Pre-Requisites
UAV Requirements
Cyclops only works with fixed wing platforms that have an airspeed sensor.
The UAV must have a mounting point for your Cyclops camera module that provides an unobstructed view of the terrain below the vehicle.
In the future we plan to add support to Cyclops on quads and other non-fixed wing drones, but right now Cyclops cannot be run on such systems.
Power and Data Requirements
You must have power source(s) for your Cyclops system that meet the specs provided by the onboard computer and camera manufacturer. For example, Raspberry Pi 5 accepts 5V DC input power via its GPIO rail.
If your camera and flight computer have different power specs, be prepared to power them separately!
Flight Controller Requirements
Theseus has integrated with the following flight controller hardware successfully:
Cube Orange +
The Cyclops system requires a single UART serial port on the flight controller to run MAVLink telemetry to the compute module. See Flight Controller for more information on flight controller integration.
Your flight controller must have a barometer (or another altitude source that is not GPS) as well as a reliable compass/magnetometer and airspeed sensor. See Autopilot Integration for more information on how Cyclops interfaces with ArduPilot.
Cyclops currently only supports ArduPilot. If you would like to integrate other autopilot software, contact our team.
Computer Requirements
Architecture
ARM64
ARM64
CPU
2 cores @ 2.4 GHz
4 cores @ 2.4 GHz
RAM
2 GB
8 GB
Storage
32 GB free
256 GB free
OS
Ubuntu 22.04
Ubuntu 24.04
Raspberry pi 5 8GB is the recommended computer to run Cyclops.
SOMs
Raspberry Pi 5 8GB (recommended):
See Pi 5 Walkthrough for more information on how to setup your raspberry pi for Cyclops.
If you're using a Jetson Orin, there is a low power mode on the orin that turns off half of the CPU cores. Cyclops uses a library that doesn't account for the turned off cores and will crash. Please ensure the Orin is not in a low power mode.
Active Cooling
It is recommended to use an active cooler on your Raspberry Pi to reduce the chance of thermal throttling.
Storage
Using a mirco SD card for normal operation is acceptable. You may want to use a pi with an nvme hat. Device boot times are directly correlated to the boot drive speeds, so using an nvme will speed up boot times significantly.
We recommend using an SD card of >128GB to store logging and debug information.
A 128GB SD card can store a few hours of flight data before filling up. If you intend on doing much longer flights we recommend more storage.
Camera Requirements
The Cyclops system requires a single wide angle digital video camera for full operation. If you are using an analog video camera (i.e. Runcam or other common FPV cameras), you will need an analog to digital converter. These modules usually have low voltage limitations, so be prepared to power your camera separately in this case.
Resolution
256 x 192
1280 x 800
Type
EO (daytime-only)
LWIR (nighttime)
Interface
USB
-
Shutter
Rolling
Global
We recommend using fixed-focus cameras. Global shutters are preferred over rolling shutters to minimize motion blur during flight.
EO (OV9281 UVC):
LWIR:
FLIR Boson+ 640
FLIR Boson 320
Cyclops is compatible with EO or thermal cameras; however, if you plan on flying after sunset, a thermal camera is required.
Components
Before proceeding with integration, make sure that you have the following:
Cyclops system hardware (including camera and flight computer, UART cables, power cables)
UAV with ArduPilot-compatible flight controller, magnetometer, barometer, and airspeed sensor
Windows laptop
Ethernet cable
Power source for UAV and Cyclops system
Check that you have all listed components and proceed to the next section.
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