At this year’s CES, drones emerged as one of the most exciting highlights of the event. Leading companies like DJI, Parrot, 3D Robotics, AirDog, and others showcased their latest innovations. Even tech giants like Intel and Qualcomm displayed drones equipped with advanced communication capabilities and obstacle avoidance systems. Drones quickly became a hot topic in 2015, catching many by surprise. To understand the inner workings and future developments of these flying machines, the magazine conducted interviews with several industry players.
(Note: In this article, the term "drone" refers to multi-axis aircraft. Compared to fixed-wing drones, multi-axis models are more stable and capable of hovering. The internal structure of a drone is illustrated below.)
These images depict standard drone components. However, more advanced systems used by hobbyists and aerial photographers require additional modules such as pan/tilt mechanisms, cameras, video transmission systems, and receivers.
**Flight Control Brain: Microcontroller**
On a quadcopter’s flight control board, only a few chips are necessary. Toy-grade drones can simply fly or hover by receiving remote control signals and controlling four motors.
Ren Yuan from STMicroelectronics explained that the main components of UAVs include flight control and remote control. Flight control involves ESC/motor control, attitude stabilization, and pan/tilt control. Current ESC methods include BLDC square wave and FOC sine wave control. STMicroelectronics’ STM32F051 and STM32F301 series are widely used due to their high integration and cost-effectiveness. For attitude control, ST offers STM32F0/STM32F3/STM32F4 series depending on sensor requirements. Pan/tilt control uses STM32F301/STM32F302/STM32F405 series. For remote controls, STM32F0/STM32F1 series are used for basic models, while STM32F429 supports color displays.
Xintang’s MCU representative noted that multi-axis drones consist of modules like remote control, flight control, power system, and aerial photography. Depending on performance levels, MCUs ranging from 8051 to ARM9 are used. Low-end systems integrate functions into small packages, while high-end ones use Cortex-M4 cores for complex tasks.
On the flight control board, MCUs replace CPUs for control and processing. Since flight control relies on floating-point operations, even simple Cortex-M4 MCUs suffice. Some MEMS sensors have built-in DSP, allowing 8-bit MCUs to handle basic tasks.
**Qualcomm and Intel Push Flight Control Chips**
At CES, Qualcomm and Intel showcased drones using powerful processors beyond traditional MCUs. XMOS, a European chipmaker, also entered the drone market. Their xCORE multicore microcontrollers are used for both flight control and internal communication. These controllers offer up to 500MHz clock speeds, low-latency I/O, and real-time performance without an RTOS. This makes them ideal for high-reliability applications like drones.
STMicroelectronics introduced the STM32F7 series, which combines high-performance Cortex-M7 architecture with real-time processing and digital signal capabilities. The STM32 Dynamic Efficiency family balances power consumption and performance for efficient aircraft design.
Multi-axis drones typically use four to six brushless motors, each controlled by an 8-bit MCU. However, some systems use a single MCU to manage multiple motors.
**EMS/Sensors for Multi-Axis Drones**
Chen Yimin from Shenzhen Fuwei Kechuang Electronics believes that while toy-grade drones have upgraded to six-axis MEMS, they often use consumer-grade sensors. Professional drones, however, use higher-quality sensors for stability and safety.
ADI’s Zhao Yanhui highlighted industrial-grade MEMS gyros like ADXRS652 and accelerometers like ADXL203, which are widely used in professional drones. Consumer-grade sensors like ADXL335 are also common in all-in-one models.
MEMS sensors help achieve smooth control and navigation. They detect pitch and roll changes, allowing the drone to stabilize. A combination of accelerometers and gyroscopes is usually needed to reduce errors through complementary filtering.
As drones evolve, GPS, infrared, barometric, and ultrasonic sensors are increasingly integrated. These enable features like automatic collision avoidance and one-button return. GPS-equipped drones can also block takeoff near restricted areas.
**Wireless Control and Video Transmission**
For entertainment drones, 2.4GHz or 5.8GHz wireless control suffices. While 433MHz has long range, it lacks interference resistance. 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz RF chips are widely used in remote control toys.
Drones with cameras and pan/tilts can transmit video via 5.8GHz, Wi-Fi, or LTE. Hetai Semiconductor’s Pan Jianzhang noted that multi-axis drones are moving from specialized use to mass consumer markets.
DJI leads in HD video transmission, but many domestic manufacturers still struggle with real-time 1080P streaming. Most systems downscale video before transmission, leading to quality issues.
Currently, no WiFi chipmakers have developed long-range HD video chips. However, companies like Broadcom are planning dedicated solutions. Before that, software-defined radio (SDR) helps balance long-distance and high-bandwidth transmission.
**Technical Challenges Ahead**
Despite growing optimism, drones still face challenges like battery life, rotor efficiency, communication reliability, and user-friendly software. While many issues may be resolved through R&D, one persistent problem is the difficulty in diagnosing crashes. Professional drones can suffer costly damage, and identifying the root cause remains a challenge for manufacturers.
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