Hi @mtcbj
That is the flex stiffener. Our older image modules used stainless steel. Some of our newer modules use laminate.
Those holes are likely just flex/FPC air escapes during the backer lamination process. They do not provide any functional purpose after assembly.
I see no issue filling them with epoxy.
Hope that helps!

Hi @Jetson-Nano
Thank you for your request regarding MTTF and reliability data for the listed hardware components.

At this time, we do not publish formal MTTF/MTBF values for these products. The primary reason is that these systems (VOXL2, ESC, Flight Controller V2, Front-End Board, and Camera Modules) are delivered as development platforms intended for user-defined integration, testing, and operation. In the vast majority of use cases, overall system lifetime is dominated by application-specific factors such as mechanical stress, environmental exposure, power integrity, and crash events rather than intrinsic electronic wear-out mechanisms. As a result, standardized MTTF/MTBF metrics are not representative or particularly actionable for these platforms.

That said, the underlying silicon and design heritage for these systems is derived from high-volume mobile and embedded computing applications. These components are built on technologies that are broadly characterized for long operational lifetimes under nominal conditions, consistent with industry expectations for modern semiconductor devices.

Additionally, portions of the broader technology heritage have been evaluated in demanding environments, including public programs associated with NASA JPL (e.g., Mars Helicopter which is our design heritage, and CADRE lunar rover initiatives). However, detailed qualification data and reports from those efforts and other non-public efforts are not available for external distribution.

From a reliability perspective, our hardware is designed and validated using standard industry practices, including:

Functional validation across operating voltage and temperature ranges Environmental and stress testing at the system level (i..e: we and our customers put our drones into very demanding scenarios) Design margining consistent with mobile/embedded electronics standards, oftentimes far exceeding industry norm Production screening and quality control processes and test screening

For applications requiring higher confidence in operational lifetime, we typically recommend system-level validation under the specific mission profile, including environmental testing (thermal cycling, vibration, shock) and power/load characterization representative of the end use case.

Hope this helps.

@shiva-rv Try heating up the IMU by stressing the CPU then shooting it with air to create a large thermal gradient between the silicon of the VOXL2 and the IMU die itself, I predict you'll see the Z bias jump like crazy, but X and Y not so much.

You might also observe that the temperature gradient determines the bias, not the absolute temperature, hence using a temperature model for compensation is useless, and not applied by modal: https://gitlab.com/voxl-public/voxl-sdk/services/qrb5165-imu-server/-/blob/master/server/src/imu_interface.cpp?ref_type=heads#L168

If you're curious about the physics of why MEMs IMUs like ICM42688 act this way I'm sure your favorite AI chatbot could give you a nice explanation about the materials sciences at play here.

Practically, thermally isolate the IMU component as much as possible.

@Moderator Why is it not plug in play? I found the spot to connect to the board but configuring the SKU based on C29 did not work. Also, the connector seems really short so I am curious how the C29 config looks.

@Alex-Kushleyev this is super helpful. Thank you.

@Alex-Kushleyev Thank you so much for your response. It helped a lot.

@extmoddain ,

Can you please send a picture of the damaged ESCs? Which component blew up? Also what do the labels on the ESD bags from those ESCs say?

The 6s version of M0129 (mini ESC) should have a small label on the white 4-pin connector that says either -63 or -65 (meaning 6S and either 3.8V or 5.0V output for VOXL2 mini or VOXL2). We can also check using the serial number (label should be present on the ESC)

https://docs.modalai.com/voxl-mini-esc-datasheet/#specifications
aa7bc73c-90f7-41ae-9f28-cacb800c72eb-image.png

Alex

Hi @the_engineer ,

Please see the responses to your questions below:

Is the drone suitable for such an application, or is there a drone better suited for this kind of application?

Starling 2 Max can be equipped with two global shutter tracking cameras, two high resolution (IMX412) cameras and a TOF sensor, providing the most sensing that our platforms offer.

Is such indoor autonomous operation is feasible with the Starling 2 Max?

dual-camera VIO can be used for indoor navigation (using our integration with Open Vins software) please note that we cannot guarantee performance in your environment and you would like to achieve reliable operation, you would need to become very familiar with the software components and test and address the issues that may come up in your environment depending on how narrow the aisles are, you may consider Starling 2 (not Starling 2 Max)

To what extent can this drone be programmed and extended for research or development purposes?

majority of ModalAI software that runs on VOXL2 is open source : https://gitlab.com/voxl-public/voxl-sdk/

Is the drone programmable with Python or a similar programming language?

Voxl2 runs Ubuntu 18.04 OS and you can use any standard programming languages. Most of voxl2 apis for data access (camera, imu, etc) are in C/C++ which can be extended to python via bindings. ROS is also supported.

What charge time can be expected?

Typical recommended charge rate for Li-Ion batteries is 1C, so about one hour, maybe a bit more. You are free to explore other battery vendors if you need faster charge times.

Is a docking station/ induction charging retrofit possible?

we do not support this feature, but it should be possible with additional design. You would probably need to have your own power management board that allows seamlessly disconnecting the old battery (to be charged) and applying a DC power supply.

Is the drone capable of navigating in subpar lighting conditions?

you would need to test in your specific environment and address any issues that come up. Lighting is not the only factor, but also amount of useful features, etc

What is the expected maximum flight time at maximum takeoff weight?

see this thread : https://forum.modalai.com/topic/3732/starling-2-max-payload-capacity-and-flight-time-impact additional recommended payload up to 500g

What are the operational temperature limits of the drone?

Starling 2 Max can operate in reasonable temperatures. However, you would need to monitor your CPU usage - if it hits 95C, automatic throttling will occur and the system may not be able to keep up with all the tasks. ESC is rated to run at least 100C (MCU temperature), so that should not be an issue for this particular drone, which is not significantly loaded in terms of motor power).

Does visual obstacle avoidance also work during remote controlled manual flight?

please take a look at voxl-vision-hub, but remember that this will be a starting point and you will need to develop your own application based on your requirements and testing : https://docs.modalai.com/voxl-vision-hub/

What is the expected delivery time for the system to Germany?

Expected to ship within 60 business days from San Diego, CA, as stated on our web site https://www.modalai.com/products/starling-2-max

@Igor , we just uploaded the emulator docker image, please see details in this post : https://forum.modalai.com/topic/5179/qrb5165-emulator-image-1-6

Hi @Myles-Levine ,

I just want to double check something to make sure there is no confusion.

The lepton sensor is an IR (thermal) camera. it does not measure range. The lepton sensor plugs into the large square socket that is mounted to the M0157 / M0187 board (they are very similar). The infrared TOF sensor is a smaller (rectangular) sensor, which is marked as U1 on M0187 : https://docs.modalai.com/M0187/ .

Have you checked whether the Lepton sensor is working using voxl-portal, which would allow you to look at the IR image coming from the sensor?

Alex

@ChrisB here is a system architecture to follow: https://docs.modalai.com/voxl2-d0014/

We do not support an RB5, that is a Qualcomm product

@yaoyuh , it looks like the order has been taken care of. please let us know if you have any more questions.

Alex

@DronAlan https://www.modalai.com/pages/rma

^^^ This is the next best option outside of ADB IMO - nice suggestion @Alex-Kushleyev

I tested the fix and snapshots work now, thank you very much!