Mesh Radio, WiFi Transceivers & Wireless Mesh Network Technology for Drones, UAVs, UGVs & Robotics

Hex-Band Smart Radio Unveiled

By Mike Ball / 29 Jun 2021
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Doodle Labs Helix Smart RadioDoodle Labs has launched a new 6 Hex-Band Smart Radio product that operates at 1625-2500 MHz and has been designed to meet the needs of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and UGV (unmanned ground vehicle) applications. The Smart Radio Helix provides global coverage of both Federal and ISM bands, making it ideal for both government and commercial use cases, and can be used to stream HD video at distances of over 20 km.

Weighing just 25 grams, Helix has been designed with a two-board OEM form factor – a baseband board measuring 28 x 47 x 5 mm, and an RF board measuring 51 x 46 x 6.5 mm. The boards can be mounted separately within the system chassis or in a stacked configuration.

As with all Smart Radios, Helix is powered by Doodle Labs’ Mesh Rider technology. Many features have been designed specifically for unmanned systems, such as dedicated channels for command & control and video. Range extension and swarming are facilitated by a dynamic mesh. Video can be multicast to multiple users ,and control of the vehicle can easily be passed from one user to another. A number of dual-band permutations are possible when using two radios on a device.

The development of Helix is supported by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit for unmanned systems across the US Government. It is a core radio option in the Blue UAS Architecture ecosystem, and is compatible with a number of UAS components. It has already been integrated with some of the leading vendors in the UAV and UGV ecosystems, such as UXV Technologies’ control platforms.

Helix and its Mesh Rider OS are fully compatible with the open-source QGroundControl ground control station software, with deeper integrations underway in collaboration with Auterion.

Steven Friberg, CEO at UXV Technologies, commented: “This radio is essential for future modularity and radio performance. The new Helix radio that we’ve integrated in collaboration with Doodle Labs pushes performance and form factors to the next level. We are happy and proud to be partnering with Doodle Labs and integrating their radios as part of our ecosystem.”

David Sharpin, CEO at Auterion Government Solutions, said: “We are very pleased to be working with Doodle Labs to integrate their Helix Smart Radio and Mesh Rider technology with Auterion’s platform of open source-based software, both in the air and on the ground. Having a robust and reliable mesh radio that can be embedded in our handheld controllers and on small drone platforms is critical for the customer community.”

To learn more, contact Doodle Labs: Visit Website Send Message View Supplier Profile
Posted by Mike Ball Mike Ball is our resident technical editor here at Unmanned Systems Technology. Combining his passion for teaching, advanced engineering and all things unmanned, Mike keeps a watchful eye over everything related to the unmanned technical sector. With over 10 years’ experience in the unmanned field and a degree in engineering, Mike’s been heading up our technical team here for the last 8 years. Connect & Contact