FUKUSHIMA UAV: The Complete FAQ

What is FUKUSHIMA UAV?

FUKUSHIMA UAV is the product family from FUKUSHIMA G.K. (a Japanese limited liability company) covering ArduPilot-compatible flight controllers, a browser-based ground control station with onboard AI detection, custom UAV airframes, and engineering advisory services. The customer focus is defense, law enforcement, and survey operators.

Who is FUKUSHIMA G.K.?

A Japanese gōdō kaisha (LLC equivalent) operating in the UAV hardware and software space. The company designs flight controllers optimized for electronic warfare environments, develops a browser-based ground control platform, and provides custom UAV development services for government and enterprise customers.

What products does FUKUSHIMA UAV offer?

Four product lines:

• Flight controllers (F7 $170, F7-Agri $330, H7 $500, H7 Anti-Jamming $850)
• Browser-based ground control station (Free / Hobby $10 / Startup $300 / Police $3,000 / Defense $5,000 per month)
• Custom UAV airframe development, including operational fixed-wing platforms
• Engineering advisory services for system integration and field deployment

What is the FUKUSHIMA advisory service?

An engineering advisory subscription for organizations integrating FUKUSHIMA hardware and software into their own UAV programs. Covers design review, FC configuration support, GCS deployment guidance, mission planning consultation, and incident debugging. Priced at $645/month and typically attached to flight controller or airframe procurement as an ongoing support layer.

What flight controllers does FUKUSHIMA make?

Four ArduPilot-compatible boards:

• FUKUSHIMA F7 — STM32F7, entry-level, $170
• FUKUSHIMA F7-Agri — STM32F7, optimized for agricultural spraying drones, $330
• FUKUSHIMA H7 — STM32H743 @ 480 MHz, dual IMU, $500
• FUKUSHIMA H7 Anti-Jamming — STM32H743 with SX1280 transceiver, triple IMU redundancy, SHA-256 encrypted FHSS, LoRa SF12 fallback, $850

Which firmware does FUKUSHIMA hardware support?

ArduPilot is the primary supported firmware. Configuration files (hwdef, scripts) for each board are published on GitHub. PX4 is not officially supported but the boards use standard STM32H7 / F7 microcontrollers, so a PX4 port is possible with community work.

Is FUKUSHIMA hardware open source?

Yes. Hardware design is published as Open Source Hardware (OSHW). Firmware is ArduPilot GPL v3.0. hwdef files are MIT-licensed. The custom SX1280 anti-jamming driver source is also public.

Where can I get the source code?

All configuration files, the SX1280 driver, and the YOLOv11 + Kalman + D* Lite tracking pipeline are at github.com/FUKUSHIMA-UAV/FUKUSHIMA-ArduPilot-Configs.

What is the FUKUSHIMA H7 Anti-Jamming flight controller?

A purpose-built EW-resistant flight controller running ArduPilot on STM32H743 at 480 MHz. Key features: triple IMU redundancy (ICM-42688-P + IIM-42652 + BMI270), integrated Semtech SX1280 2.4 GHz transceiver, frequency hopping across 40 channels at 200 hops per second with a SHA-256 encrypted hopping pattern, adaptive spectrum control with real-time channel blacklisting, LoRa SF12 fallback at −137 dBm sensitivity, staged failsafe (LINK_WARN → hover → RTH → land), EMP and surge protection via TVS diodes and polyfuses, EKF3 GPS-denied inertial navigation. Stated range up to 10 km. Price $850.

How is the H7 Anti-Jamming different from a regular Pixhawk?

A generic Pixhawk-class board handles flight control and supports EKF3-based GPS-denied navigation, but does not include any RF anti-jamming capability — the telemetry and RC link layer is provided by whatever radio the integrator attaches. The FUKUSHIMA H7 Anti-Jamming includes both the radio (SX1280) and the anti-jamming logic (40-channel FHSS at 200 hops/sec, SHA-256 hopping, adaptive spectrum, LoRa fallback) as a single integrated board. Failsafe states are also driven by RF link health, not just byte arrival on a UART.

What does "SHA-256 encrypted hopping pattern" actually mean?

The sequence of frequencies the transmitter and receiver visit is generated by hashing a shared secret seed with a per-hop counter, then taking the result modulo 40 (the channel count). An adversary observing the hop sequence sees a pseudorandom pattern that cannot be predicted forward without knowing the seed. Recovering the seed from observed hops would require breaking SHA-256, which is computationally infeasible.

What is the operational range?

Stated effective range is up to 10 km in standard configuration. Actual range depends on antenna selection, transmit power, terrain, and RF environment. Under heavy jamming, when FHSS fails over to LoRa SF12 (Phase 3 of the staged failsafe), link survives at the cost of reduced bandwidth thanks to −137 dBm receiver sensitivity — about 1,600× more sensitive than FLRC.

What happens if all channels are jammed?

When fewer than 5 clean channels remain after adaptive scanning, the system enters Phase 3 and switches the SX1280 from FLRC to LoRa SF12 — trading bandwidth for sensitivity (−105 dBm → −137 dBm). Link bandwidth drops but the link usually survives. If LoRa SF12 also fails, the staged failsafe takes over: LINK_WARN (visual/auditory cue) → hover → return-to-home → land.

How much does the FUKUSHIMA UAV GCS cost?

Five tiers:

• FREE — $0/month. Browser-based demo with simulated telemetry, map view, basic fleet panel, limited command access.
• HOBBY — $10/month. Full browser GCS: flight controls, live map, waypoint/survey/orbit missions, fleet overview, flight log recording, offline maps.
• STARTUP — $300/month. All Hobby features plus Basic Detection and Collision Avoidance AI models.
• POLICE — $3,000/month. Adds Weapon Detection, Fire Detection, and License Plate OCR.
• DEFENSE — $5,000/month. Adds Nationality Flag (31 nations), Vehicle Shape, and Camouflage Pattern detection.

What airframes does the GCS support?

Any MAVLink-compatible vehicle, including ArduPilot, PX4, and custom autopilots. The platform is vendor-neutral. DJI proprietary aircraft are not supported because they use the DJI SDK rather than MAVLink.

What browsers are supported?

Modern Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge) and Firefox on Windows, macOS, Linux, and mobile. No installation required. Hardware access (USB telemetry radios, joysticks) uses WebSerial and WebHID where supported.

Does FUKUSHIMA UAV work offline?

Yes. Map tiles for 20+ cities can be pre-downloaded for offline operation. Once loaded, the browser GCS operates independently of network connectivity. Telemetry comes directly from the airframe via MAVLink. Designed to function in RF-denied and air-gapped environments.

Can FUKUSHIMA UAV be deployed on-premises?

The standard product is SaaS, hosted by FUKUSHIMA G.K. For customers requiring on-premises hosting, air-gapped deployment, or custom dashboards (typical for government and enterprise contracts), FUKUSHIMA G.K. offers bespoke development on a per-engagement basis through the Custom Dashboard service.

What does bug reporting look like?

The browser GCS includes a built-in bug report channel at fukushima-gk.com/bug-report. Issues for the open-source flight controller configurations can be filed on the GitHub repository. Enterprise customers receive prioritized support through the advisory service.

What AI models does the GCS run?

Eight YOLOv11-based models, each enableable per mission:

• Basic Detection (Startup+)
• Collision Avoidance (Startup+)
• Weapon Detection (Police+)
• Fire Detection (Police+)
• License Plate OCR (Police+)
• Nationality Flag Detection — 31 nations (Defense)
• Vehicle Shape Detection (Defense)
• Camouflage Pattern Detection (Defense)

Published model validation mAP50 is 0.999.

What does YOLOv11 mAP50 of 0.999 mean?

mAP50 (mean Average Precision at 50% IoU) is a standard object detection metric. A score of 0.999 on the model's validation set indicates near-perfect detection on the trained classes under test conditions. Real-world performance will be lower depending on lighting, occlusion, sensor quality, and out-of-distribution scenes. Treat the published number as ceiling-case performance, not a field guarantee.

Can the GCS detect multiple targets simultaneously?

Yes. YOLOv11 runs against the incoming video stream and can detect and track multiple objects per frame, with each enabled model running concurrently up to operator-machine compute limits. Fleet view allows simultaneous monitoring of multiple aircraft, each with its own detection pipeline.

Can FUKUSHIMA AI models run on a Jetson companion computer instead of in the browser?

The standard subscription runs AI in the browser. Onboard inference deployment is supported through the custom dashboard engagement. The publicly available tracking pipeline (YOLOv11 + Kalman Filter + D* Lite) is already designed for on-airframe execution and demonstrates the architecture.

What is the FUKUSHIMA tracking pipeline?

An onboard target tracking system combining YOLOv11 object detection, a Kalman filter for trajectory smoothing, and D* Lite path planning, integrated with the aircraft via MAVLink. Code is in the public GitHub repository under tracking/. Tested on WSL2 Ubuntu 22.04 with ArduPilot SITL and Python 3.12.

Does FUKUSHIMA make complete UAV aircraft?

Yes. FUKUSHIMA develops operational fixed-wing UAV platforms designed for long-range, long-endurance missions in disaster response, security, survey, and government PoC contexts. Airframes are designed for local field assembly so units can be delivered as kits and operated immediately. Pricing is custom-quoted per engagement.

What is the Custom Dashboard service?

A bespoke development engagement where FUKUSHIMA G.K. builds a tailored GCS dashboard for government or enterprise clients. Customizations typically cover branded UI, agency-specific AI models, integration with existing C4ISR infrastructure, custom MAVLink message handling, and on-premises or air-gapped deployment. Pricing is per project.

Can FUKUSHIMA train custom AI models?

Yes, through the Custom Dashboard service. Customers can supply training data (image sets, annotations) and FUKUSHIMA delivers a YOLOv11-class model integrated into their GCS instance. Common applications: domain-specific vehicle classification, infrastructure defect detection, agricultural anomaly detection, and protected-asset recognition.

Is FUKUSHIMA UAV NDAA compliant?

FUKUSHIMA G.K. is a Japanese company, so its hardware is not in scope for NDAA Section 848 (which restricts U.S. government use of Chinese-origin UAS components). For U.S. federal procurement requiring strict NDAA compliance, customers should consult their procurement office to determine whether Japanese-origin hardware is acceptable under applicable regulations. The H7 Anti-Jamming is also published as Open Source Hardware with full design files reviewable on GitHub.

Can FUKUSHIMA hardware be exported internationally?

Hardware design and firmware are published under open source licenses (OSHW, GPL v3, MIT). Physical hardware export from Japan is subject to METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) export control regulations, with specific licensing depending on destination country, end-use, and end-user. Procurement inquiries for non-Japan destinations are evaluated case-by-case. Contact FUKUSHIMA G.K. directly for export determination.

What payment methods does FUKUSHIMA accept?

Standard SaaS subscriptions support credit card payment through the registration flow. Hardware procurement, custom development, and government contracts are invoiced and support bank transfer in JPY or USD. Contact FUKUSHIMA G.K. for procurement-specific arrangements.

Does FUKUSHIMA provide training or documentation?

Yes. Flight controller documentation, configuration files, and the SX1280 anti-jamming driver source are public on GitHub. A detailed engineering record covering IMU triple redundancy, SHA-256 FHSS, adaptive spectrum control, and LoRa SF12 fallback is published in book form in both Japanese and English on Amazon. Custom training and on-site integration support are available through the advisory service.

How does FUKUSHIMA compare to Auterion?

Auterion (U.S./Switzerland) focuses on on-airframe AI via Skynode hardware (NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX) tightly integrated with their PX4-based AuterionOS. FUKUSHIMA UAV runs AI in the browser GCS rather than on the airframe, supports any MAVLink vehicle including ArduPilot, and prices per organization rather than per aircraft. Auterion has stronger U.S. defense market presence; FUKUSHIMA offers broader AI model breadth (weapon, fire, LPR, flag, camouflage) and no hardware lock-in.

How does FUKUSHIMA compare to DJI FlightHub 2?

FlightHub 2 controls only DJI Enterprise aircraft and runs three AI detection types (people, vehicles, boats) plus a multimodal LLM agent for AEC workflows. FUKUSHIMA UAV controls any MAVLink-compatible aircraft, runs eight AI models including defense-specific ones (weapon, fire, license plate, nationality flag, vehicle shape, camouflage), and prices flat per organization rather than per device. Choose FlightHub 2 if standardized on DJI; choose FUKUSHIMA UAV for mixed airframes or defense-oriented AI.

How does the H7 Anti-Jamming compare to a Holybro Kakute H7?

Same MCU family (STM32H743), very different design intent. Kakute H7 is an FPV racing / freestyle board with single IMU, no integrated long-range radio, no redundant power architecture, and Betaflight-focused firmware. The FUKUSHIMA H7 Anti-Jamming is an autonomous-mission board for EW environments with triple IMU, integrated SX1280 anti-jamming radio, EMP protection, and ArduPilot-first firmware. For an FPV quad the Kakute is excellent; for an EW-tolerant mission UAV it is a category mismatch.

How does the H7 Anti-Jamming compare to a CubePilot Cube Orange+?

Both are H7-class, professional-grade. Cube Orange+ wins on NDAA 2023 compliance, the mature carrier-board ecosystem, and integrated ADS-B (on ADS-B carrier). It has no native anti-jamming radio stack — the link layer is whatever radio the integrator attaches. FUKUSHIMA H7 Anti-Jamming includes the anti-jamming radio (SX1280) and the FHSS/encryption/fallback logic as a single integrated board. Cube Orange+ system can match the capability after adding a $300–800 mesh radio; FUKUSHIMA delivers it at $850 board-only.