Fancy a drone destroyer? Someone transformed a Framework 16 laptop into a UAV killer thanks to a custom SDR module

• A new SDR module is coming for Framework 16, fitting the GPU slot
• Designed for C-UAS, it’ll detect, track, and possibly neutralize rogue drones
• It packs serious processing power with custom cooling for FPGA and DSP chips

We’re big fans of Framework’s modular laptops - as while many notebook makers have shifted towards soldered components, making even simple upgrades all but impossible, Framework’s approach lets you get the laptop you want and make whatever upgrades you need to the hardware.

You can choose the processor, mainboard, RAM, and even components like the webcam, screen, keyboard and expansion cards. The company even offers a RISC-V mainboard, created by DeepComputing, and most recently, Framework announced its Laptop 16 device can now support up to 26TB of superfast Gen4 SSD storage.

In 2024, the company open-sourced 3D CAD designs for its Laptop 16, giving users the ability to 3D print custom components. Over on X, Lukas Henkel at Open Visions, which designs and develops innovative hardware solutions, announced he is taking advantage of this flexibility by making a Software-Defined Radio (SDR) module for a customer in the Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) sector.

Taking down drones

This new product will fit into the Framework 16 GPU module form factor, resulting in what Henkel describes as a “nice, fully enclosed solution with lots of processing power and a very high-bandwidth link between the radio and the host system.”

In a later post, Henkel explained he needs to “customize the heat pipe and heat spreader for the Framework Laptop SDR module in order to cool both the FPGA and DSP” because the reference implementation is “designed for only a single heat source.” Fortunately, he reports, “the form factor provides enough Z-height for these kinds of modifications.”

Although Henkel doesn’t go into detail about what the SDR module will be used for or how it will work, being in the C-UAS sector, we can assume it will detect, track, and potentially neutralize unauthorized or hostile drones. This kind of technology is often used in military, law enforcement, and security applications, but it's the first time we've seen it being integrated so smartly into a laptop in this way.

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