Lantronix‘s Open-Q™ 5165N System on Module (SOM) solution was selected by Teal Drones, a Red Cat Holdings company, for production of its Black Widow™ drones under the U.S. Army’s Short-Range Reconnaissance (SRR) Program.
As one of a select group of Blue UAS-approved small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) vendors, Teal Drones must meet rigorous cybersecurity, operational and safety standards for sensitive Department of Defense (DoD) use.
To support production of the Black Widow™ platform, the company required a solution that could meet Trade Agreements Act (TAA) and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) compliance requirements for U.S. Army drone production while delivering the GPU and DSP capabilities needed to implement real-time AI algorithms for mission-critical applications. The platform also needed to provide secure and robust communication options for real-time alerts and cloud data integration, while supporting deployment within a tight development timeline.
The Open-Q™ 5165N SOM Solution
To address these requirements, Teal Drones selected the Open-Q™ 5165N SOM, an ultra-compact (54 mm x 45 mm), production-ready computing module based on the Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QRB5165N System-on-Chip processor.
Designed specifically for AI-enabled drones and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), advanced robotics and embedded vision applications, the Open-Q™ 5165N SOM delivers advanced Edge AI processing and meets stringent U.S. security requirements, including full TAA and NDAA compliance for deployment in sensitive DoD missions.
With Wi-Fi® 6 external connectivity, advanced camera features and high-speed interfaces, the Open-Q™ 5165N SOM provides a computing core for a variety of leading-edge applications.
Jeff Thompson, CEO, Red Cat, commented, “Lantronix’s solution enables us to meet the U.S. Army’s rigorous TAA and NDAA compliance standards under the SRR Program — a level of assurance few providers can match.”
Open-Q™ 5165N SOM Features
- Ultra-compact (54 mm x 45 mm) with powerful specialized processing cores
- On-device Qualcomm® AI Engine™
- 8GB LPDDR5 RAM
- Ubuntu 18.04 Linux with Robot Operating System 2.0 support
- Dedicated Computer Vision Engine
- Multiple MIPI camera and display ports
- Multiple high speed connectivity options
- Power-efficient Edge AI computing up to 15 TOPS
The Open-Q™ 5165N SOM is available with a companion development kit, accessories and documentation.
Results
Leveraging Qualcomm Dragonwing technology and engineering expertise from Lantronix, Teal Drones created a solution that delivers precision, connectivity and affordability.
The collaboration resulted in a cost-effective solution with military-grade reliability, a scalable platform adaptable to diverse applications, and accelerated time-to-market.
Jeff Thompson, added, “Black Widow drones are redefining what’s possible for small unmanned systems, giving today’s warfighters real-time intelligence and the operational edge they need on the modern battlefield.”
The Lantronix Drone Advantage
For low-SWaP applications, the Open-Q™ platform offers longer flight endurance, greater power efficiency, a smaller form factor, more efficient AI inferencing, and sustained supply and design longevity.
Saleel Awsare, CEO, Lantronix, stated, “Lantronix’s solution accelerates time-to-market for innovative new products requiring the highest AI processing performance in low-power embedded situations, including drones.”
Engineering Services & Ecosystem Support
Lantronix Engineering Services combine embedded compute technology, compliance expertise and flexible software support to accelerate customer product development.
The company supports customers through an ecosystem that includes SOMs, carrier boards, Visual Orchestration software and partner ecosystem support. Lantronix also supports every stage of the AI lifecycle, from model design to deployment, and leverages a deep Qualcomm partnership to unlock mobile-grade performance in edge devices.
