Firmware · Custom
A custom flight stack, when — and only when — it's warranted.
We don't have a proprietary firmware on the shelf, and we won't invent one to look bigger. What we have is the willingness and the engineering to write one when a program needs it.
When custom is the right call
- Licensing. Copyleft is unacceptable and a permissive stack still doesn't fit the architecture.
- Certification. The program needs a traceable, requirements-driven code base built for a DO-178C style process from the first commit.
- Architecture. The vehicle's control problem doesn't map onto the assumptions baked into existing stacks.
- Provenance. The customer requires that every line of flight-critical code have a known US author. Open stacks can't offer that; we can.
What we would build
A minimal, auditable stack: RTOS or bare-metal scheduler, sensor drivers, a state estimator, attitude and position controllers, actuator allocation, failsafe supervisor, MAVLink-compatible telemetry, and a parameter system. Every component with a requirement, a test, and a simulation scenario.
What it costs
Months, not weeks, and a budget well above an open-stack customization. If you can meet the mission with PX4 or ArduPilot, we'll tell you that first and save you the money. The decision goes in writing in the architecture document, with the alternatives we rejected and why.
Talk through the requirement