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This project is intended to enable people in resource-poor environments to create and operate capable Umanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with minimal reliance on infrastructure and mail-order shopping. The underlying goal is to facilitate mapping of remote, vulnerable, or simply economically poor areas such as sub-Saharan Africa by citizens and civil society.

This project is not intended to compete with the kits or ready-made UAVs available in high-income countries, it's intended for those whose local access to high-tech material is minimal. While some mail-order shopping is unavoidable, this design attempts to rely on only the smallest amount of shipped material, using locally-sourced (and hopefully inexpensive) materials as much as possible. For example, the current H-quad design makes use of insulation foam for the fuselage, and any type of 15-mm rod or tube for the motor mounts.

The key to this design philosophy is 3D-printed parts to hold it all together. A few well-designed, small, light plastic parts can hold the rest of the materials together, reducing the mail-order requirements to a bare minimum.