Technology
VERA: an image with proven age.
VERA is our own protocol. The name comes from the Latin verus, meaning true. Today’s systems leave the last frame on screen during an outage, looking live. VERA either proves every frame or rejects it.
01
Latency is not enough
Network latency
The time a packet takes to cross the network. It is only one leg of the journey, and vendors measure it differently.
Image age
The time from frame exposure on the drone to its display to the operator. This is the number that matters when flying.
Proof of age
An age the station verifies for every single frame and records. Not an average from a datasheet.
02
The time contract
Every frame carries two pieces of information: when it was created and until when it is valid. From these the station determines one of three states.
Frame age is below the deadline. The operator sees the present.
The image is still verified but ageing. The cockpit shows it and recommends more careful flight.
Age cannot be guaranteed. A neutral screen with the reason instead of a frozen frame.
03
Three mechanisms
Two networks at once
With the Brain Duo concept every frame travels through two operators. The copy that arrives first counts.
Deadline for commands
A command carries the number of the frame the operator saw. The drone computes the loop age and does not execute a late command.
Neutral screen
When the age exceeds the deadline, the station switches to a neutral screen with the reason. Measured internally within 2.72 ms.
04
Time budget
Frame age is the sum of steps from light on the sensor to light on the display. Example for the 240 fps profile, 5G and a 240 Hz panel.
| Transmitter: sensor, ISP, encoder | 10.0 ms | O |
| Network 5G, one way | 12.0 ms | O |
| Receiver and decoder | 0.5 ms | O |
| Path to the 240 Hz display | 3.2 ms | O |
| Waiting for the next frame, average | 2.1 ms | O |
| Total, average | 27.8 ms | O |
At 20 m/s the drone covers in this time 0.56 m.
Calculated from the VERA v1.1 protocol plan. All values are estimates; the network figure is a working one-way latency. Real values will come from measurement.
05
A 20-byte header
Every video packet starts with a 160-bit VERA header. Three fields carry time.
| Field | Bits | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Version | 4 | Protocol version. Lets the format evolve without confusing the receiver. |
| Type | 4 | Packet type: video, parity, ping, feedback or command. |
| Flags | 8 | Last fragment, key frame, start of a recovery wave and path A or B. |
| Stream ID | 8 | Distinguishes several cameras and the second network path. |
| Frame number | 16 | Frame order. The operator command is bound to this number. |
| Fragment | 4 | Fragment order within the frame. |
| Count | 4 | How many fragments make up the frame. |
| FEC | 8 | Parity group and index. Repairs losses within one frame without waiting. |
| t_exp | 32 | Mid-exposure time in µs on the drone clock. Age is counted from it. |
| t_send − t_exp | 16 | How long the transmitter took, for every frame. |
| GDR wave | 8 | Recovery wave position. The receiver knows when the image is whole again after a loss. |
| Band | 8 | Image band index. Lets only the damaged part be hidden. |
| Profile | 8 | Profile and deadline ID. The deadline travels with the frame and is never extended. |
| CRC-16 | 16 | Header check. A damaged packet is rejected immediately. |
| Reserved | 16 | Room for future fields without a version change. |
We share the detailed protocol plan with partners on request.
06
Measured and target
We show the real state. Every number is labelled.
- Zmeasured internally
- Mmanufacturer data, not verified by AKIZU
- NAKIZU design
- Ctarget
- Pplan
- Odesign estimate
- Unot yet known
| Item | Value | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Full chain, median (WiFi, phone as transmitter) | 64.6 ms | Z |
| Full chain, p99 (WiFi, phone as transmitter) | 87.4 ms | Z |
| Switch to neutral screen after stream loss | ≤ 2.72 ms | Z |
| Receiver: frame → GPU, p50 | 0.3 ms | Z |
| LET-1: p99 image age on a real drone | ≤ 50 ms | C |
| KVAL-1: qualification target | ≤ 25 ms | C |
| 3GPP: video for BVLOS control | 140 ms | 3GPP standard requirement |
| 3GPP: C2 commands | 40 ms | 3GPP standard requirement |
07
Qualification gates
- Q4 2026Optical measurementImage age verified with an independent optical instrument.
- Q1 2027LET-1 on VOXL 2p99 image age under 50 ms on a real drone.
- Q2 2027Stability on 5GAt least 95 % of time in the Valid state.
- Q3 2027First paid pilotDeployment with a partner.
In more detail
When the image is not valid
A failure should be visible. Silence is not a state.
If age passes the contract, Direct does not keep the last frame. It shows a neutral screen and the reason. An old image that looks live is worse than an empty screen.
When one network fails, the frame goes via the other. When neither is valid, a command from that frame should not be executed. A radio backup that would remain after both networks fail is not yet in the design.
The header carries the frame number. A command should be joinable to what the operator saw. Without that the record is a video, not evidence.
Bring to the meeting
- Valid, or not.
- A reason, not a frozen scene.
- A log of the switch.
This is not
- Resistance to every kind of jamming.
- A weapon system.
- A replacement for the pilot.
In more detail
What VERA is not yet
VERA is a protocol design, not an approved standard.
It carries age from exposure to the panel. It is not network latency and not the average delay of a codec.
We do not have a place in an EASA or 3GPP standard. An ambition is not a confirmation.
Licensing for other makers is a plan for 2028. Until that day the chain is our design, checked at the gates, not a product on a shelf.
Bring to the meeting
- Frame age.
- State.
- The number a command is tied to.
This is not
- An approved standard.
- A guarantee of 50 ms on every network.
- A replacement for the C2 link.
Explore
Explore every area and the other sections
Twelve solution areas and the sections that belong with them. The case studies are illustrations, not completed deployments.
Solutions
Other sections
Book a demo
See how old your image really is.
We will show the system live or measure the image age on your drone.