Autonomous Aerial Systems

Spectre Aviation

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Flagship Project

Project Horizon.

Our autonomous search & rescue drone — thermal, LiDAR, and onboard AI, for a fraction of commercial cost. Tap to explore.

What we do

Autonomous flight, applied to the real world.

We’re making advanced UAV technology genuinely accessible — open-source flight stacks, onboard AI, and hands-on hardware that gets deployed.

Autonomous Flight
Aircraft that take off, navigate, and land on their own — no pilot required.
AI & Computer Vision
Onboard perception — real-time detection, tracking, and 3D mapping on the aircraft.
Real-World Deployment
Designed to work alongside first responders — putting our technology where it matters most.
Who we are

Two builders. One mission.

Founded by two 17-year-old engineers from Howard County, Maryland, united by a belief that powerful technology should be capable, accessible, and built to make a real difference.

Vedansh Patel
Vedansh Patel
Co-Founder
Vedansh is a student engineer with experience in aerospace engineering, robotics, CAD design, and manufacturing. As founder of the Mount Hebron Aerospace Club and a leader in multiple STEM initiatives, he is passionate about building innovative technologies that solve real-world challenges. Through Project Spectre, he helps design and develop advanced search-and-rescue drone systems for emergency response applications.
Vihaan Sammeta
Vihaan Sammeta
Co-Founder
I've always been fascinated by how engineering can solve real problems. From robotics competitions and research internships to leading STEM education initiatives, I've spent years exploring how technology can create meaningful impact. As the founder of Horizon Aviation and co-creator of Project Spectre, I'm focused on building search-and-rescue drone systems that help first responders reach people faster when time is critical.
Contact

Let’s build something.

Sponsors, mentors, or just curious — we’d love to hear from you.

Get in touch
Spectre Aviation · Howard County, MD · © 2026
Project
Horizon
Search and rescue, reimagined.
An autonomous search-and-rescue drone with thermal vision, LiDAR mapping, and onboard AI — currently being engineered to deliver professional capability at a fraction of the cost.
Development Progress20%
Design & parts finalized · fundraising to build the first prototype
Discover Horizon Tech specs ›
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When every second counts, Horizon is being built to already be in the air.

Professional-grade search and rescue capability — currently in development by two students, engineered from the ground up to stay affordable for any fire department.

Horizon drone
By the numbers

Outperforms drones costing 10× more.

25m
LiDAR sensing
100ft
Cruise altitude
360°
Scan coverage
$2.2k
Total cost
Capabilities

Four systems. One mission.

Thermal Detection

See heat through smoke and darkness.

A FLIR Lepton 3.5 thermal core detects human heat signatures through smoke, darkness, and light foliage — finding people that ordinary cameras miss.

AI Human Detection

Onboard intelligence that finds people.

A YOLOv8 neural network runs live on both thermal and daylight feeds, identifying humans and streaming their GPS coordinates to the ground station in real time.

ATOL
ATOL · Flagship Capability

Automatic takeoff and landing.

One command launches the entire mission. Horizon handles takeoff, search, and a precision GPS-guided landing entirely on its own — airborne in seconds, no pilot required.

LiDAR Terrain Mapping

Real-time 3D awareness.

A 360° RPLiDAR S2 paired with FAST-LIO2 SLAM builds live 3D maps of the environment, letting Horizon navigate rubble, structures, and dense woodland autonomously. The LiDAR senses obstacles out to 25m, while GPS-guided waypoint flight lets the drone range well beyond that.

Everything it needs. Nothing it doesn’t.

Autonomous Grid Search
Flies programmable search patterns over any defined area, hands-free.
Night Operations
High-power LED arrays and thermal vision for zero-visibility conditions.
Failsafe Systems
Auto return-to-home on low battery or signal loss, with geofencing.
Live Telemetry
Real-time video, detections, and flight data streamed to the ground.
Tech Specs

Engineered to find people.

Frame & Flight
FrameiFlight Nazgul Evoque V2 F6X
Flight ControllerMatek H743-WING · ArduPilot
MotorsEMAX Eco II 2807 1300KV ×4
BatteryOVONIC 6S 4000mAh ×2
Intelligence
ComputeRaspberry Pi 5 · 8GB
AI ModelYOLOv8 Human Detection
MappingFAST-LIO2 SLAM
AutonomyATOL · Auto Takeoff/Land
FrameworkROS2 Humble · MAVROS
Sensors
Primary LiDARRPLiDAR S2 · 25m 360°
Altitude LiDARBenewake TF02 Pro · 40m
ObstacleBenewake TF-Luna ×2
GPSHolybro M10 · u-blox
Optics & Comms
ThermalFLIR Lepton 3.5
DaylightRunCam Split 4
GimbalStorm32 BGC 2-axis
VideoWalksnail Avatar HD 32GB
TelemetryHolybro SiK V3 915MHz
Bill of Materials

Complete transparency. Every part, every price.

Every component, sourced and price-verified.

iFlight Nazgul Evoque V2 F6XFrame
$130
Matek H743-WING V3Flight Controller
$100
EMAX Eco II 2807 1300KV ×4Motors
$105
Raspberry Pi 5 8GBCompanion Computer
$80
RPLiDAR S2Primary LiDAR · 25m 360°
$320
FLIR Lepton 3.5 + PureThermal 3Thermal Camera
$300
Benewake TF02 ProAltitude LiDAR
$90
Benewake TF-Luna ×2Obstacle Sensors
$60
RunCam Split 4Daylight Camera
$70
Walksnail Avatar HD VTX 32GBVideo Transmit
$155
Storm32 BGC 2-axis GimbalGimbal
$64
Radiomaster Ranger Micro ELRSRC Link
$60
Holybro SiK V3 915MHzTelemetry
$59
Holybro M10 GPSGPS / Compass
$44
OVONIC 6S 4000mAh ×2Batteries
$103
Matek FCHUB-12S + INA228Power System
$56
LED Array, Speaker & ConnectorsSearch Lighting & Audio
$36
Total Build~$2,200
The Team

Built by two seventeen-year-olds.

Vedansh Patel
Vedansh Patel
Co-Founder, Spectre Aviation
Vedansh is a student engineer with experience in aerospace engineering, robotics, CAD design, and manufacturing. As founder of the Mount Hebron Aerospace Club and a leader in multiple STEM initiatives, he is passionate about building innovative technologies that solve real-world challenges. Through Project Spectre, he helps design and develop advanced search-and-rescue drone systems for emergency response applications.
Vihaan Sammeta
Vihaan Sammeta
Co-Founder, Spectre Aviation
I've always been fascinated by how engineering can solve real problems. From robotics competitions and research internships to leading STEM education initiatives, I've spent years exploring how technology can create meaningful impact. As the founder of Horizon Aviation and co-creator of Project Spectre, I'm focused on building search-and-rescue drone systems that help first responders reach people faster when time is critical.
Get Involved

Help bring Horizon to life.

We’re looking for sponsors and supporters to help put life-saving technology in the hands of local first responders.

Get in touch