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Payload catalog

The payload catalog is a library of real parts (flight controllers, companion computers, sensors, radios, and task payloads) with nominal mass and power figures. Instead of guessing what a mapping LiDAR or a delivery winch costs in grams and watts, pick it from the list and the Builder accounts for both automatically.

Open it from the Payload group in the Builder console: press + Add from catalog. The Add payload from catalog dialog lists the groups on the left and the items of the selected group on the right. Each item row shows its mass in grams, its draw and rail voltage (or "self-powered"), and its primary data interface, so you can plan wiring while you shop.

The groups#

  • Flight controller (30x30 stacks, Pixhawk and Cube boards, CUAV, Matek, and similar)
  • Companion computer (Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA Jetson, and other single-board computers)
  • AI accelerator (Hailo and Coral modules and sticks)
  • FPV video (analog cameras and VTXs, digital HD air units)
  • Camera - action / 360
  • Camera - cinema / survey
  • Gimbal / EO-IR turret
  • Thermal imager
  • Multispectral / ag sensor
  • LiDAR - mapping (3D)
  • LiDAR / radar - avoidance & altitude
  • Optical flow
  • GNSS / RTK
  • Radio / datalink / telemetry
  • Mesh / comms relay
  • Cargo delivery / release
  • Winch / lowering system
  • Agriculture - spray
  • Agriculture - spread
  • Lighting / spotlight
  • Strobe / anti-collision
  • Loudspeaker / hailer
  • Gas / environmental sensor
  • Radiation detector
  • Parachute recovery
  • ADS-B / Remote ID / transponder
  • Survey / utility

What picking an item does#

Adding an item does two things at once:

  1. Adds its mass. The part appears as a chip in the Payload group with its mass in grams, and it shows up as its own bar in the Mass breakdown chart.
  2. Wires its power onto a rail. If the item draws power, its wattage lands as a load on an existing power rail whose output voltage is within 0.5 V of the item's rail voltage. If no such rail exists, one is created automatically, named after the voltage (for example "5V rail"), with 90 percent efficiency and a regulator rating sized about 1.5 times the item's draw, and never below 2 A.

Self-powered items (an action camera running on its own internal battery, for example) add mass only.

Removing a component's chip in the Payload group also removes its load from whichever rail carried it.

Editing the figures#

Catalog figures are nominal and representative: bare-board versus housed, lens choice, and duty cycle all move them. Treat them as a fast starting point and edit them to match the hardware on your bench:

  • Power is fully editable in place: the item's load in the Power rails group is an ordinary load, so change its watts, move it, or rename it like any other.
  • Mass is stored on each component as a mass_g field in grams. It travels with the build in an exported profile (Build menu, then Export profile), so you can adjust a component's mass there and import the profile back.
  • Anything the catalog does not have can be entered by hand: put its mass in the Other payload (mounts, wiring) field and add its draw as a load on the right rail in the Power rails group.