Project Caribou 🦌

An open-source heavy-lift hexacopter for cargo logistics and precision agriculture.

Project Caribou is a ~200 kg MTOW hexacopter with ~100 kg payload capacity, 18–24S power architecture, and ArduPilot firmware. Designed for ruggedness, field repairability, and cost-effective manufacturing. Built on lessons from Project Feather and Project Quiver.

Developed by Arrow Air and released under the CERN Open Hardware Licence.

Key Features

• Heavy lift — ~100 kg payload for cargo delivery or 80L liquid spraying
• Hybrid material airframe — welded steel/aluminum core with detachable CF or aluminum motor arms
• High-voltage architecture — 18–24S (60–100V) with external HV kill switch and redundant power supply
• Redundant avionics — triple-redundant IMU, GPS, and compass
• ArduPilot firmware — standard QGroundControl/Mission Planner compatibility
• Field serviceability — modular arms for transport, replaceable components

Repository Structure

project-caribou/
├── engineering/            # Active design work
│   ├── cad/                # build123d CAD, reference geometry, exports
│   └── electronics/        # Self-contained KiCad PCB projects
│       └── pcbs/
│           ├── CBC_PCB/    # Caribou battery connector PCB, issue #6
│           │   └── kicad/libs/
│           └── CMAIN_PCB/  # Caribou main PCB, issue #8
│               └── kicad/libs/
├── docs/
│   ├── ADRs/               # Architecture Decision Records
│   └── meetings/           # Meeting notes and summaries
├── src/                    # Legacy/general source area
└── CONTRIBUTING.md

Community

• Discord — discord.gg/arrow — #project-caribou-general
• DAO Forum — dao.arrowair.com

License

CERN Open Hardware Licence Version 2 - Strongly Reciprocal (CERN-OHL-S)