Ascend Labs LAB STATUS / ACTIVE R&D

ASCEND LABS

Building the future of autonomous drone systems in Africa.

We're the R&D team inside Ascend Drone Technologies. We build tools like MAVLab, test ideas safely, and help more people learn how real drone systems work.

Start with a real problem. Build enough to learn.

We work in small, practical loops. A question becomes a simulation, a prototype, and evidence we can use. The best work becomes part of Ascend's wider capability.

Ascend delivers critical supplies. Ascend Labs builds the technology, knowledge, and people behind that delivery.

How Ascend Labs works
  1. 01 Ask a useful question
  2. 02 Simulate it safely
  3. 03 Build and test
  4. 04 Share what we learned

Learn drone systems from a phone, before risking real hardware.

MAVLab runs offline on Android. The v1.6.0 refresh brings four focused views, clearer telemetry, smoother navigation and a brighter 3D twin. Fly locally, connect QGroundControl, and choose when to record a session.

[v1.6.0 RELEASED] [OFFLINE ON ANDROID] [MAVLINK 2 + QGC] [OPEN SOURCE (APACHE 2.0)]
  1. [01]
    Phone-first simulation Run physics, autopilot and the 3D twin offline on Android. Calibrated phone sensors steer the simulated vehicle through the engine.
  2. [02]
    MAVLink + QGroundControl Connect QGroundControl on the same phone or over local Wi-Fi. MAVLink 2 brings targeted acknowledgements and more resilient plan transfers.
  3. [03]
    Mission simulation Upload a plan from QGroundControl, follow progress across the four views, and inspect the received route in SIM.
MAVLab app Flight Cockpit screen showing the attitude indicator, battery and GPS status, MAVLink link state, and current mission awareness.
Refreshed Cockpit · telemetry, authority and mission context

There is more than one way into the lab.

LEARN

Grow through real technical work.

Start with a bootcamp, use the open curriculum, or follow the pathway into student projects and prototypes.

Explore the talent pathway
COLLABORATE

Bring us a practical problem.

We work with universities, health teams, builders, and institutions on scoped research, pilots, and learning programs.

Start a conversation