BBBMINI is now Open Hardware

Just want to tell that the DIY Ardupilot Cape for the BeagleBone Black (BBBmini) is now Open Hardware. You can get the KiCad sources here BBBMINI-PCB. I will not sell the PCBs, but I add some lines how to get 10 PCBs for less than 30$.

The BBMINI-PCB is updated to Rev 1.4, here some improvements:

Connector for Ultra Sonic Range Finder HC-SR04 (2$, range 3cm to 400cm, 1cm accuracy)
Voltage divider at pin RC_IN (RCIN) to connect 5V signals to RC_IN (RCIN), now it is possible to connect a 5V RX to the BBBmini without an external level shifter.

I also started a new project with is in an early stage of development, a Self Balancing Robot based on the BBBmini and Ardupilot software. AP_AHRS will be used to to get the pitch angle and AC_PID to balance the robot. It runs at 400 Hz, there are two Stepper Motors and there is a PRU Code inside the BeagelBone which can create up to 200000 steps per / second to the Stepper Motors.

Here is the first very early stage of development video, it balancing fine.

https://youtu.be/7Ow5aKap_sI

Best regards Mirko

Comments

Philip White July 13, 2015 at 8:32am

Hi Mirko - this is great. Thank you.

Gary, or if anyone else is planning to have some boards made, and would be willing to let me pitch in for a board, then please let me know.

Phil
Mirko Denecke July 12, 2015 at 12:40pm

@Victor

Thank you Victor! I will have a look on your work.
Mirko Denecke July 12, 2015 at 12:39pm

@Gary

There are GERBER files in the BBBMINI-PCB repo as well. Each PCB supplier should be abler to read them. This is my first KiCad project and I am very happy with Kicad.

I just add a group on diydrones.com called BBBMINI, maybe this will be a place to get support for the BBBMINI project. Fell free to join the group!
Víctor Mayoral July 12, 2015 at 4:07am

Thanks for sharing Mirko.

Like the balancer project. I put a weekend on it a while ago and have a a skeleton built for what i called a "balancer" vehicle. Have a look at https://github.com/erlerobot/ardupilot/commits/balancer. Maybe there's something you can reuse.

erlerobot/ardupilot

APM Plane, APM Copter, APM Rover source. Contribute to erlerobot/ardupilot development by creating an account on GitHub.
Developer

Linus July 11, 2015 at 10:26pm

Hi Mirko, awsome balance bot!

looking forward t more fun with the bbbmini :)
Gary McCray July 11, 2015 at 8:17pm

Hi Mirko,

Thank you very much for making this available for us.

I am definitely considering making a run of your board.

I have KiCad, but am not yet familiar with it, so it may take a bit of time.

I may convert to Eagle as my board supplier is more familiar with that.

If I am successful I will be happy to supply Eagle files so you can include those too if you like.

This is a nice small 2 layer board, easy to get made inexpensively, lots of places.

Your self balancing robot is doing really well, I think stepper motors are a very good choice for this.

Going to be using some very soon myself for an X/Y laser scanner.

Best Regards,

BTW Tom and others, if you are interested in getting a board with a parts kit or even pre-assembled boards, let me know, If it is feasible I am willing to pre-fund and undertake a short run < 25.

Cost would be pretty much to cover cost of materials.

No commitment, just let me know if you are interested.

Best Regards,

Gary