Jan HusakPortfolio 2026
P.01 / Programme / formerly Spooker

Project Volans

Tell it a mission in plain words. Faust takes off from its Base, flies the mission, comes back, lands and charges. Nobody touches it.

Started
September 2026
Status
In progress
Team
Me and a PoliMi colleague
Scope
16 sub-projects in 4 areas
Faust v0 frame, side view drawing with heights
Fig. 1 / Faust v0, the Volans aircraft. Side view, props hiddenHeights in mm
01 / The idea

A small drone-in-a-box

Real drone-in-a-box systems sit at a site and fly on their own: a station decides where to go, the drone flies there and comes home to recharge. Volans is a small, indoor version of that, with every part designed by us.

Instead of one big project, Volans is split into sub-projects that each stand on their own, with their own question, their own result and their own page here. Some are the parts of the system, some are the tests that prove those parts work.

The name comes from Homo Volans, the flying man, the 1616 parachute design by Faust Vrančić, which pairs with the name of the drone, Faust.

02 / The loop

One mission, seven steps

Every mission runs through the same loop. Each step lists the sub-projects that make it work. Click a number to open it.

  1. 01Command

    A mission in plain words

    #06
  2. 02Check

    Limits, map, battery, failsafes

    #06#07#09
  3. 03Fly

    Faust flies it on its own

    #02#05#12#13#16
  4. 04Act

    Photo or drop at the target

    #15
  5. 05Return and land

    Back on the Base marker

    #04#10
  6. 06Charge

    Contacts, charging, shelter

    #14#17
  7. 07Report

    What happened, in numbers

    #08#10
03 / Sub-projects

Everything inside Volans

Grouped by area. Parts that are being designed now are marked; the rest are planned and will get results as they are done.

V / VehicleThe aircraft and what it carries
02Design in progress

Faust v0

The aircraft: a 5-inch quadcopter with a frame I designed in SolidWorks and print in PETG.

Vehicle
12Planned

One-axis attitude rig

A Faust arm with its motor and prop on a hinge that holds itself at a chosen angle: a safe, one-axis version of how Faust keeps level.

Vehicle
13Planned

Prop guard design study

Design the guards Faust must wear indoors and measure what they cost in thrust and weight.

Vehicle
15Planned

Faust payload release

A small hook under Faust that holds an item and drops it at the target on command.

Vehicle
16Planned

Indoor obstacle stop

A small distance sensor on Faust's nose, so it stops before a wall even if the command or the map was wrong.

Vehicle
G / GroundThe Base: landing, charging, shelter
04Design in progress

Base v0

The landing and charging station. Faust lands on it, gets centred and starts charging without anyone touching it.

Ground
14Planned

Base charge monitor

A small board in the Base that knows Faust landed properly, switches charging on, measures what goes in and tells Base Control.

Ground
17Phase 2

Base enclosure and lid

A box around the Base with a motorised lid: it opens before take-off and closes after landing.

Ground
S / SoftwareDeciding, flying and reporting
05In development

Faust Control and Base Control

The two programs behind Volans: Base Control decides and approves missions, Faust Control flies them.

Software
06Planned

Volans Command

Tell the drone what to do in plain words, typed or spoken, and get back a checked mission.

Software
08Planned

Faust flight log analyser

Drop in an ArduPilot log and get a one-page health report of the flight.

Software
T / Test and analysisProving it works before and after it flies
03Design in progress

Faust propulsion bench

A test stand that measures thrust, power and rpm of Faust's motor and propeller before the drone is built.

Test and analysis
07Planned

Failsafe and FMEA test campaign

Find out how Faust can fail, decide what it should do each time, and prove in the simulator that it does it.

Test and analysis
09Planned

Faust digital twin

A model of Faust that predicts hover throttle, power, endurance and payload, and a simulator set up with Faust's real numbers.

Test and analysis
10Planned

Ground-truth tracker

An outside camera that measures where Faust really flew and where it really landed.

Test and analysis
11Planned

Printed PETG: FEM vs test

Measure how stiff and strong printed PETG really is, then validate a FEM model of the Faust arm against a real bending test.

Test and analysis
04 / Where it stands

Status

  1. 01Design and simulationIn progress

    Faust frame drawn and checked, Base and bench designed, the software flying missions and precision landing in the simulator.

  2. 02Propulsion benchNext

    Real thrust and power numbers before buying the drone parts.

  3. 03Build Faust and BasePlanned

    Print, wire, first hover, Base tested by hand.

  4. 04Autonomy on the real dronePlanned

    Failsafe tests passed, then landings on the Base and full loops.

  5. 05Show itPlanned

    A short video of the loop and a write-up with measured results.

Numbers on these pages are design values and targets. Measured results will be added as each step is done.