3DR Pixhawk- powered DJI S1000

For the past several months we have been working closely with an infrastructure inspection firm to develop a multirotor system for them. There were many goals, but COTS parts and cost were major drivers. We decided to use a DJI S1000 frame but selected the 3DR Pixhawk controller. We went with the Pixhawk for a variety of reasons, but flexibility was a primary consideration. The ability to plan complex missions, geotag photos, and a variety of flight modes ultimately sealed the deal. On the gimbal side we ended up using the brand new DJI Ronin-M. Equipped with remotely controlled zoom, the Sony AX100 provides crisp 4K video as well as 20MP still photos (even while rolling video). Mounting the Ronin was no small feat, requiring our dedicated fabricator to spend a few late nights in the shop. On the downlink side, we used a Amimon Connex, sending 1080p footage at 60 FPS. A Futaba 14SG provides flight control as well as camera control.

I must say, the S1000 is an impressive frame. The performance with the Pixhawk running Arducopter 3.2 is staggering, especially when compared to the DJI A2 that would normally occupy this frame. Youtube videos coming shortly!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BobRiQqVzLQ

Comments

Peter Skotte November 16, 2015 at 11:07pm

Can anyone please tell me what gimbal this is:
Thanks ;-)
Michael Jones August 28, 2015 at 8:20pm

Sorry I bothered you about something you admittedly agree to be so important. Try to understand that your earlier post said nothing about swapping any of the other arms when specifying the the front arms should be swapped. Additionally, if "the rest just fall into place" is the best you can do to describe swapping ALL of the arms, why even bother?

Otherwise, your info is much appreciated. Thanks!
matt.koestner August 28, 2015 at 6:48pm

Swap the front 2 arms since they're red. Them swap all the rest around. Hello just look at the Pixhawk motor setup page put the arms in the positions indicated in the picture. Between you and the guy asking for the gains after I posted them it scares the shit out of me you guys will be flying 25 lbs machines around. Fly safe everyone!
Michael Jones August 28, 2015 at 3:40pm

Matt,

I found this post when I got stuck on the motor setup during a build of a S1000+ with a pixhawk. I am having trouble following your post about the motor mapping. If I swap the two front arms, I will have two CCW & two CW motors side by side. My motors/arms are:

M1 -- CCW - Front

M2 -- CW - Front

M3 -- CCW

M4 -- CW

M5 -- CCW

M6 -- CW

M7 -- CCW

M8 -- CW

If I swap the two front arms, I'm going to have:

M1 -- CW

M2 -- CCW

M3 -- CCW

M4 -- CW

M5 -- CCW

M6 -- CW

M7 -- CCW

M8 -- CW

Any help on clarification you can provide will be awesome! Thanks!
Michael Duffy August 9, 2015 at 3:18pm

Matt,
I am setting up the same rig. Pixhawk with S1000. What gains did u use?
neavissa July 27, 2015 at 7:29pm

Matt,

thank you for the prompt and detailed reply! I really appreciate it. Many people these days, don't like to share details anymore, as they fear that someone will take business away from them?! Anyway, do you have any more videos showing the awesome bird in action? I still cannot get over it... the image is so stable! Thank you. Georgios.
matt.koestner July 27, 2015 at 6:47pm

We did a good amount of work on vibration isolation using steel rope. The camera zoom is controlled by a 2nd Futaba radio for the camera operator. If you search Google there are several companies making camera control cables. The camera HDMI cable connects to an amimon Connex HD downlink. I'm experimenting with mounting the connex on the gimbal and sending telemetry from the pixhawk telemetry port down to the gimbal by bluetooth. This would allow full 360 panning while retaining OSD telemetry from Pixhawk.
neavissa July 27, 2015 at 1:45pm

Matt, I love your project! Really cool. The footage I have seen was amazing! How can you zoom in like that and have stable footage that good??? Amazing. What I would like to know is, how do you control the camera zoom? Is this something you do with a camera remote, or do you setup your transmitter? Also, how do you hook up the cameras live video feed? I see a cable coming from the camera, but where is it going? Is it going through the gimbal (true 360 degree gimbal with slip ring) or is it not going through the gimbal? Sorry for all the questions! Thanks.
Jordan Kirby July 15, 2015 at 12:45pm

Okay, got the throttle figured out. I think that I mixed up one or more of the connections because the vehicle does not react correctly to the RC inputs I give it. Hopefully I can get this ironed out quickly.
Jordan Kirby July 9, 2015 at 9:06am

Awesome! Thanks for the quick response. Got it all hooked up today and tested the motors with the vehicle strapped down to a work bench. It seemed like the littlest throttle made it want to go full power, so I've gotta do some looking into that.

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