BBBMINI a Linux autopilot based on ArduPilot and BeagleBone Black

Chris March 26, 2015 at 3:45pm

Same here just got the earlybird deal. I hope they get the numbers they are after.

Mirko Denecke March 26, 2015 at 11:58am

@Victor

I will try the PXF, just supported the PFX at Indiegogo.

Also agree with @Tridge, because the two PRUs are very useful for drones.

Víctor Mayoral March 26, 2015 at 10:21am

Just pushed a crowdfunding campaign answering the community requests: the PixHawk Fire Cape. For those of you interested, there're PXFs with all the sensing for less than 100 $.

As @tridge just pointed out at ELC:

The BeagleBone Black is perfect for drones.

We sincerely hope that this gesture helps the community get those boards that they wanted for an affordable price.

Víctor Mayoral March 26, 2015 at 6:51am

@Chris, @Gary, @Martin and @Gordon. Thanks for your answers. We will do something about that ;).

Regarding BBBMini, I agree with @Igor, there's room for an affordable kit as well.

Regards,

Igor Vereninov March 26, 2015 at 5:52am

@Mirko

Great job, we use the same frame for our own testing of Navio+! Considering that Raspberry Pi A+ is just 25$ an assembled Linux autopilot is quite affordable.

Mirko Denecke March 26, 2015 at 4:54am

@Phillip

Maybe someone wants to develop a PCB for the BBBMINI. Some people have asked me already if they can buy a BBBMINI.

Configuration could be:
- MPU-9250 IMU
- MS5611 barometer
- CAN without TRX
- PWM for sound
- 12 CH PWM out
- RC in
- Serial for GPS
- Serial for MAVLink

Mirko Denecke March 26, 2015 at 4:44am

@Sergey

At https://github.com/mirkix/BBBMINI/blob/master/doc/hardware/hardware.md you can find the information about RC Output.

CH_1 = P8.28

CH_2 = P8.27

CH_3 = P8.30

The documentation will be improved in the next few weeks.

mirkix/BBBMINI

BeagleBone ArduPilot DIY Cape . Contribute to mirkix/BBBMINI development by creating an account on GitHub.

Gordon March 26, 2015 at 12:18am

+1 for Gary. It's not just the price. 55 euro freight to Australia is insane for a cape. That works out to over AUD$350 landed at my door. I have 2 BBB's gather dust since Feb 2014. When I first saw the price, it looked to me like the price was not set according to the value of the cape, more like the perceived value of what the BBB brought to it in terms of future capability.

A Navio+ is only US$168. Yes it has less sensors, but it has an onboard gps (minus antenna).

Individual Baro's and MPU9250's realy are quite cheap at production quantity pricing.

Martin Poller March 25, 2015 at 3:26pm

+1 with what Gary said, and count me in for in for one too at a more reasonable price, my BBB is gathering dust on a shelf here waiting for a cape.

Gary McCray March 25, 2015 at 2:51pm

Hi Victor,

Please, in no way think I am disparaging the huge work you and your team have put into this.

I know you have all put in a huge effort to get it working well and are now continuing with your ROS integration effort.

But a lot of the initial promise of the BBB-Fire concept was that we could leverage off of the inexpensive (and partially subsidized) BBB to end up with both a more powerful and more affordable option than the Pixhawk.

On the surface, it seems that a board that contains only the sensors should cost less than the complete board with microcontrollers and additional IO.

I know that you guys need to make a profit, but a lot of us (most of us in fact who had already bought BBB's in anticipation of the Fire) are now really disappointed that the price point seems to completely nullify that potential advantage.

Without the price advantage, there is really not much incentive at this time for the majority of us to feel a need to convert to the BBB system since it (for most of us) doesn't at this time provide any significant enhanced capability, while in fact costing more than a Pixhawk, even if you already own a BBB.

I do know the big advantage is in the enhanced capability provided by both Linux and the available processor power, but that is really significant at this time for only a tiny handful of very capable developers.

I had actually expected the Fire Cape to be priced more in line with the BBB itself or even a bit more, but at 199 Euros, it isn't even close.

I had actually looked at producing a small quantity of the cape myself, but it is a very nicely designed 6 layer board and the economics would have demanded too large a lot to be produced to make it economically feasible for me to undertake.

My consideration was that they needed to be sold for under $100.00 each with some room for profit and that that could certainly be done, but the up front cost and quantity was too high for me.

I do think if you could find a way to sell them for $100.00 or so sales would pick up a lot - count me in.

Best regards,

Gary

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BBBMINI a Linux autopilot based on ArduPilot and BeagleBone Black

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