Dragonfang: An Open-Source Embedded Flight Controller with IMU-Based Stabilization for Quadcopter Applications

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), especially quadcopters, have become indispensable in numerous industrial and scientific applications due to their flexibility, low cost, and capability to operate in dynamic environments. This paper presents a complete design and implementation of a compact autonomous quadcopter capable of trajectory tracking, object detection, precision landing, and real-time telemetry via long-range communication protocols. The system integrates an onboard flight controller running real-time sensor fusion algorithms, a vision-based detection system on a companion single-board computer, and a telemetry unit using Long Range (LoRa) communication. Extensive flight tests were conducted to validate the system’s stability, communication range, and autonomous capabilities. Potential applications in law enforcement, agriculture, search and rescue, and environmental monitoring are also discussed.