA-compliant.

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

3-axis motor control card is close to final. We ported firmware from our single-axis board instead of rewriting it, which saved more time than any other choice this quarter.

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

First motor assembly is underway, and thermal lenses get ordered next. Long-lead parts set the schedule more than anything else.

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

Ordered a 3D-printed fit check of our nose-mount gimbal. Cheaper to find interference in plastic than in machined aluminum.

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@Drone_Wars_ Maxim on a truck mount is the cheap kinetic layer. The Krechet thermal is doing the real work. You can't shoot what you can't ID at night.

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@technooptimist1 @zipline Same story in payloads. The gimbal is the part that gets photographed. Getting it to hold lock on a vibrating airframe and talk cleanly to the autopilot is the actual product.

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

Single axis motor control board for our gimbals.

0.03° RMS hold, measured at rest on the bench. FOC direct-drive torque control with a ~1 kHz attitude loop. Native MAVLink Gimbal Device, so it drops into @ArduPilotTeam and @PX4Autopilot. Auto-tune and a 1 kHz onboard capture recorder.

Flight-tested on a Class II airframe. NDAA compliant, built in USA.

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@Redwire Good to see the software side getting attention. On small gimbals the operator workspace often decides whether the payload gets flown or stays in the case

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@PhotonCap Lenses scale. The harder part on a small drone is keeping that lens pointed at something while the airframe gets thrown around.

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@InnovizLiDAR Knowing where is step one. Then something has to put eyes on it and tell a bird from a drone at range. That's the EO/IR half

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@MatrixSpaceAI @DroneUltimatum Will reach out through the site today

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@MatrixSpaceAI @DroneUltimatum Sounds good. Sending you a DM

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@JHL_Express @ryzerth The $30k gimbal on a $200k airframe thing is the real problem. Small drones need payloads priced like small drones

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@JHL_Express @ryzerth Small airframe and 1280 thermal is the box we're building for. On the bench now. Cost is the hard part and we're grinding on it

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@flyingjok Ukraine feedback loops are measured in weeks. The partners who can turn a payload change that fast will matter more than whoever has the nicest facility.

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@Drone_Wars_ Counter-drone surveillance off a moving 4x4 is a stabilization problem before it's a detection problem. Curious what they're running on the EO mast

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

About $5,000 a drone at 1,520 units. At that price point the camera can't be an afterthought, and it can't cost as much as the airframe either

[Drone Wars @Drone_Wars_]

Taiwanese company Thunder Tiger Technology, in partnership with U.S. company Farage Precision and Taiwan’s Rehfeldt Group, has completed the delivery of 1,520 FPV strike drones to the U.S. Department of Defense under the Drone Dominance Program.

The order is valued at $7.6 million, averaging approximately $5,000 per drone. The team secured the order after placing 11th in the program’s first evaluation round, known as Gauntlet I.

The delivery consists of the 10-inch Overkill FPV drone. The systems use Blue UAS-approved hardware and Auterion flight controllers, meeting the program’s requirements for compliant supply chains.

The Overkill family includes FPV drones designed for strike missions. Previously reported specifications for the family include a maximum speed of 120 km/h (75 mph), a payload capacity of up to 3 kg (6.6 lb), and a flight time of up to 30 minutes. These figures have not been independently confirmed for the specific 10-inch variant delivered under this contract.

Source: Army Recognition

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@Redwire Curious how much of that image clarity comes from the stabilization loop versus the sensor. On small airframes it's usually the loop.

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

@KeilafOmer Point 4 is the one that bites later. Plenty of payloads in demos right now won't survive a parts list review. Way cheaper to design NDAA compliance in on day one than to swap parts out after a customer asks

[Vilya Systems @VilyaSystems]

Good EO/IR on a small airframe is mostly about vibration. The sensor is the easy part.