Project Quiver — April 2026 Progress Report
1. Executive Summary
In April, the first unit from the new dev-kit batch shipped to Ben and Boosh in California and the complete documentation suite merged to the main repository, closing out the majority of QGB-01. QuiverHub completed internal testing with OTA updates and remote log downloads confirmed operational. A first test flight in California surfaced an HM30 radio connection issue that will need to be resolved before the next Mojave test. The team dropped Friday meetings in favor of a tighter call schedule and began structuring a flight incentive program to drive field data collection as more operators come online.
2. Project Progress
Team Formation
The core team structure carried over from March. The grants & bounties model continued with commitment grants covering coordination and meeting attendance.
| Member | Role |
|---|---|
| errrks.eth | Project Lead |
| Julius | Core Contributor |
| Zeynep | Core Contributor |
| alperenag | Core Contributor |
| Dow Fisher KBM | Core Contributor |
| 21stCenturyAlex | Core Contributor |
Progress Summary:
April had three things happen at roughly the same time. The documentation suite finished and merged, the first batch unit shipped to California, and the team got real flight data back from operators. Each of those threads ran in parallel through the month and each produced its own set of follow up work.
The documentation push closed out most of QGB-01. Multiple large branches merged to the main repository, making the full dev-kit suite available for the first time. This included information notes, harnessing guide, engineering report, Pilot’s Handbook, maintenance guide, and assembly guide. Alperen drove the manufacturing guide forward across several commits, updating the assembly section, correcting part numbers, and revising material specifications. The fastener BOM was closed, leaving only the harnessing section outstanding. Julius committed the transport case foam insert information note, closing QGB-06. Alex’s PR landed at month’s end with the QuiverHub V1 information note and a consolidated SDK developer guide, completing all M1-M3 milestones under QGB-FLEX. The team also merged a consolidated firmware build and structured parameter set for the flight controller covering base configuration, Ethernet networking, and obstacle avoidance overlays. Relay startup guidance for the Pilot’s Handbook was committed the same day.
On the hardware side, Thomas completed the batch assembly with parts costs coming in approximately $700 below BOM estimates. The savings came primarily from part substitutions where cheaper equivalents were sourced without compromising the build. Julius resolved the GPS issue carried from March and attributed it to a CAN ID conflict, not 4G RF interference. Two devices had been assigned the same CAN ID and fixing it restored GPS with the Raspberry Pi installed. Whether the 4G hat itself introduces interference is still unconfirmed and a controlled test is pending. Two separate hardware investigations ran through the month. The Elephant Mountain crashed drone was bench tested with all motors confirmed functional despite the impact, and no root cause was identified for the crash. Gray’s drone developed a 12V rail failure following a battery PCB replacement, with DC-DC converter damage as the suspected cause. Thomas began harvesting parts from the Elephant Mountain unit for a Franken-drone rebuild while Gray’s unit remained under diagnosis. KBM also produced a plan for the enclosure push button relocation, moving it to the opposite side of the battery connector using a fill and cut approach to avoid touching the parametric Fusion timeline.
QuiverHub completed internal testing with Julius and OTA firmware updates and remote log downloads were both confirmed operational. The team opened a discussion on deployment environment, with Julius preferring a locally hosted setup over a cloud environment. Security boundaries between the two approaches were flagged for clarification before a production decision is made. On the regulatory side, Remote ID is partially working. Location data and drone name are visible in the broadcast, but real time telemetry confirmation is still outstanding and the ground station requires a GPS phone application or Raspberry Pi script to supply operator location. Arrow will likely need to file a Declaration of Compliance with the FAA and Erick began coordinating with Thomas on the paperwork. An attempt to file through the FAA website hit a browser rendering issue on Firefox and escalation to an alternative browser or direct FAA contact was flagged as the next step.
The first California test flight happened at month’s end with Zeynep present. The main issue was an unreliable radio and GCS connection. The flight triggered radio failsafe and GCS failsafe, sending the aircraft into RTL. The drone did not crash, but the team agreed the process should not be repeated without resolving the link first. Zeynep identified the HM30 as the primary concern and plans to check data transfer versus charging mode, Bluetooth versus wired behavior, and SIYI Assistant software before the next Mojave test. She also flagged that sensor calibration had drifted after shipment and is recommending mandatory recalibration after transport as a standard step for all loaner and devkit deployments. A first flight sequence and checklist is being prepared for GitHub. Around the same time, Zeynep analyzed an anomaly on Gray’s drone where an autonomous mission produced an unexpected jerk and twitch. She confirmed it was a command overlap at a waypoint, specifically simultaneous deceleration, yaw, and altitude change, and not a mechanical or electrical failure. Both findings are feeding directly into how the team is structuring the flight incentive program, which assigns reward categories to data that is currently missing or poorly understood. The categories cover wind and performance envelope testing, endurance metrics, maximum speed runs, payload experiments, survey missions, companion computer flights, and obstacle avoidance scenarios. The team also discussed reaching out to adjacent communities like Rocket Pool to bring in new hardware contributors through the bounty program.
3. Documentation
The following information notes were completed and committed to GitHub during April:
The month’s documentation work also centered on completing and merging the major guides that were in progress from March.
Completed and merged to main in April:
- Harnessing guide
- Engineering report
- Pilot’s Handbook (Remote ID phone GPS instructions pending)
- Maintenance guide
- Assembly guide
- Developer SDK guide (Alex)
Remaining open under QGB-01:
- Manufacturing guide (harnessing section remaining)
- Platform comprehensive engineering report
4. Goals for Next Month
- Ship replacement charger to Ben and Boosh.
- Resolve HM30 connection issue before next Mojave test (data transfer vs charging mode, Bluetooth vs wired, SIYI Assistant).
- Complete connection troubleshooting session with Ben and Boosh.
- Publish first flight sequence and checklist to GitHub (Zeynep).
- Add mandatory post-shipment sensor recalibration to devkit deployment process.
- Close manufacturing guide under QGB-01 (harnessing section remaining).
- Add final images and weight breakdown to the engineering report.
- Resolve Remote ID DOC filing (FAA form submission, browser issue escalation if needed).
- Finalize flight incentive program structure and open to external operators.
- Evaluate whether ArduPilot can dynamically adjust speed and flight limits based on wind conditions.
- Assign and begin obstacle avoidance and endurance metrics testing bounties with Ben and Boosh.
- Resolve Gray’s drone 12V rail failure.
- Complete controlled 4G hat interference retest.
- Correct radar and HM-30 CAD orientation and push updated ArduPilot parameters.
- Evaluate attachment interface supply risk and determine order quantity or replacement path.
- Progress Quiver Python SDK development.
- Complete V1 actuated payload latch bounty.
- Progress multispectral camera payload bounty.
- Launch Quiver sales page and begin marketing push to convert dev-kit interest into sales.
- Expand bounty outreach to adjacent communities (Rocket Pool and similar) to attract new hardware contributors.
- Develop floodlight attachment.
- Begin product refinement based on field feedback.
5. Budget & Resource Allocation
Team Members Compensation:
The core team continued on commitment grants in April under the grants & bounties model.
April 2026 — Total Budget: $8,760 USDC + 25,000 $ARROW
| Category | Budget |
|---|---|
| Commitment Grants | $8,760 USDC |
| Flight Test Campaign | 10,000 $ARROW |
| Retroactive Grants | 15,000 $ARROW |
Commitment Grants — $8,760 USDC
| Contributor | Grant (USDC) |
|---|---|
| Erick | $3,000 |
| Julius | $1,280 |
| Zeynep | $1,280 |
| Alperen | $1,280 |
| KBM | $960 |
| Alex | $960 |
Grants & Bounties
Technical milestone bounties continue to be funded from USDC reserves carried forward from March ($26,240 USDC). $4,493.50 has been paid to date across both months, leaving $21,746.50 across open bounties.
| ID | Name | Reward | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| QGB-01 | Documentation Wrap-Up | $10,000 |  In Progress — manufacturing guide remaining |
| QGB-02 | Obstacle Avoidance System | $4,000 |  Open — blocked pending Top360 LiDAR resolution; Ben & Boosh identified as candidates |
| QGB-03 | Endurance Metrics Study | $600 | Open — Ben & Boosh identified as candidates |
| QGB-04 | Wind Limit Study | $3,000 | Open — Zeynep to analyze existing flight data to establish initial wind range |
| QGB-05 | Attachment Development | $3,000 | Open — off the shelf component approach confirmed for V1 |
| QGB-05a | V1 Actuated Payload Latch | $500 | Open — milestone-based ($150 / $150 / $200) |
| QGB-06 | Transport Case | $1,000 |  Paid April 20 |
| QGB-FLEX | Open Bounty Bucket | $4,640 | In Progress — $1,729.50 USDC paid, $500 USDC assigned (Camera Bounty), $2,410.50 USDC remaining |
| QGB-FLEX | Multispectral Camera Payload | $500 | Open — flagged as overdue for claiming |
| QGB-FLEX | QuiverHub V1 Completion & Release | $1,080 USDC + 600 $ARROW | Paid — Alex, all milestones (M1-M3) closed in April |
QGB-01 Breakdown
| Item | Allocation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Dev-Kit Information Notes | $775 USDC | Paid |
| Liquidity Pool Seeding | $989 USDC | Paid |
| Manufacturing Guide | $2,000 USDC | Open |
| Engineering Report | $1,000 USDC | Merged — payment pending final images and weight breakdown |
| Pilot’s Handbook | $1,000 USDC | Merged — payment pending field driven updates |
| Developer SDK | Unpriced | Quick-start merged — payment pending field driven updates and M4 & M5 (Alex) |
| Maintenance Guide | Unpriced | Merged — payment pending field driven updates |
| Unassigned Funds | $4,236 USDC | After priced items |
Retroactive Grants — 15,000 $ARROW
| Contributor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total Reserve | 15,000 $ARROW |
| Thomas | 2,000 $ARROW |
| Zeynep | 1,000 $ARROW |
| Alex | 950 $ARROW (600 paid — QuiverHub V1, 350 pending) |
| Julius | 750 $ARROW |
| KBM | 650 $ARROW |
| Alperen | 650 $ARROW |
| Ben | 350 $ARROW |
| Boosh | 350 $ARROW |
| Erick | 300 $ARROW |
| Remaining | 8,000 $ARROW |
Flight Test Campaign — 10,000 $ARROW
To be distributed based on logs uploaded to the flight tracking platform. Reward tiers and participation mechanics to be defined through team meetings.
Total:
The April budget request was $8,760 USDC + 25,000 $ARROW approved from the Arrow treasury. Paid during the month: $8,760 USDC in commitment grants, $1,000 USDC for QGB-06 (transport case), and $1,080 USDC + 600 $ARROW for QGB-FLEX QuiverHub V1 milestones. The remaining USDC reserve is held for open bounties. Retroactive grant amounts have been determined as shown above, with 7,500 $ARROW held in reserve. The 10,000 $ARROW flight test campaign distribution is pending finalization of reward tiers and participation mechanics.