Complete 3D AI navigation system for flying drones

Pathfinding through true volumetric space where Unreal's built-in NavMesh can't go. Drones detect, chase, search for and patrol around targets, with friend/foe filtering and smooth banking flight.

Introductory launch price — increasing after release.

Custom data-driven A* pathfinding over a 3D node graph you shape with simple navigation volumes - no NavMesh, no baking headaches.

Behavior Tree driven AI (Chase / Search / Patrol / Idle) plus an out-of-the-box combat loop: aim, lead and fire with Niagara muzzle and impact FX, fully replicated for multiplayer.

Includes two detailed, high-quality drone skeletal meshes with animation blueprints, an example map and in-level control UI. Maximum flexibility to provide your own models and super easy integration through a clean drone interface.

Fully implemented in Blueprints with extensibility in mind - no C++. An editor-time nav-graph visualizer make setup and debugging painless.

Ready to use, just drop it in your map and it works out-of-the-box with just the default values.

You're welcome to join our Discord server for direct and fast support.

Documentation: https://caipiri.dev/docs/ai-drone/intro/

Discord Server: https://discord.gg/mcUjEgDkAD

Highlights in v1.0:

- Custom 3D volumetric pathfinding (no NavMesh required)

- Behavior Tree AI: Chase, Search, Patrol, Idle

- Friend/foe perception targeting

- Networked combat with Niagara muzzle & impact FX

- Editor nav-graph visualizer

Dependencies: Niagara plugin (optional) for VFX

(Contains AI-41 Drone model, kindly provided by drcrazzie under CC BY 4.0 terms. Original model adjusted to reduce polycount. The original model can be downloaded here)

Tech sheet:

Number of Unique Meshes: 2

Vertex Count: 15,267 (Aurora Drone) / 97,779 (AI41 Drone)

Collision: Yes (custom sphere collision)

LODs: No

Number of LODs: 1

Rigged: Yes

Rigged to Epic or MetaHumans Skeleton: No (custom skeletons, one per drone)

If rigged to the Epic or MetaHumans skeleton, IK bones are included: No

Number of Characters: 2

Vertex Counts of Characters: 15,267 (Aurora Drone) / 97,779 (AI41 Drone)

Animated: Yes

Number of Animations: 2

Animation Types: In-place

Number of Materials: 13 (Excluding Epic Games' template contents)

Number of Material Instances: 3 (Excluding Epic Games' template contents)

Number of Textures: 27 (Excluding Epic Games' template contents)

Texture Resolutions: 2k (Aurora Drone) / 4k (AI41 Drone)

Supported Development Platforms: Windows (Yes), Mac (Yes), Linux (Yes)

Documentation Link: https://caipiri.dev/docs/ai-drone/intro/

Important/Additional Notes: Includes parts of Epic Games Third Person template; Includes AI41 Drone under CC BY 4.0 licensing terms (see documentation for more details); The sample level uses manual camera exposure so it displays correctly regardless of project settings. If your project was not created from a UE5 template, enable "Extend default luminance range in Auto Exposure settings" (Project Settings > Engine > Rendering > Default Settings) for consistent exposure across your own content. Offline documentation is also included inside the download at Content/AIDroneNavigation/Documentation/QUICKSTART.md, covering setup, tuning, troubleshooting and known limitations.