At the heart of our aerial display system is a robust, custom-engineered hardware and firmware platform designed for reliability and real-time performance in demanding flight conditions. Our design philosophy focuses on providing a stable, responsive, and versatile tool for professional use.

Core Onboard System

The onboard receiver is powered by a high-performance microcontroller, which acts as the central brain for all video and text processing. This system is engineered to handle multiple tasks simultaneously without compromising on performance.

  • Hybrid Video & Text Engine: The firmware can seamlessly switch between multiple video sources and can overlay a separate, independently controlled text layer on top of any video source.
  • High-Performance LED Matrix Driver: A specialized, high-speed driver ensures that the display is refreshed at a high frame rate, preventing flicker and visual artifacts even during fast-paced video playback.
  • Live Video Add-On: For live video functionality, the system includes a dedicated companion computer. This device acts as a receiver for your wireless video feed, processes it in real-time, and transmits it to the onboard display controller over a robust, high-speed link.

Real-Time Control & Connectivity

The entire system is designed for immediate, responsive control from a standard remote controller, giving the operator full command of the display during flight. Operation can be conducted by either the drone pilot or a dedicated secondary RC transmitter.

  • Three-Channel PWM Input: The system is controlled by three independent channels from your RC receiver: one for selecting the video source, one for selecting the text overlay, and a dedicated channel for adjusting the display's brightness.
  • Deliberate Channel Selection: To ensure reliable operation in noisy RF environments, the firmware requires a deliberate command sequence to change channels. A simple flick of the control stick registers as a single channel change, and the stick must be returned to neutral before another change can be made. This prevents accidental, rapid cycling through channels and ensures that control inputs are precise and intentional.

Live Video Transmission System

Our live video system is a complete, end-to-end solution engineered for exceptional quality and resilience over a long-range 2.4 GHz digital link. Unlike off-the-shelf video systems, our transmission protocol is highly optimized for the specific demands of aerial LED displays.

  • Bandwidth-Efficient Video Scaling: Before transmission, the video feed is pre-scaled and optimized on the ground station. By shrinking the video to the exact dimensions of the LED matrix *before* it is sent over the air, we dramatically reduce the required transmission bandwidth.
  • Abundant Forward Error Correction (FEC): The significant bandwidth savings from our pre-scaling process are reinvested into robust Forward Error Correction. This allows us to dedicate an abundance of the data stream to error correction codes, enabling the receiver to reconstruct lost or corrupted data packets on the fly. The result is a remarkably high-quality, glitch-free video feed, even in challenging RF environments where standard video systems would fail.
  • Robust Hardware Handshake: Communication between the ground station and the onboard controller is managed by a robust hardware handshake protocol. This ensures perfect synchronization between video frames and allows for graceful, automatic error recovery. If a sync error is detected, the system automatically forces a re-sync on the next frame, providing a self-healing connection that prevents the display from ever getting stuck on a corrupted frame.
  • Low Latency: Our live video system is engineered for near real-time performance, delivering a highly responsive feed over a long-range 2.4 GHz digital link. This optimization ensures that the visual display closely tracks the live action, typically with a total system latency in the sub-250ms range.
  • Secure Broadcast: For enhanced security and versatility, the video stream is encrypted to protect your content, and it is broadcast over the 2.4 GHz link, enabling the setup of multiple video receivers for simultaneous monitoring or redundant operation.

Ground Station & Operator Interface

The ground station is the operator's command center for the live video system, designed for intuitive control and clear visual feedback.

  • Integrated Video Monitor: A dedicated, high-brightness video monitor is built directly into the ground station. This display provides the operator with a real-time, accurate preview of the exact content being transmitted to the aerial LED matrix, ensuring precise control over the live feed.
  • Versatile HDMI Input: The ground station features a standard HDMI input, compatible with 1280x720 resolution sources. This allows operators to easily connect a wide range of external devices, such as laptops, cameras, or media players, to feed custom live content directly to the aerial display.

Onboard Media & Content Management

The system can operate entirely standalone using media stored on a standard SD card.

  • Pre-Rendered Video Playback: The system supports playback of standard MJPEG video files, allowing for high-quality, pre-made content to be displayed on demand.
  • Advanced Text Overlay Protocol: Text messages are loaded from simple `.txt` files. Our flexible protocol supports three distinct display modes based on the file's content:
    1. Static, Centered Text: For short, impactful messages.
    2. Horizontally Scrolling Marquee: For longer messages that need to be displayed in full.
    3. Multi-Frame Animated Text: For creating flashing or simple animated effects by cycling through multiple lines in a file.
  • Intelligent Error Recovery: The system is designed to be fault-tolerant. If a corrupt video file is encountered on the SD card, the system will not freeze; it will display a blank screen for that channel and automatically advance to the next valid file in the playlist.