What was accomplished

●       The avionics team finalized the flight controller selection, choosing the Cube Orange+ for its triple-redundant IMUs and proven reliability in heavy-lift multirotor platforms.

●       Six T-Motor U8 Lite KV100 motors were selected for their high thrust-to-weight ratio, rated to support the drone's heavy payload requirements.

●       The core electrical architecture was defined around a 12S power system, using four 6S 25,000mAh semi-solid LiPo batteries wired two in series and two in parallel, paired with the Pixhawk UBEC power monitor module 2-12s 200A voltage and current sensing.

Challenges and solutions

Selecting components that work together as a matched system was the main challenge, since motor KV, ESC current rating, and battery voltage all had to align. The team cross-checked the T-Motor U8 Lite's power draw against the Alpha 60A HV ESCs' 12S rating and the battery's discharge capacity to confirm the full power chain could handle sustained heavy-lift operation without exceeding component limits

Next steps plan

Begin wiring the core power system — the 12S battery configuration, power distribution board, and connectors — and bench-test it on last year's competition drone..