Enhancing Drone Stability with the Ark Flow Sensor

As part of our autonomous drone development for the European Rover Challenge (ERC) 2025, one of the most significant upgrades was the integration of the Ark Flow Sensor. Achieving stable, GPS-independent flight was a core requirement, particularly for indoor missions or metal-structured environments like the ERC flight cage, where GPS signals are unreliable or completely unavailable.Why Optical Flow?Optical flow sensors determine motion by analysing the displacement of features between successive image frames. When paired with distance data, this enables a drone to accurately estimate its horizontal movement relative to the ground. While traditional solutions, such as the PMW3901 combined with an external rangefinder, can achieve this, they often suffer from poor accuracy and complex integration requirements.Introducing the Ark FlowArk Flow sensor – arkelectron.comThe Ark Flow sensor from Ark Robotics delivers a compact, reliable, and fully integrated solution. It combines an optical flow camera with a high-performance distance sensor capable of…