The FPV (first-person view) hobby offers drone and RC pilots the fascinating opportunity to control their aircraft as if they were sitting in the cockpit themselves. Video technology plays a central role here: a camera mounted on the device transmits the image to the pilot in real time, allowing them to control the aircraft from a first-person perspective. This immersive experience is what makes FPV flying so appealing and requires a reliable, stable video signal to maintain precise control.
In today's FPV scene, digital video systems have greatly eclipsed the analog systems that were once widely used. Digital FPV systems offer clear advantages, particularly in terms of significantly higher image quality and stable, interference-resistant transmission. Well-known digital systems, such as those from DJI or Walksnail, deliver razor-sharp 720p or even 1080p images and enable a very stable connection over long distances. These digital systems have not only proven themselves in the freestyle sector, but also for long-range flights, where reliable transmission is crucial.
Nevertheless, there are always innovative approaches to further develop video transmission technology in the FPV hobby. One of these exciting developments is OpenIPC. OpenIPC is an open source firmware that was originally developed for IP cameras and is now being applied to FPV. While it is still under development and does not currently reach the same level of performance as commercial systems, it offers an interesting opportunity to make the hobby even more open.
IP-based cameras theoretically offer great flexibility: they allow customization and individual configurations that are often not possible with commercial systems. In addition, OpenIPC could be a cost-effective alternative in the future that is continuously improved by the community. this is similar to the ExpressLRS (ELRS) control protocol. However, the technology is not yet mature enough to get the most out of the FPV experience. Particularly in areas such as latency and stability, progress still needs to be made in order to keep up with established systems.
Nevertheless, OpenIPC shows the potential of how open source projects can influence the FPV market and create alternative ways for pilots to customize and individualize their systems.
Although OpenIPC is still under development as open source firmware, there are already some interesting FPV products that can be used in combination with this software. Two products in particular have caused a stir in the FPV community: EMAX Wyvern Link and RunCam WiFiLink. Both systems are based on OpenIPC, which makes them exciting options for experimental FPV pilots.
Note: There are currently only alpha versions of the systems presented below. You should not expect a high-quality and flawless product. The manufacturers are bringing these systems onto the market to give more people the opportunity to further develop OpenIPC systems. And not to sell a perfect product.
EMAX Wyvern Link is an OpenIPC-compatible digital video transmitter (VTX) and receiver (VRX) designed for FPV pilots looking for an affordable alternative to proprietary digital FPV systems. The receiver offers a maximum transmission power of up to 2W in the strongest version, which in combination with the strongest transmitter (800mW) should enable a significant range and stability in the video feed. And yes, the receiver also transmits with digital systems and vice versa. That's why, as Joshua Bardwell has already said, we prefer to call the receiver Groundunit and the transmitter Airunit.
So far, EMAX is also the only manufacturer in the FPV sector to offer four different OpenIPC products. In addition to the high-performance components described above, these also include cheaper products that are more likely to be used for smaller copters that require less power for transmission.
The image quality is currently limited to 720p (120fps) at around 4 Mbps, which is noticeably lower compared to the high-resolution systems from DJI or Walksnail (25-50 Mbps). This leads to blocking in fast-moving scenes and reduces the sharpness of the image during fast maneuvers.
RunCam WiFiLink is another OpenIPC-compatible product that relies on WiFi-based video streaming technology. In terms of transmission technology, it is very similar to the EMAX system, but also offers the option of Full HD transmission. However, the frame rate is then reduced to 60fps.
As with EMAX, the system is not yet suitable for professional applications, as WiFi-based solutions are more susceptible to latency problems and signal interruptions compared to traditional 5.8 GHz wireless connections.
With RunCam WiFiLink, the ground station also looks slightly different to EMAX. Reception takes place via a "classic" WiFi module, which is connected to a smartphone via USB OTG and plays back the received image.
Overall, OpenIPC offers an acceptable latency of around 25 ms, which is close to DJI FPV V1. For pilots who want to experiment more beyond the technology, EMAX and RunCam offer such promising platforms, but they do not currently operate at the same level of stability as the established systems.
To help with the development of OpenIPC, there are various ways in which the community can get involved:
Users can install OpenIPC on compatible devices and test it extensively. Feedback on bugs, performance fluctuations or potential improvements is essential to optimize the firmware. Such feedback can be shared directly on platforms such as GitHub or special FPV forums.
Anyone with programming experience (especially in C, C++ or Python) can actively contribute to improving the code. OpenIPC is an open source project that is publicly accessible on GitHub. Developers can add new features, fix existing bugs and improve the documentation.
Support through financial contributions helps the OpenIPC team to drive development forward, carry out hardware tests and cover server costs.
Participation in forums, social networks and Discord groups helps to spread knowledge and support other users during installation and use. This type of community maintenance is essential to create a growing user community.
In conclusion, we are excited to see where the journey of OpenIPC systems in the FPV world will take us. Which products there will be, which manufacturers will jump on the bandwagon and how competitive OpenIPC products will be compared to established systems such as DJI or Walksnail. Perhaps products will soon be available in our store.
Sources: OpenIPC, Oscar Liang, Joshua Bardwell, RunCam, EMAX
