Building on the success of the M200 series, DJI's Matrice 300 RTK aims to redefine commercial drone operations through longer flight times, advanced payloads,  and long-range transmission.

In this post, we will take a look at the system and the sensor redundancies built-in to the M300 RTK that make it the most reliable and safe quadcopter in the world.

An Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is an essential component in an unmanned aerial system - it measures acceleration and rotation through accelerometers and gyroscopes. Combined with an Inertial Navigation System (INS), it calculates the aircraft's velocity, position, and orientation. This allows drones to fly with control and stability. 

The M300 RTK contains an industrial-grade IMU redundancy providing vibration and temperature stability in harsh environments.  It contains redundancy switching algorithms in which the backup IMU will take-over in less than 200 milliseconds when the main IMU fails. This means the drone maintains its flight integrity and keeps the operator and drone safe.

Unlike an altimeter, which reports altitude in distance above mean sea level, a barometer reports atmospheric air pressure to determine relative altitude. This will provide reliable altitude data to improve flight stability and accuracy.

The M300 RTK has a backup barometer in case the primary barometer fails - dual barometer redundancy ensures that the drone has flight stability in any environment.

A Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) system provides accuracy improvements in real-time. A base-station provides corrections through a data link to the rover (the drone). The base station is set-up on a known location (latitude, longitude, altitude) and by configuring the data link, differential corrections are sent to the drone correcting its coordinates. This RTK system allows centimeter-level metadata to be written to the images for high-accuracy mapping. It also allows the aircraft to maintain stability in the air, follow an automated flight path, and hover precisely. 

In the M300 RTK, these dual RTK antennas back-up the compasses for stable flight in complex environments. In areas with high electromagnetic interference, such as power lines or metal structures, the RTK positioning will keep the drone stable and precise. These GNSS modules support GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, and Galileo.

A compass, or magnetometer, provides the heading of the drone - it guides the drone based on magnetic field data processed by the flight controller.

The M300 RTK comes standard with two compasses so that your drone can maintain stability and heading in the event that one fails. These dual compasses are then supported by the RTK antennas where the compasses maintain heading even if the antennas are blocked or fail.

Drones with collision avoidance and/or obstacle detection are becoming commonplace in the commercial drone industry. They allow operators to perform complex and advanced missions safely and reliably. A vision sensor visually positions the UAV by sensing obstacles through AI machine vision. If these sensor pairs go down, the infrared ToF sensors and remaining vision sensor pairs keep the drone functioning normally. 

Obstacle Sensing Range:

Forward / Backward / Left / Right: 0.7 - 40 m 

Upward / Downward: 0.6 - 30 m

A ToF camera uses infrared light not visible to humans to determine real-time information on its surroundings. The sensor emits a light signal which returns to the sensor after hitting the object, recording the time taken. These sensors can be operated in low light conditions with a single pulse and give depth to the UAV's surroundings.

The Matrice 300 RTK's infrared ToF sensors maintain obstacle sensing even in low light conditions when the vision sensor pairs are not working.

The Matrice 300 RTK comes standard with 60 Hz top and bottom lights. In low light conditions, these turn on automatically to support the vision sensor system for accurate positioning.

DJI's M300 RTK uses pulse width modulation (PWM) signals for flight control system communication to the Electric Speed Controller (ESC) system. A PWM signal creates an analog signal from a digital source; square-wave signals control the ESC. The ESC is comprised of a power supply, circuit, micro controller, and a communication framework with the flight controller. This is a highly reliable signal method to ensure constant control.

In the even that either become disabled, a universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) link will take control to ensure drone stability. 

The M300 RTK features brand-new dual TB60 intelligent batteries where the aircraft can return and land safely in the event that one battery fails.

Capacity: 5,935 mAh

Voltage: 52.8 V

Maximum Charging Power: 470 W

The dual antennas on the M300 RTK ensure that one antenna is always transmitting in the event that one becomes disabled. The new Enterprise OcuSync which will jump between three different bands to get a long-range 15 km transmission distance. The drone automatically switches between bands. 

Supported bands:

2.400 to 2.4835 GHz

5.725 to 5.850 GHz

In the event that a motor malfunctions in flight, the operator still has basic control (ascending, descending, horizontal movements) to make an emergency landing with only three motors. 

With a 145° FOV and 960p live feed, the FPV system allows the operator to safely land and control the drone even if the main camera is disabled.

Like previous enterprise models, the M300 RTK is equipped with DJI AirSense which provides the operator with real-time information about airplanes and helicopters within 20 km. The operator can make informed decisions as they are provided with the position, altitude, heading, and velocity of aircraft in close distance.

It is clear that the M300 RTK was designed for the commercial drone industry. With reliable and robust hardware that is now redundant in many aspects, the DJI M300 RTK has set the standard for quadcopters in the workforce. 

The M300 RTK and Zenmuse H20 series are available for ordering from Measur now. For pricing, please contact us through our online quote request or by phone.