Design and Development of an Autonomous Navigation Drone with Camera-Based Monitoring Using GPS Waypoint Control

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have gained widespread attention due to their ability to perform automated aerial operations efficiently across various applications. This paper presents the design and development of a cost-effective autonomous navigation drone capable of executing waypoint-based missions using GPS-assisted flight control. The proposed system is built on an F450 quadcopter frame integrated with a Radiolink Pix6 flight controller and TS100 GPS module for accurate positioning and autonomous navigation. The drone utilizes brushless DC motors, electronic speed controllers (ESCs), and a LiPo battery power system to achieve stable flight performance and efficient power management. A Skydroid T10 transmitter is used for mission configuration and manual override, while autonomous flight modes enable the drone to follow predefined paths with minimal human intervention. An onboard camera system is incorporated to support aerial monitoring, surveillance, and data collection applications. The system demonstrates reliable flight stabilization, multi-waypoint navigation capability, and practical usability for real-world operations such as environmental monitoring, inspection, and surveillance tasks.

Introduction

The research focuses on the design and development of a cost-effective autonomous UAV (quadcopter) using commercially available components such as an F450 frame, Radiolink Pix6 flight controller, TS100 GPS module, brushless motors, ESCs, and a LiPo battery. Autonomous drones use GPS-based waypoint navigation and flight controllers to maintain stability and perform missions with minimal human intervention, improving accuracy, repeatability, and safety compared to manual drones. The system integrates an onboard camera for real-time aerial monitoring, making it suitable for applications like surveillance, mapping, environmental monitoring, and inspections.

The methodology includes hardware assembly, calibration, and waypoint programming, with components designed for efficient and stable flight: brushless motors for thrust, ESCs for speed control, propellers for lift, GPS for positioning, and a flight controller for autonomous operation. The project demonstrates that affordable autonomous UAVs can be built using modular, off-the-shelf components while providing reliable performance for research and practical applications.

Conclusion

This research presented the design and development of a cost-effective autonomous navigation drone using commercially available components. The system successfully integrates an F450 quadcopter frame, Radiolink Pix6 flight controller, GPS module, brushless motors, ESCs, and a camera module to achieve stable and automated flight operations. The drone demonstrated reliable flight stability, accurate waypoint navigation, and effective aerial monitoring capability. The project validates that autonomous UAV systems can be developed using affordable hardware while maintaining functional reliability. The developed platform provides a strong foundation for future research involving intelligent navigation, computer vision, and advanced automation technologies.

References

Austin, R., Unmanned Aircraft Systems: UAV Design, Development and Deployment, Wiley Publications, 2010. [2] Beard, R. W., & McLain, T. W., Small Unmanned Aircraft: Theory and Practice, Princeton University Press, 2012. [3] Bouabdallah, S., Murrieri, P., & Siegwart, R., “Design and Control of an Indoor Micro Quadrotor,” IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2004. [4] PX4 Autopilot Documentation, Available: https://px4.io [5] Radiolink Official Documentation and User Manuals, Available: https://www.radiolink.com [6] UAV Coach, “Drone Flight Controller Basics and Autonomous Navigation,” Online Technical Resource.

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Parth Patil, Zoya Bagsiraj, Kanishka Pillay, Rudra Sharma . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.