With 14 years experience in the unmanned sector, HD Air Studio has a reputation for developing and manufacturing custom camera gimbal stabilizers for drones, alongside a range of off-the-shelf camera gimbal stabilizers and the foldable Sonda UAS (unmanned aerial system).
As 2024 gets underway, Kuba Jakubczyk took the opportunity to reflect on projects from 2023 and give UST readers a glimpse of what to expect from the company in 2024.
It’s great to meet you Urszula and thank-you for talking with us today. As specialist in custom gimbal mounts & stabilizers for UAS, are there any prototype units for specific applications which you’ve been particularly proud of, or found especially challenging?
At HD Air Studio we specialize in crafting custom gimbals for the drone industry, cinematography, research centers, and robotics, with a focus on seamless integration and adaptability to unconventional operational parameters and sensors. This said, if you can’t find a camera stabilization solution on the market, you turn to HD Air Studio ☺
In our 14-year history, we had an opportunity to develop various gimbals to a multitude of professional sensors, including: industrial cameras, thermal cameras, LIDARs, multispectral cameras, radars and lasers.
We concluded 2023 with the completed prototype phase of an industrial gimbal for a US-based research center. HD Air Studio designed this custom gimbal specifically for AXIS camera with jackal and zed-2i camera mounted to Freefly drone. In order to make the gimbal robust yet as light as possible, we opted for Mulitjet Laser Fusion construction. With vast integration possibilities of the gimbal, the client wants to control the gimbal using ROS (Robotic Operating System) on an external system.
Alongside HD Air Studio’s gimbal design, testing and production services, you also offer off-the-shelf camera gimbal stabilizers, could you tell us more about the Infinity MR-Pro and MR-S2?
Infinity MR-PRO is intended for 1.3kg payloads, while Infinity MR-S can house sensors up to 800g.
The Infinity MR-Pro and MR-S2 gimbals offer highly adaptable solutions, with both providing significant integration capabilities with various systems; drones and cameras, and supporting integration with various software environments.
The simple construction enables modifications on the client’s side or execution by us upon request. Both are equipped with rotary connectors (slip rings), facilitating cable routing through the YAW (Pan) axis, and are extremely lightweight, in order to maximise flight time.
HD Air Studio has developed the Sonda X8, a foldable multi-mission octocopter. Can you explain the inspiration behind the unique design of this UAS?
The objective with Sonda x8? To create a truly universal drone frame able to address various drone missions.
The Sonda x8 has foldable arms for easy transportation, and can house both underslung and overslung gimbals with a built-in damper system that works with in both underslung/overslung modes.
With the Sonda x8 it is also possible to extend the drone arms to house up to 28-inch propellers, whilst the foldable or fixed landing gear has been designed to address a wide variety of drone missions. This flexibility continues with the fact that the Sonda can operate as both a coaxial x8, or quad x4.
Are there any real-world use-cases, of either the Sonda X8 or HD Air Studio’s custom gimbal stabilizers, that you would like to share with our readers?
HD Air Studio partnered with a UK-based provider specializing in autonomous inspections across construction, oil & gas, and infrastructure sectors. The project was to seamlessly integrate Canon EOS into HD Air Studio’s existing line of products—the Sonda X8 drone frame and the Infinity MR-S2 gimbal.
The aim was to ensure flawless hardware compatibility with the client’s suite of peripheral devices, including V-Map, Slantrange, gimbal, obstacle avoidance µPatch, uSharp, among others, which we did.
Can you tell us more about HD Air Studio’s plans for 2024 and beyond?
We’re working on a new drone gimbal for industrial applications, it will be dedicated to a new industrial sensor that has been on the lips of everyone in the drone sector recently. We’ll share more details soon. Currently, we’re finalizing the design and proceeding to the test phase. But here is a sneak-peak at what we’re aiming for:
- Pass-through motor axes (hollow shafts)
- All cables concealed within the structure
- Safeguard against cable tearing
- Even better level of stabilization
- Weather-proof
- Integration with various environments
- Lightweight aluminum construction
- Vibration damping system adapted to the camera’s weight
When it comes to custom gimbals, 2024 has just got underway and we’re already getting ready for a challenging project for another US-based research center. What’s the challenge?
- 100% carbon structure made in molds
- Dedicated motors with encoders (encoded motors)
- Resistance to atmospheric conditions IP67
- Dedicated waterproof camera housing
Looks like you have some great projects already afoot. Thank you so much for your time Kuba and we look forward to seeing HD Air Studio continue to thrive in 2024.
