Project Quiver — May 2026 Progress Report
1. Executive Summary
May moved Quiver from documentation and shipping into hands on flight readiness. Thomas shipped the Houston build, a Quiver airframe with the MK32 controller. Through the month the Houston build moved through SITL practice with Zeynep toward a first ground run and flight test, putting project leadership directly on the controls to de-risk field operations.
The documentation effort shifted from writing new guides to restructuring the manufacturing guide, which had grown too long. Harnessing and PCB assembly are being split into separate documents, and a new “Build on Quiver” track opened for an attachment developer guide. Julius completed the failed PCB inspection and produced a working hypothesis for Gray’s 12V rail failure tied to the precharge circuit, along with a concrete relay closing mitigation. The attachment interface supply risk surfaced as a priority late in the month, with the current off the shelf latch facing discontinuation and a redesign now being scoped that is also relevant to Spearhead.
The combined May and June funding proposal was approved. A marketing and discovery effort began, and proposal goals are moving into tracked GitHub issues.
2. Project Progress
Team Formation
The core team structure carried over from April. 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:
Flight readiness. Thomas shipped the Houston build, a Quiver airframe with the MK32 controller, ahead of two weeks of travel so flight testing could continue while he was away. Zeynep set up a SITL practice environment, and the Houston build ran simulator practice through the month. Practice surfaced throttle over control, a possible yaw or remote dead zone, and oscillation in SITL, which Zeynep reviewed from the uploaded logs. The ground control station workflow was validated in simulation, running QGroundControl on the MK32 while Mission Planner ran on the computer, with both reflecting the simulation correctly. By month end the work moved toward physical preparation: reviewing all drone and PCB connections, completing flight controller setup with Zeynep, powering on to verify the system, and preparing a ground run with a first flight to follow.
Documentation. The manufacturing guide had grown too long, so harnessing and PCB assembly are moving into separate documents while wire routing stays in the main devkit assembly. Thomas drove the harnessing cleanup, with the bottom and side attachment harnesses flagged as the remaining detail work because of the 12 wire pinout. First time setup documentation opened to cover ESC setup, flight controller setup, RPi setup, CAN ID assignment, motor LED colors, Remote ID, ethernet, and the first boot firmware and parameter workflow that had lived in conversation. Thomas opened a “Build on Quiver” track for an attachment developer guide covering the payload and attachment interface, available electrical features, and flight controller integration basics. Alperen opened a PR to correct two bolt issues and asked for the guide images to be checked during a real assembly, so the team can capture replacement photos where any are unclear.
Hardware. Julius completed the failed PCB inspection. One main PCB had a badly soldered connector that was repaired. A second main PCB has a shorted DC-DC converter that needs replacement. The battery connector PCB showed heated and discolored precharge resistors. Julius’s working hypothesis is that the system stayed in precharge mode too long, heating the precharge resistors and dropping voltage enough to fail the 12V DC-DC converter. This aligns with Gray’s 12V rail failure carried from April. The mitigation is a relay or SSR closing procedure for future flights so the system does not remain in precharge too long, captured in a formal issue and failure log rather than scattered Discord threads. Julius also believes the earlier 4G shield concern was CAN ID related rather than RF interference and will retest and close the issue if resolved. Separately, Julius reported good early flights from Kestrel, a smaller Quiver like platform that runs mostly standard ArduPilot parameters and can carry the full Quiver sensor set, making it a lower risk development platform for contributors who cannot practically fly a full size Quiver.
Attachment interface. The current off the shelf interface may be discontinued, and the supplier implied the current batch could be the last. The team wants this solved before many units are in the field and retrofit cost grows. The current interface works but has drawbacks: sticky latch engagement that dust worsens, awkward access depending on payload, and single source supply. Concepts under discussion include a rotate to lock mechanism, a load bearing bridge from KBM where fixed mounting points carry the load and a rotating piece engages the attachment, and a sheet metal load path with 3D printed parts for electrical isolation and protection. The PCB based electrical interface between drone and attachment will be preserved and protected from dust and shorts. The design likely needs a mechanical designer, and an attachment interface bounty will be drafted if no off the shelf option fits. Alperen flagged that the decision matters for Spearhead too, since he wants to reuse a similar interface there.
Governance and direction. The combined May and June funding proposal was approved. A Quiver marketing and discovery effort began, focused first on discovery rather than a full campaign: case studies, West Texas and Javelina operating data, customer information, and questions for Thomas on cost per acre, mission duration, and work per battery pack. Getting the Quiver sales page live on the website is open, with Gavin currently holding access. Alperen registered STORK as a UAV in Turkey, clearing it to apply for flights outside prohibited zones.
3. Documentation
May documentation work focused on restructuring and extending the existing suite rather than authoring new standalone guides.
Restructuring and cleanup:
- Manufacturing guide split: harnessing and PCB assembly moving into separate documents, with wire routing kept in the main devkit assembly flow.
- Bottom and side attachment harness documentation improved by Thomas, with the 12 wire pinout cases flagged as the remaining detail work.
- Manufacturing guide bolt corrections (Alperen, PR in review).
- Process rule adopted: design changes carry a matching manufacturing guide update in the same PR.
New documentation opened:
- First time setup sections: ESC setup, flight controller setup, RPi setup, CAN ID assignment, motor LED colors, Remote ID, ethernet, and the first boot firmware and parameter workflow, drafted from the Houston build bring-up.
- Attachment Developer Guide under “Build on Quiver” covering the payload and attachment interface, available electrical features, and flight controller integration basics (Thomas).
- SITL and physical setup findings documented from the Houston build.
- First-flight sequence and checklist in preparation (Zeynep).
Remaining open under QGB-01:
- Manufacturing guide first-time setup section (rolled forward).
- Platform comprehensive engineering report.
- Engineering report final images and weight breakdown.
4. Goals for June
Mirrors the approved May and June funding proposal, carrying forward items still open at the end of May.
- Resolve the HM30 radio and GCS link before the next Mojave flight (data transfer vs charging mode, Bluetooth vs wired, SIYI Assistant).
- Complete the first flight of the Houston build following MK32 and SITL practice.
- Publish the first-flight sequence and checklist to GitHub (Zeynep).
- Add mandatory post shipment sensor recalibration to the Pilot’s Handbook.
- Add first time setup documentation (ESC, flight controller, RPi, CAN IDs, motor LED colors, RID, ethernet, first boot firmware and parameters).
- Document the attachment developer guide under “Build on Quiver.”
- Finish the bottom attachment harness documentation and complete the manufacturing guide split.
- Audit manufacturing guide build photos and replace where unclear.
- Resolve Gray’s drone 12V rail failure and replace the failed main PCB DC-DC converter.
- Confirm whether battery PCB temperature logging exists on Gray’s current firmware.
- Complete the controlled 4G hat RF interference retest and close the issue if resolved.
- Correct radar and HM-30 CAD orientation and push updated ArduPilot parameters.
- Resolve the attachment interface supply risk, determine order quantity or replacement path, and define bounty constraints if a redesign is needed.
- Build a formal issue and failure log to replace scattered Discord threads.
- Queue the May and June funding multisig transaction and create GitHub issues for proposal goals.
- Run the marketing and sales page discovery bounty ($375 from QGB-FLEX) and improve bounty visibility through Discord.
- Get the Quiver sales page live on the website (Gavin).
- Progress open USDC bounties: obstacle avoidance (QGB-02), endurance metrics (QGB-03), wind limit study (QGB-04), attachment development (QGB-05).
- Complete the V1 actuated payload latch (QGB-05a) and the V1 multispectral camera payload (QGB-FLEX).
- Scope V1 of the floodlight attachment.
- Complete the FAA Declaration of Compliance filing.
- Begin product refinement based on field feedback (packaging, setup, adaptive parameters).
5. Budget & Resource Allocation
Team Members Compensation:
The core team continued on commitment grants in May under the grants & bounties model.
May 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 |
Note. Commitment and retroactive grants were requested for May and June together in a single combined funding proposal to bring funding back on schedule after a late filing. The amounts shown here are the May portion. The Flight Test Campaign 10,000 $ARROW carries forward from April with no new ask.
Disbursement status. As of this report, no May funds have been disbursed. The treasury to multisig transfer for the combined May and June request ($17,520 USDC + 30,000 $ARROW) has not yet been executed. May commitment grants and the May retroactive distribution follow once that transfer is made. The figures in this section are approved allocations, not amounts paid.
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 the USDC reserve carried forward from March ($26,240 USDC). $4,493.50 has been paid, leaving $21,746.50 across open bounties. No new USDC bounty allocations were requested for May or June.
| ID | Name | Reward | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| QGB-01 | Documentation Wrap-Up | $10,000 |  In Progress — manufacturing guide split, first-time setup and attachment developer guide remaining |
| QGB-02 | Obstacle Avoidance System | $4,000 |  Open — Top360 LiDAR resolution is a blocker |
| QGB-03 | Endurance Metrics Study | $600 | Open — Ben & Boosh candidates |
| QGB-04 | Wind Limit Study | $3,000 | Open — Zeynep to analyze existing flight data and integrate wind tracking as a flight tracking app feature |
| QGB-05 | Attachment Development | $3,000 | Open — off the shelf approach confirmed for V1, interface supply risk under review |
| 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 paid, $500 assigned (Camera) + $375 assigned (Marketing Discovery), $2,035.50 remaining |
| QGB-FLEX | Multispectral Camera Payload | $500 | Open — MAPIR Survey3N RGN mount, milestone-based ($150 / $150 / $200), flagged overdue for claiming |
| QGB-FLEX | Marketing & Sales Page Discovery | $375 | Open — Erick self-executing scoping doc (~5 hrs) |
| QGB-FLEX | QuiverHub V1 Completion & Release | $1,080 USDC + 600 $ARROW | Paid — Alex, all M1–M3 milestones closed in April |
QGB-01 Breakdown
| Item | Allocation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Dev-Kit Information Notes | $775 USDC | Paid |
| Liquidity Pool Seeding | $989 USDC | Paid |
| Manufacturing Guide — Alperen | $1,000 USDC | Pending payout |
| Manufacturing Guide — Erick | $700 USDC | Pending payout |
| Manufacturing Guide — First time Setup (rolled forward) | $300 USDC | Open — ESC, flight controller, RPi, CAN IDs, motor LED colors, RID, ethernet, first boot firmware/params |
| Engineering Report — Erick | $500 USDC | Pending payout |
| Platform Engineering Report (reserved) | $500 USDC | Open |
| Pilot’s Handbook | $1,000 USDC | Merged — payment pending field driven updates |
| Developer SDK | Unpriced | Quick-start merged — pending field updates and M4 & M5 (Alex) |
| Maintenance Guide | Unpriced | Merged — payment pending field driven updates |
| Attachment Developer Guide | $750 USDC | Open — NEW under “Build on Quiver” |
| Unassigned Funds | $3,486 USDC | After priced items |
Retroactive Grants — 15,000 $ARROW
| Contributor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total Reserve | 15,000 $ARROW |
| Thomas | 2,100 $ARROW |
| Julius | 2,000 $ARROW |
| Zeynep | 1,500 $ARROW |
| Alperen | 750 $ARROW |
| KBM | 650 $ARROW |
| Distributed | 7,000 $ARROW |
| Held in reserve | 8,000 $ARROW |
Flight Test Campaign — 10,000 $ARROW
Carries forward from April. 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 May portion of the combined funding request is $8,760 USDC in commitment grants plus 15,000 $ARROW in retroactive grants, with the 10,000 $ARROW flight test campaign carried from April. As of this report, May funding has been approved but not yet disbursed. The treasury to multisig transfer and the May commitment grant payouts follow submission of this report. Technical bounties continue to draw from the March USDC reserve, with $21,746.50 remaining. Retroactive grant distribution is finalized at the end of the period.
I apologize for the extremely late report but thank you for reading this far 
