STINGER

WELCOME TO THE NEW DRONE DEFENCE INDUSTRY STANDARD

Stinger revolutionizes drone technology by addressing critical challenges in modern defense, security, and disaster management. 

Traditional drones often require skilled operators and struggle in complex, time-sensitive scenarios. 

Stinger is revoluctionary because is full powered by AI, from flight control to decisions and tactics, and integrated with EU space technologies.

It can be used for any type of mission : 

• autonomous information gathering into the battelfield
• prevents wildfires and helps in natural disasters situations
• locates the injured
• identifies threats
• and secures no-fly zones. 

Why Stinger is the future of unmanned defence

• The drone can be controlled either by computer, giving instructions before the mission and then letting the artificial intelligence do its work, or via visual messages thanks to the YOLO model (obviously maintaining the operator's ability to control it manually).
• The Drone is lightweight, cheap, and its scalable design ensures affordability while enabling swarming capabilities for unparalleled efficiency.
  Photo of a closed STINGER
• The drones communicate with each other through special modules and antennas to guarantee connection even in the absence of infrastructure.
• If one drone can do a lot on the battlefield, imagine the impact of 100 or 1000 drones, one swarm of Stingers can be controlled only by one operator thanks to the drone costant communication, and act as a team to achieve the objective.  Complex missions can be accomplished in seconds
• Finally, the drone is equipped with a rail attachment system to install external modules that can optimize its efficiency depending on the specific mission (satellite module for example, or a jammer, or an additional battery module)

🛰️ EU Space Technologies

Our solution leverages multiple EU space technologies:

• Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem: The drone can be loaded with data from the Copernicus space data ecosystem before the mission and know every detail of the territory before visiting it
• Kinéis Satellite Connectivity: Offers global, low-power communication for remote operations and continuous data exchange. The connection Drone-Satellite is possible thanks to our external module that we designed the Kineis Module. This can be useful for communicating coordinates of casualties, or critical points, or short mission checkpoints

By integrating these technologies, Stinger achieves unmatched reliability, autonomy, and adaptability, addressing diverse operational needs.

Technical Part

The drone is based on a 3D printed frame in PETG enriched with Carbon Fiber, light and resistant.

The AI is based on Pamir AI's Distillery One, a board similar to a Raspberry pi but capable of managing and running AI models of up to 3 Billion Parameters, with a consumption of 5 Watts

There are 2 models available: 

• Meta's Llama 3.2 3B, which provides the drone with decision-making capabilities and allows it to transform inputs into coordinates and commands for the flight controller
• YOLO (You Only Look Once) a computer vision and recognition model that manages to catalog and recognize every element spotted by the camera

Obviously the drone is supplied with 

• an interchangeable battery, a wireless charging system to make it land and take off immediately afterwards.
• An SSD card to collect information.
• A 4k Gimbal camera
• A Flight computer
• A Communication System with receiver
• A magnetic attachment system for any modules to be attached specifically depending on the type of mission 
• Proximity and distance sensors

Data from the Copernicus ecosystem can be directly inserted into the drone's memory, while we have developed the Kineis Module for the communication of small data such as coordinates or checkpoints.

The Module includes the board developed by Kineis which interfaces directly with the distillery one and a PETG body enriched in carbon fiber to protect it from water and dust

The drone weighs approximately 1kg overall and occupies the same volume as a bottle of water when closed. Then, in the flight position supported by magnetic hooks, the arms with the motors and propellers extend

EU Space for Defence and Security

We addressed the challenge #2: Unmanned Drone Applications for Defence & Security Operations, focusing on :

1. Information Gathering: Stinger uses satellite data to autonomously collect real-time intelligence, enhancing situational awareness in defense and security operations.
2. Responder Safety: It operates in hazardous zones, providing critical insights and enabling safer disaster response.
3. Misuse Prevention: With advanced geofencing and AI-driven threat detection, Stinger intercepts unauthorized drones, ensuring public and operational safety.
4. Impact: By seamlessly integrating with the EU Defence and Security ecosystem, Stinger enhances operational efficiency, safeguards responders, and strengthens defense capabilities across Europe.

Team

• Francesco Massa (Team Lead, AI Specialist): A passionate innovator with a deep background in AI and drone technology, Francesco leads the integration of space technologies into Stinger. Is also a serial hackaton winner and 2 times NASA global Nomenee for "Firespy" his platform based on drone reconnaissance to prevent wildfires.
• Francesco Maura: Nominated by the italian president Sergio Mattarella as standard bearer of the republic for his merits in the technological field, expert in the field of communications and AI, student of computer science at the Sapienza University of Rome.
• Martina Sorge: Student in languages and informatics, holds the role of marketing and communication expert with drone infrastructure