The matrix

Verge Aero — Design Studio

Accepted formats: 3D/asset import: Wavefront .obj, Autodesk .fbx, .ply, .3mf, .stl, glTF, Point Cache .pc2; imports Finale 3D .vviz; audio (MP3/WAV/OGG) and video/image formats

Export formats: Project file: .packedshow (submitted to Verge's cloud renderer) -> renders to .vbake (flight-ready, uploaded to drones); also exports VVIZ (.vviz, JSON) and Depence (Syncronorm .ddsf-class) for external previz

Animation-tool import paths: Dedicated plugins for Cinema4D, Maya, and Blender; generic OBJ/FBX/glTF pipeline for any 3D app

Previz / simulation: Web Portal generates a shareable browser-based render synced to music from the rendered .packedshow; separate Storyboarding tool (PNG/JPEG/SVG slides) for pre-production

Coordinate / timing conventions: VVIZ format doc: X=right, Y=up (sky), Z=into screen (Finale 3D convention, Z inverted); heading 0 deg = toward audience; position data delta-compressed (dx/dy/dz per sample)

VVIZ and Depence export paths documented separately at /vviz-format and /third-party-support/syncronorm-depence; web portal render flow at /verge-web-portal/shows/creating-and-rendering

Source: doc (accessed 2026-07-22)

SPH Engineering — Drone Show Software / Drone Show Creator (UgCS)

Accepted formats: Blender add-on workflow: .blend, .dae, .fbx, glTF/.glb, .obj, .ply, .stl, .3ds, .x, .ase (per Drone Show Creator's asset-import list); imports its own PATH files (Path V1/V3) back into Blender for further editing; images/audio/video/fonts also importable

Export formats: Native PATH flight-path files (.path, referenced across SPH/UgCS materials); DSS 4.3 added KML export of the georeferenced dance area/fences for flight-plan filing; Blender plugin (DSS 4.2+) exports UAV heading + position + color together

Animation-tool import paths: Purpose-built Blender add-on is the only documented animation-tool pipeline (no After Effects/Cinema4D path documented)

Previz / simulation: Drone Show Creator's "Live Preview" gives real-time visual feedback during design; DSS 4.2 release notes cite music-sync precision "within a remarkable 10-millisecond range"

Coordinate / timing conventions: No coordinate-axis convention documented on SPH's own pages (unlike Verge/Skybrush); 10ms music-sync precision stated for DSS 4.2

No dedicated PATH-format spec page found on SPH's own site -- PATH/PATH3 as an interchange target is corroborated only by a third party (Skybrush's own export-panel docs); release notes at sphengineering.com/news/sph-engineering-sets-a-new-standard-for-drone-shows-with-the-latest-drone-show-technologies-updates

Source: doc (accessed 2026-07-22)

Skybrush (Studio for Blender / Live / Viewer)

Accepted formats: Blender-native scenes/animations; CSV import of static formations (Name, x_m, y_m, z_m, R, G, B per line) and of external animation/light-effect snippets; CSV exports from 3ds Max/Cinema 4D convertible via Skybrush's account converter tool

Export formats: Primary: .skyc (compiled show format -- trajectories, light program, cue markers, camera presets, music, now also pyro control data). Export panel also produces: .csv (per-drone trajectory + RGB, time-sampled), a validation .pdf report, and third-party outputs: DSS PATH, DSS PATH3, Drotek, EVSKY, HighGreat DAC, LiteBee, Finale 3D .vviz, Depence .ddsf, Google Earth .kmz

Animation-tool import paths: Skybrush Studio ships as a Blender add-on; no After Effects path documented

Previz / simulation: Skybrush Viewer is a dedicated previz app (.skyc playback, day/night/indoor presets, 1x-5x speed, altitude/velocity/proximity charts, synced music); Studio itself runs real-time in-Blender safety checks (velocity/altitude/proximity per frame) rather than a separate previz render

Coordinate / timing conventions: Blender's local (0,0,0) origin maps to a movable "show origin" in Skybrush Live's geodetic system; axes: X=front (show-orientation), Y=left, Z=up, ground at Z=0; show-orientation X-axis angle tracked clockwise from North; timing is Blender's relative frame time (recommended start at frame 0); frame rate must divide evenly into the desired output rate; absolute wall-clock start time is set later in Skybrush Live

Export panel docs at .../panels/safety_and_export/export.html; Viewer at skybrush.io/modules/viewer/; Studio at skybrush.io/modules/studio/. Skybrush's export-panel list is the only public source confirming SPH Engineering's PATH/PATH3 format by name.

Source: doc (accessed 2026-07-22)

Drotek — Lightshow Creator (Blender add-on)

Accepted formats: JSON (round-trips a show back into Blender) and VVIZ import (for pulling pyro effects in)

Export formats: Native show export for Drotek's own drone platform (format name not stated in the pages checked); also exports VVIZ for downstream tools (Finale 3D, FWsim)

Animation-tool import paths: Ships as a Blender add-on ("IOStar Add-on" install path documented separately)

Previz / simulation: Import/export is explicitly recommended as a round-trip check ("a good way to check if the exported dance matches the desired positions/colors"); no dedicated previz page confirmed in the pages checked

Coordinate / timing conventions: A "Scale" parameter multiplies the show's coordinate range (+/-327) in 4 steps, giving 1cm position precision at the base scale; an Import/Export "Range" feature transfers only a selected time segment of a show

Native export format name for Drotek's own drones not found in the pages checked -- documented as a gap, not guessed.

Source: doc (accessed 2026-07-22)

Vimdrones — Drone Light Show Designer (Blender add-on)

Accepted formats: Blender-native (SVG-to-mesh, OBJ, FBX, images for QR/matrix effects)

Export formats: Native Vimdrones GCS format; documented exports to UgCS (SPH Engineering's outdoor DSS) and High Great Fylo (indoor); a raw text export of frame | x | y | z | r | g | b per drone; other integrations "available on request"

Animation-tool import paths: Ships as a Blender add-on, using Blender's own keyframe/F-curve/modifier system

Previz / simulation: "Flight Check Console" gives real-time in-Blender playback showing distance/speed-limit and collision violations as visual markers

Coordinate / timing conventions: Fixed 24 FPS project rate stated explicitly ("this value should not be changed unless you know what you are doing")

Source: doc (accessed 2026-07-22)