[info] Read the Skydio Dock for X10 Operator Manual before flying. [/info]

[accordion heading="Operational Summary"]

These release notes provide notice of new capabilities, behavior changes, and operational considerations introduced in the Cayley software release for Dock for X10 Flight Systems. All Skydio operations conducted under this release must adhere to the guidance below to maintain compliance and ensure continued airworthiness of the Dock for X10 platform.

All personnel must review applicable items prior to flight operations to ensure continued operational safety and data compliance under the Cayley software release. Configuration verification should be completed before the next scheduled mission cycle.

[info] Read the Skydio Dock for X10 Operator Manual before flying. [/info]

Required Review by Role

ORGANIZATION ADMINS

Organization Admins are responsible for validating system configurations, encryption management, and flight policy updates before flight operations under Cayley.

• Cloud-Managed Encryption for Dock for X10 – Confirm hardware-based keys are decommissioned before enabling Cloud-managed encryption.
• Fusion+ Attachment – Validate carrier configuration and data plan assignment before deployment.
• Pathfinder with FAA Grids and Geofence Awareness – Review organizational settings under Settings > Pathfinder Boundaries to ensure FAA restriction behavior matches approved flight waivers or operational authorizations.
• Improved Night Operations – Update flight policies to define NightSense behavior during Pathfinder transits and returns.
• Hive Auto-Channel Selection – For multi-Dock sites, ensure all drones are docked prior to initiating a channel scan.
• Increased Geofence Vertex Limit – Reassess existing geofence configurations for compliance with the expanded 1,000-vertex limit.
• Faster Launch Times – Be aware that launch initiation is now approximately 10 seconds faster. Review any internal procedures or dispatch workflows that assume previous launch timing.

REMOTE PILOTS

Remote Pilots and mission operators must review changes affecting autonomy behavior, link reliability, and field procedures.

Review and familiarize with the following updates:

• New Interface Changes in Remote Flight Deck (RFD) – Before conducting live operations, review the redesigned interface, including integrated map/video views, real-time fleet visibility, updated telemetry bar, autonomy widget enhancements, and streamlined mission controls.
• Faster Launch Times — Review updated launch behavior, as aircraft will now initiate flight approximately 10 seconds sooner than previous versions. Remote Pilots should be prepared for quicker transition from dispatch to airborne operations.
• Shadow Track and Follow (Beta) — Review new autonomous tracking and following behavior for moving subjects, including altitude constraints, obstacle avoidance behavior, and limitations when operating below 60 ft AGL.
• Smarter Night Operations and Power Optimization for IR NightSense – Understand improved NightSense behavior and expected endurance improvements during night operations.
• On-Scene Battery Replacement and Return to Dock – Review operational steps and LTE connectivity requirements for field battery replacement.
• Flight Envelope Protection – Recognize automatic power-limiting behavior in cold, high-altitude, or heavy-load conditions.
• Faster Fly Here Now Flights with Obstacle Avoidance – Understand flight speed limits and battery temperature considerations when operating at 45 mph (20 m/s).
• Enhanced Telemetry for Improved Situational Awareness – Understand how AGL, camera centerpoint, and FOV data appear in telemetry displays.
• Improved Video Stability and Connectivity – Review network redundancy and recovery behavior during temporary link degradation.
• Automatic Channel Optimization for Hive Deployments – Verify Site conditions before initiating optional channel scans.

Flight System Update

[note] This update will be released gradually over the next few weeks. Do not update your system while the drone is in flight. Release notes have been updated to fix a formatting error. [/note]

Dock for X10 Flight Systems

1. Update your drone
2. Update your External Radio
3. Update your Dock
4. Perform your preflight check
5. Conduct a functional test flight 
6. Follow your organization’s process for logging Flight System Updates

[/accordion]

NEW CAPABILITIES 

Shadow Subject Track and Follow (Beta)

Shadow Track and Follow (Beta) introduces powerful subject monitoring for Dock-launched X10 missions, enabling the drone to identify, track, and optionally follow a person or vehicle with minimal operator input, even in complex, high-activity environments.

• Autonomous tracking of people or vehicles from the live video feed
• Persistent subject lock through short occlusions
• Intelligent camera framing and map-based subject visualization
• Optional autonomous following for hands-free repositioning
• Use the Shadow icon in the Action Bar to enable tracking or following
• Manual control (WASD, space, shift) remains available whenever needed

Shadow Track and Follow provides two modes for tracking subjects:

Track in Place

Maintains lock on a subject and keeps them framed in the camera, even through brief occlusions by predicting subject movement.

Follow

When enabled while tracking, the drone automatically adjusts its position, speed, and heading to maintain visual contact while moving with the subject. Obstacle avoidance must be enabled to use Follow, allowing the drone to automatically pause if a collision risk is detected.

[note] Shadow cannot run simultaneously with VPS or 3D Scan due to system constraints. Performance may be reduced in very low light conditions without NightSense.

Follow cannot be used when Obstacle Avoidance is off. Follow only operates above approximately 60 feet AGL. Below this altitude, the drone will maintain track in place rather than follow in motion. Maximum speed for Follow is 36 mph (16 m/s). [/note]

Enhanced Telemetry for Improved Situational Awareness

Skydio X10 now leverages Pathfinder’s terrain and 3D building data, enabling real-time telemetry with more detailed geospatial context. These new telemetry values are available through the Telemetry API and also displayed directly in Remote Flight Deck, including the AGL field and the blue camera frustum that visualizes the drone’s current field of view.

These telemetry improvements provide downstream systems (e.g., command-center tools, RTCC platforms, or analytics pipelines) with a reliable, real-time representation of the drone’s viewpoint and altitude relative to the surrounding environment.

• Accurate altitude reporting - Altitude Above Ground Level (AGL) is computed directly on the vehicle for improved deconfliction and situational clarity
• Mapped camera perspective - The system transmits the drone’s camera centerpoint and field-of-view (FOV) corners, allowing command centers to visualize the drone’s current view on the map
• Integrated visibility - All new data points are available through the Telemetry API for third-party visualization and analysis

[note] The AGL value becomes available once the drone is airborne and moving. Before flight, Remote Flight Deck will display the AGL based off of Mapbox terrain, and the AGL field will not be present in the API telemetry field until Pathfinder AGL can be computed.  [/note]

Site and Geofences on the Fleet Page Map

View Site boundaries and geofences directly on the Fleet Map, making is easier to visualize operational airspace, avoid overlaps, and dispatch drones within the defined boundaries across all Sites.

• Each Site appears as a labeled polygon with Keep-In (green) and Keep-Out (orange) zones
• Hover over a Site to view its name, and select it to display metadata such as Docks and drones currently assigned to that Site
• Use the Map Layers panel to toggle all Sites visibility, or filter to a single Site for focused operations
• Use the eye icon to show or hide geofence layers, or use the Show All/Hide All controls
• Selecting a drone automatically highlights its assigned Site and centers the Map View, simplifying dispatch and mission review

[note] Sites cannot be edited from the Fleet Page. Organization Admins can edit Sites via Settings > Sites. Overlapping Sites may appear visually dense at certain zoom levels, but outlines help differentiate boundaries. [/note] 

Cloud-Managed Encryption for Dock for X10

Drone data security is now managed entirely through Skydio Cloud, eliminating the need for physical encryption hardware like YubiKeys or paired Docks. FIPS 140-3 validated encryption simplifies key management for large fleets.

• Encryption keys are securely provisioned through Skydio Cloud, removing the need to distribute physical keys across teams or locations
• When a drone lands in its Dock, Skydio Cloud automatically verifies and unlocks the SD card for Media Sync and post-processing (no manual steps required)
• Authorized users can decrypt files through a browser-based workflow using organization credentials and a passphrase, maintaining full chain-of-custody compliance

Terrain-Follow in Map Capture (EAP)

Plan scans using a fixed altitude above ground level (AGL) with Terrain-Follow in Map Capture missions. This ensures consistent image overlap, sidelap, and ground sampling distance (GSD), even across uneven terrain.

• Maintain a constant AGL during capture for reliable reconstruction over changing elevations
• When creating a new Map Capture mission, select Ground (AGL) under Height Measured Above

[note] Terrain-Follow in Map Captures is currently an Early Access Program (EAP). If you would like access, please reach out to your Skydio representative or Skydio Support for setup assistance. [/note]

GET ON SCENE FASTER

Faster Fly Here Now Flights with Obstacle Avoidance

Operators can now reach speeds up to 45 mph (20 m/s) in Fly to Point missions without disabling obstacle avoidance. Respond to incidents and cover distance faster while maintaining full obstacle detection and safety features.

• Maintain protection from surrounding structures even at maximum speed
• Reach your destination more quickly during time-sensitive operations

[note] At higher speeds, battery temperature may increase, meaning performance limits may automatically adjust to preserve flight safety and efficiency. [/note]

Faster Launch Times

Launch times have been reduced by approximately 10 seconds, helping teams respond more quickly, especially during time-critical operations.

• Faster response across all mission types, including emergency calls, inspection workflows, and routine dispatch
• This improvement is automatic and applied to all Dock for X10 Flight Systems (no setup or setting configuration required)

Smarter Night Operations

Use of the NightSense attachment is critical for safe obstacle avoidance in low-light conditions, but potentially caused reduced flight times and increased battery usage.

The following improvements help DFR teams and other night operators complete longer and faster missions without sacrificing awareness or control:

• Faster nighttime transits - When using Pathfinder, Organization Admins can configure NightSense to automatically disable during transit at target altitude, reducing processing load and improving flight speed. This setting can be applied as a flight policy or adjusted in flight.
• Smarter power management - The visible-light NightSense attachment now powers down automatically during return flights to conserve battery life. Turn it back on at any time if additional illumination is needed.

Power Optimization for IR NightSense

Night flights benefit from improved endurance through intelligent power management of the infrared (IR) NightSense modules. The IR LEDs now strobe in sync with the navigation cameras instead of running continuously, cutting energy use while preserving full obstacle avoidance performance.

• Reduces battery draw from IR illumination, extending mission duration by up to 5-7 minutes during night operations
• Maintains the same level of obstacle detection and visual navigation accuracy
• Enabled by default (no setup or setting configuration required)

[note] This optimization applies only to IR NightSense modules. Visible NightSense behavior is unchanged. Strobing occurs in infrared light and is not visible to the human eye. [/note]

Flight Envelope Protection

Flight Envelope Protection (FEP) introduces a new power management system that dynamically manages speed, thrust, and battery output to deliver a smoother, more predictable flight experience. By optimizing available power in real time, even when the drone has a full set of attachments, FEP enables the drone to reach and maintain true top speeds more consistently across a wider range of conditions.

• Automatically manages power draw in cold temperatures, at high altitudes, or when carrying a full set of attachments enabling more consistent achievement of top speeds while preventing brownouts or early landings
• Extends flight time by allocating power efficiently during climbs, maneuvers, or high-load operations

[note]Top speeds may be slightly impacted in extreme cold or with high loads. [/note] 

Pathfinder with FAA Grids and Geofence Awareness

Pathfinder now integrates FAA UAS Facility Map (UASFM) airspace data and enables routing over geofences, providing more flexible, regulation-aware autonomous flight. Terrain and obstacle data allows Pathfinder to plan efficient routes over complex elevation changes, maintaining safe separation from both terrain and FAA-restricted airspace.

• Organization Admins can manage FAA restriction behavior via Settings > Pathfinder Boundaries
  • ON - FAA restrictions strictly enforced in all routes
  • OFF - FAA restrictions ignored; this can be used if the organization has approval or a waiver for custom FAA restrictions
• Pathfinder evaluates FAA grid altitude limits, terrain, and obstacle data to determine optimal routing
• When the origin or destination lies within a restricted area, the drone will:
  • Fly underneath altitude limits when possible
  • Route laterally around 0 ft and 50 ft grids
  • Adjust endpoints dynamically when the destination cannot be reached safely
• A new side-view altitude profile provides greater visibility into how Pathfinder adjusts altitude throughout a mission

[caution] When UASFM is enabled, manually flying the drone into 0 ft or 50 ft FAA grids may prevent Pathfinder from calculating a safe return path. Operators should avoid entering these restricted altitude areas during operations, or manually exit the restricted airspace before initiating a return. [/caution]

[note] FAA restriction settings are currently managed at the organization level. Pathfinder does not yet account for temporary flight restrictions (TFRs). [/note]

REMOTE FLIGHT DECK

New Remote Flight Deck Interface

A refreshed Remote Flight Deck unifies the Dispatch and Flight views into one streamlined interface, improving situational awareness and efficiency for remote pilots. The redesigned layout makes it easier to monitor active drones, manage missions, and adjust views without interrupting flight operations.

Key updates include:

BETTER CONNECTIVITY

Introducing the Fusion+ Attachment

The Fusion+ Attachment adds a second cellular radio to your Skydio X10, enabling dual-carrier connectivity for more reliable communication in challenging environments. With support for multiple SIM cards, Fusion+ lets you use your preferred carrier and provides seamless network failover, ensuring your video and control links remain active when it matters most.

• Maintain streaming and control through dual cellular radios, even if one carrier’s coverage drops
• View signal strength and carrier details for both radios directly from Remote Flight Deck or Cloud device pages
• Insert SIM card, connect the attachment, and it automatically claims to your drone in Skydio Cloud

[note] The Fusion+ Attachment must be purchased separately and connected to an X10 with an active data plan. Only one SIM slot is supported. During firmware updates, avoid rebooting the drone. If a SIM is installed but inactive, you’ll see a SIM Not Activated alert. [/note]

Automatic Channel Optimization for Hive Deployments

Dock for X10 installations that operate as part of a hive (groups of two or more Docks) can now automatically manage channel selection, improving connection reliability and simplifying setup.

Previously, locations with multiple Docks required manual channel planning to prevent interference between nearby External Radios. With this update, the system evaluates the local RF environment and automatically selects optimal channels for each Dock.

• Optimized channel spacing minimizes interference between nearby Docks
• When all drones are docked, operators can initiate a scan to detect congested or weak channels and apply improved configurations

Improved Video Stability and Connectivity

This release delivers a suite of under-the-hood improvements that make live video and connectivity more stable across Dock operations.

• Adaptive video streaming - New Fusion link management intelligently balances video data across all active connections, such as Skydio Link and cellular, to maintain smooth, high-quality streaming even when network conditions vary
• Improved cellular responsiveness - Updated rate adaptation ensures consistent video quality and faster recovery in weak or fluctuating coverage, reducing dropouts across urban, suburban, and rural environments
• Modernized communication firmware - Updated internal firmware improves overall link reliability and prevents transient connection issues, strengthening the foundation for future network resilience

Reduced Network Visibility for Direct Connections

The network name (SSID) used for the direct link between the drone and controller is hidden from nearby devices. This prevents the connection from appearing in WiFi network lists on phones, tablets, or laptops, helping reduce public visibility during operations.

• Less likely for nearby users to see an active drone connection
• Connectivity, encryption, and signal strength remain unchanged

MORE FLEXIBILITY TO STAY ON SCENE LONGER

On-Scene Battery Replacement and Land in Dock

For missions that last longer than a single battery, remote pilots have the flexibility to land in the field, receive a battery swap from ground teams, continue flying, then return to the Dock when operations conclude.

This capability extends mission duration during prolonged incidents or when multiple Docks aren’t available, helping agencies maximize on-station time without additional infrastructure.

• Land on scene, swap batteries, and continue flying without returning to the Dock
• When a Dock battery is reinstalled, the drone automatically returns and lands in the Dock when the mission completes
• Ideal for extended responses, construction monitoring, and other long-duration missions

[note]The drone must maintain LTE connectivity throughout field operations. If a non-Dock battery is used, the drone will return to the nearest Safe Landing Point instead of the Dock. [/note]

Increased Geofence Vertex Limit

An increase in geofence vertices allows you to create more detailed and complex boundaries in Dock for X10 Sites.

• The per-Site vertex limit for geofences has increased from 100 to 1,000
• Create larger or more intricate geofences for corridors, restricted zones, or inspection areas without worrying about hitting vertex limits
• Supports advanced use cases such as Shielded BVLOS operations and complex utility inspections

KNOWN ISSUES

• Drone may rotate continuously when tracking a subject directly overhead — Tracking a person or vehicle positioned directly overhead may cause the drone to enter a continuous rotation while attempting to maintain the track. Reposition to mitigate.
• “Start Update” button may be missing in Skydio Cloud for External Radios — When updating the External Radio, the **Start Update** button may not appear. Try rebooting the External Radio before reaching out to Skydio Support.
• The Dock may repeatedly open and close if the Remote Flight Deck browser tab is not active during preflight — Switching to another tab or window after during preflight may cause the Dock roof to repeatedly open and close. Keep the RFD tab active until the drone has launched, or exit RFD, to mitigate.
• When UASFM is enabled, manually flying the drone into 0 ft or 50 ft FAA grids may prevent Pathfinder from calculating a safe return path — Operators should avoid entering these restricted altitude areas during operations, or manually exit the restricted airspace before initiating a return.