Project Caribou - May 2026 Progress Report

General
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Project Caribou — May 2026 Progress Report

1. Executive Summary

May was Caribou’s first full engineering month after the April kickoff. The project moved from planning into prototype integration work across battery connector selection, PCB files, manufacturability cleanup, enclosure planning, and first-prototype avionics/telemetry direction.

The main outcome is that the battery and electronics path is now concrete enough for review and manufacturing preparation. Caribou has working KiCad projects for CBC_PCB, a clearer CMAIN_PCB direction, and a June task list focused on ordering boards, enclosures, brackets, ESC mounting, wiring, and Caribou Hub integration.

Top May results:

  • Battery connector path defined: The team selected the ACES 59626-style connector family for the Tattu 4.0 18S battery interface.
  • Connector assets completed: KBM produced the ACE-59626 3D model, KiCad symbol, and footprint, closing the connector asset work.
  • C90D_PCB designed: KBM completed the 90-degree adapter PCB for the battery connector to CBC interface. The design was completed in May and integrated into GitHub just after month end.
  • CBC_PCB became a real board: The battery connector PCB moved through KiCad import, library cleanup, model-reference fixes, and manufacturing validation.
  • CMAIN_PCB started: The Caribou main PCB workstream now has connector requirements, ESC cable reference material, a cleaned Quiver-main-derived KiCad fork, and a linked PCB layout import.
  • Mechanical integration started: The CBC enclosure and battery mount work was scoped, including clearance concerns, cable routing, terminal access, and bracket updates.
  • Caribou Hub progressed: Alex’s telemetry/ground-station work moved into a Quiver-Hub-derived local web stack, but it still needs validation, cleanup, and a clearer feature roadmap.

2. Team

May core contributors:

Contributor Role May allocation
Julius Project lead 30 h/week
KBM CAD / PCB 20 h/week
Alex Avionics / research / Caribou Hub 15 h/week
Erick Project support / electronics review 10 h/week

May funding was received and contributor streams were updated.

3. Progress

Battery connector and C90D_PCB

The open Tattu 4.0 18S connector investigation was resolved. The 18S smart battery connector differs from the 14S layout and includes four signal pins, so the team had to identify and model a usable connector family instead of relying on previous assumptions.

KBM completed the key connector assets for the selected ACES 59626-style male connector:

  • 3D model
  • KiCad schematic symbol
  • KiCad footprint

The C90D_PCB was created as a 90-degree adapter between the vertical battery connector and the CBC_PCB. It includes the ACES 59626 connector, CAN connector, and OT-201-M8 power interface. The design was completed by the end of May and merged into GitHub just after month end.

Relevant work: issues #13, #17, #18, #19 and PR #20.

CBC_PCB

The CBC_PCB workstream saw the biggest technical jump. The board moved from concept and imported files into a cleaned KiCad project with local libraries, fixed references, corrected footprint/model details, and a regenerated manufacturing STEP export.

Validation from the main May cleanup PR:

  • ERC: 0 errors / 0 warnings
  • DRC: 4 remaining violations, all copper-edge-clearance warnings
  • Unconnected pads: 0
  • Footprint errors: 0
  • Project-local 3D model references: 330 refs, 0 missing
  • git diff --check: pass

The board still needs review before ordering. A separate issue was opened for Erick and KBM to review CBC_PCB v1.

Relevant work: issue #6, issue #31, PRs #27, #28, and #30.

Power architecture decisions

The May 26 call clarified the CBC power direction. The board includes high-current connection pads/vias, 5 V and 3.3 V converters, an isolated 12 V converter, precharge circuitry, and redundant MOSFET gate supply.

CMAIN_PCB and first-prototype flight stack

CMAIN_PCB advanced from issue-level planning into KiCad work. May additions included connector requirements, ESC cable drawings, a cleaned KiCad fork derived from Quiver main PCB work, and a linked PCB layout import.

The first prototype flight-controller direction remains Quiver-style, adapted for a hexacopter. More redundant/certification-oriented flight-controller options were discussed, but prototype 1 is focused on getting Caribou flying.

Relevant work: issue #8 and PRs #21, #22, #24, #25.

Enclosure, battery mount, and wiring preparation

The CBC enclosure and battery mount task was opened and scoped. The enclosure needs to protect and locate the CBC_PCB, preserve terminal access, manage ESC power cable routing, avoid sharp bends/strain, and integrate with the battery mounting structure. KBM already completed the 90-degree PCB modification.

Remaining mechanical and manufacturing follow-up includes enclosure printing, bracket hole updates, sheet-metal battery bracket ordering, X15 ESC mounting, motor-orientation checks, and power wiring preparation.

Relevant work: issues #14, #26, #35, #36, #38, #39, #40.

Caribou Hub / System Unit

Alex’s Caribou Hub work appears to have progressed beyond concept. The reviewed repo state describes a local Linux/web ground-station stack adapted from Quiver Hub, with:

  • Browser SPA
  • Express / tRPC / Socket.IO backend
  • Raspberry Pi / companion-computer services
  • Telemetry dashboard, camera app, flight analytics, logs/OTA, app builder, job queue, and ingest/control APIs
  • Caribou-specific hex telemetry views using BMS node IDs 10-15 and ESC node IDs 20-25
  • RTSP / go2rtc / WebRTC-WHEP camera path

This should still be treated as in-progress. Issue #10 remains open, and the repo review flagged README/TODO mismatches, documentation cleanup needs, and security/robustness review.

Relevant work: issues #10 and #12.

4. June Priorities

June should focus on turning May’s integration work into prototype-ready hardware:

  1. Review CBC_PCB v1 with Erick and KBM, then prepare the board order.
  2. Finish the CBC enclosure design and check battery/bracket fit before ordering sheet-metal parts.
  3. Continue CMAIN_PCB development toward first board order readiness.
  4. Mount Hobbywing X15 ESCs and verify motor orientation / propulsion fasteners.
  5. Prepare ESC-to-CBC wiring: wire lengths, gauges, labels, continuity checks, strain relief, and connector details.
  6. Prepare Caribou Hub for local installation, write setup instructions, and merge it into the Caribou repository.

5. Budget

The May reimbursement transaction is queued in the Caribou Safe but had not executed at the time of writing. Safe status: Reimbursement 0002 - 0005, nonce 3, queued, 1/2 confirmations.

Pending reimbursements:

Contributor Item Amount
Alex Waveshare telemetry equipment $437.33
Julius 18S Tattu charger $729.00
Julius Flight controller and GNSS $730.69
Alex Telemetry equipment customs duty $54.65
Total $1,951.67

May contributor streams:

Contributor Stream amount
Alex $2,976.00
KBM $3,968.00
Erick $2,645.33
Julius $9,300.00
Total streams 18,889.33 USDC

Total May allocation:

Category Amount
Pending reimbursements $1,951.67
Contributor streams 18,889.33 USDC
Total May allocation 20,841.00 USDC

6. Key Sources

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C90D_PCB

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CBC_PCB

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