Atlas Compression · Solutions
Custom video codecs for drones and unreliable networks
Drones and uncrewed systems capture video on small, power-limited hardware and send it over links that are far from ideal. Atlas Compression designs custom video codecs around those constraints instead of asking you to live with a codec built for someone else.
Why standard codecs struggle on drones
Most widely used video codecs were designed for conditions that drones rarely have. They assume capable processors, a steady power supply, and a network connection that delivers most of what is sent. A drone typically has none of these. The encoder runs on constrained hardware, the radio link changes from moment to moment, and the people watching still need usable video.
When a general-purpose codec meets those conditions, teams usually have to accept lost frames, visible breakup, or a heavier hardware design than the platform can carry. Tuning settings can help, but it does not change what the codec was built for.
What a custom codec changes
A custom codec starts from your requirements and works up. We design, build, and validate encoders and decoders around the hardware you actually fly, the bandwidth you actually have, the latency you can tolerate, and the network conditions you expect to meet.
Because the codec is designed for one job, the trade-offs can be made on purpose. You decide what matters most for your system, and the design follows from that.
- Encoders and decoders designed from your requirements, not adapted from someone else's
- Built for real-time operation on low-power hardware
- Designed to keep video usable when the network degrades
- Designed with licensing exposure in mind from the start
Built for unreliable links
Our featured project is an error-resilient encoder and decoder for a real-time video transport platform. The aim is video that stays usable on unreliable links: encoding designed so that frame loss does not cascade, and decoding that handles incomplete data gracefully.
The same thinking applies to drone and uncrewed-system video, where a dropped packet should cost you a moment of detail, not the rest of the picture.
Who this is for
We work with teams building drone and uncrewed-system platforms, and with defense and public safety organizations that need video to remain usable when networks degrade. We work with customers around the world.
Start with your constraints
Tell us what you are flying, what the link looks like, and what the operator needs to see. We will tell you what is possible.