CoPilot Nano
Everything you need on 42 x 42 mm
Flight controller with onboard AI, for platforms where every gram and millimeter counts. Flight control, mission computer, NPU and video pipeline on a single 12 gram board.
Manufactured in Germany. No Chinese components. NDAA compliant.
ONBOARD NPU
2.3 TOPS
Integrated NPU. Models quantised to INT8.
INFERENCE
~30 ms
YOLOv5n, ~32 fps sustained.
POWER
~3 W
Under full load. Passive heatsink only.
BOARD FORMAT
12 g
42 × 42 mm, 25 mm mounting grid.
VIDEO
4K / 60 fps
Hardware H.264 encode, no CPU load.
PLATFORM FIT
Built for weight-critical airframes
FORM FACTOR
42 x 42 mm - 12 g
Ultra-compact and light weight
SERVO OUTPUTS
4× PWM
Quadcopters and simple airframes. DSHOT supported.
CAMERA INPUT
1× MIPI
CSI-2, 4-lane capable. Single-sensor tracking and navigation.
NETWORK
USB / WiFi
No Ethernet.
AI & VISION
Edge AI & Hardware Video Encoding.
Zero CPU Burden.
A 2.3 TOPS NPU handles object detection onboard, while a dedicated hardware VPU handles ISP processing and H.264 video encoding. By offloading video compression entirely from the CPU, CoPilot streams high-framerate HD video and runs live neural networks concurrently.
YOLOv5n inference
~30 ms · ~32 fps
Model families
YOLO, MobileNet
Quantisation
INT8
Pre-installed
GStreamer, NNStreamer, OpenCV, ROS 2
VIDEO PIPELINE
RAW-RGB sensors
60 fps 4K · 120 fps 1080p · 180 fps 720p
Bayer sensors, through the ISP
60 fps 1080p
Hardware-Offloaded H.264 Stream: The onboard encoder compresses up to 180 fps over USB or radio link with zero CPU impact. High-framerate RAW pipelines enable sub-millisecond optical pixel-lock and visual tracking. (Digital stream only; no analog or HDMI output).
SOFTWARE
PX4 and ROS 2 native, from first boot
Yocto-based embedded Linux with ROS 2 pre-installed, exposing full PX4 flight data as ROS 2 messages. Your team integrates on day one.
Strict partitioning
Flight-critical code on the Cortex-M7, user applications on the A53 cores.
Your code, as PX4 modules
Custom code runs as PX4 modules on the A53 cores. Containers supported. Python, C++, ROS.
Flight stack
PX4 v1.17, seamless integration into existing flight stacks. ArduPilot on the roadmap.
Ground control
QGroundControl recommended, Mission Planner supported.
TECHNICAL DATASHEET
Specifications
Compute
NXP i.MX8M Plus application processor
Dedicated Cortex-M7 real-time core for the flight stack
Quad-core Cortex-A53 for mission computer, AI and user applications (Python, C++, ROS)
2 GB RAM, 8 GB eMMC flash
Integrated NPU for onboard object detection and sensor fusion
Integrated GPU/VPU with hardware H.264 encode, no CPU load for streaming
Secure boot
AI & vision performance
2.3 TOPS integrated NPU
YOLOv5n: ~30 ms inference, ~32 fps sustained
Runs YOLO and MobileNet models quantised to INT8
Video pipeline independent of the NPU
RAW-RGB sensors: 60 fps @ 4K · 120 fps @ 1080p · 180 fps @ 720p
Bayer sensors, routed through the ISP: 60 fps @ 1080p
Up to 180 fps available for pixel-lock and tracking that does not use the NPU
Pre-installed: GStreamer, NNStreamer, OpenCV, ROS 2
Flight control
PX4-compatible, seamless integration into existing flight stacks
Strict partitioning between flight-critical code (M7) and user applications (A53)
Sensors
IIM-42652 6-axis IMU
MS5611 barometric pressure sensor
IMU is hard-mounted and soldered; vibration decoupling is done via the customer’s mounting
Interfaces
4× servo outputs (PWM / DSHOT)
3× UART, 1× I²C, 1× CAN bus
PPM RC input, 2× ADC (voltage/current)
USB OTG + USB host; USB gadget mode emulates 2× UART and 1× Ethernet when connected to a host PC
1× MIPI CSI-2 camera interface, 4-lane capable connector. Supplied FPC adapter breaks out to the standard 2-lane Raspberry Pi 15-pin connector; custom 4-lane and custom-length cables available on request
Proven camera modules: Sony IMX219, OmniVision OV5647, NXP camera package
WiFi configuration interface
Video output: H.264 stream over USB or radio link. No analog or HDMI out
Software
Yocto-based embedded Linux
ROS 2 pre-installed, exposes full PX4 flight data as ROS 2 messages
Custom code runs as PX4 modules on the A53 cores; containers supported
PX4 v1.17. ArduPilot on the roadmap.
Ground control: QGroundControl recommended, Mission Planner supported
Mechanical & power
42 × 42 mm, 25 mm mounting grid, 12 g
Supply up to 36 V absolute maximum (BEC limit)
Passive heatsink included, no active cooling required
Compliance & availability
Manufactured in Germany. No Chinese components. NDAA compliant.
Development kit available with cables and camera module
Price on request
GET STARTED
Start with the development kit.
The development kit ships with the CoPilot Nano unit, a full cable set, and a validated MIPI camera module. Everything you need for instant bench testing and first flight. Price on request.
