Open Source Drone Update: May 2025

May has brought exciting developments across the PX4 ecosystem led by the PX4 v1.16.0 release candidate opening up for community testing. Four new organizations joined the Dronecode Foundation as Silver Members, representing a growing and diverse field of companies supporting open source aerial robotics. Also, Dronecode successfully held two local meetups in San Diego and Philadelphia respectively, fostering regional connections and bringing the community closer than ever. Read on for more details about these developments and how you can get involved in shaping the future of open source drone technology.

PX4 v1.16.0 release candidate needs your feedback

The PX4 community is calling for your contributions to test and provide insights on PX4 v1.16.0-rc1 by Wednesday, May 28, 2025. Thousands of people worldwide depend on stable PX4 releases, and your participation in flight testing is crucial for ensuring reliability. The process is simple: select a test category, flash the beta firmware, conduct your test, and share your logs. For complete instructions on how to participate, including firmware flashing steps and log sharing procedures, please visit our detail testing guide. Your feedback is mission-critical and directly improves the health of the entire PX4 ecosystem!

Recent community events

Southern California Dronecode meetup at Firestorm's HQ

February 19th marked the first meetup of the year, hosted at Firestorm's facilities in San Diego. The event successfully gathered the local drone community and fostered new connections between individuals and organizations that were waiting just around the literal corner. This successful gathering was the first of many similar community events planned for 2025. A full recap is available to learn more about the discussions and connections made during this inaugural meetup.

Northeast Dronecodemeetup hosted by UPenn

The second community meetup of 2025 was held on March 26th at the University of Pennsylvania's Pennovation Works Treehouse. Sponsored by ModalAI, this gathering successfully connected local community members who were previously unaware of each other's proximity. The event brought together professionals, students, and researchers, creating valuable networking opportunities and knowledge sharing. A detailed recap is available to discover what participants gained from this collaborative experience.

Nanoradar becomes Silver Member

Dronecode is thrilled to announce that Nanoradar has joined the foundation as a Silver Member. As a producer of high-quality millimeter wave radar products, Nanoradar exemplifies how the PX4 ecosystem extends well beyond drones themselves. Their team leverages open source principles to rapidly integrate hardware into advanced systems capable of handling complex tasks, including obstacle avoidance and other cutting-edge applications.

Zebu Intelligent Systems joins as Silver Member

We are delighted to welcome Zebu Intelligent Systems as one of the newest Silver Members of the Dronecode Foundation. Zebu's impressive portfolio spans autonomy, swarm intelligence, and ground control station (GCS) development, demonstrating their technical expertise in the field. Their founder has expressed a strong commitment to advancing drone technology through collaboration and innovation within our open source community.

Firestorm becomes Silver Member

After graciously hosting our successful SoCal meetup earlier this year, Firestorm has officially joined the Dronecode Foundation as a Silver Member. This formal partnership cements their commitment to supporting open source drone technology. Firestorm's CTO is a strong advocate for open architectures, believing they represent the future of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technology. Their membership marks an important addition to our growing community of supporters.

Ascend Engineering joins as Silver Member

We're pleased to announce that Ascend Engineering has become a Silver Member of the Dronecode Foundation. Ascend brings their specialized knowledge in custom drone integration solutions to the PX4 ecosystem, strengthening our collaborative network. They will be contributing valuable expertise to flight testing initiatives and other critical areas of development, further enhancing the capabilities of our open source platform.