Blogs

3D Robotics

New ArduPilot boards

Posted by Chris Anderson on June 6, 2008 at 3:00pm

We're making good progress on ArduPilot, the Arduino-based open source autopilot, and Jordi's just finished an improved version of the board, along with a new surface-mount version for those who care about size and are extra handy with a fine-point soldering iron. The new version of the through-hole board corrects one error on the previous version--a diode was in the wrong way around--and adds a better layout, better connectors for the receiver and servo cables (Samtec right-angle connectors) and the GPS, and clearer labeling throughout. You can see the PCB layout above, and buy the board here. Eagle 5 files are here: ardupilotBETA.sch and ardupilotBETA.brd The components you'll need are these:

I'm working on the Autopilot code now, and should have a beta in a few weeks once I've had a chance to test it. I'm starting with a port of the Basic Stamp autopilot, but this board is designed to do much more, so we'll be coding in new functionality like the ability to read a barometric sensor for altitude control and read the FMA Co-Pilot (or custom IR sensors) directly, to integrate stabilization directly into the autopilot.

The surface-mount (SMD) version is functionally identical (except it has two extra analog inputs for sensors, thanks to the SMD version of the ATMega168 chip having more I/O pins), but smaller. We designed this one mostly for ease of automated manufacture--we will be offering a pre-made board with components already mounted in a few months--but if you're not too afraid of hand soldering intzy-wintzy leads, you may prefer this one, which you can buy here.

Here's the overview of the SMD board:

Here's the component list for the SMD board (Digikey parts): Capacitors:

Diodes:

Connector:

ICs:

Crystal:

Resistors:

Switch:

You may notice that the image of the board above appears to be missing some chips that the through-hole version has. That's because they're on the bottom of the board.

Top:

Bottom:

Tags: ardupilot
E-mail me when people leave their comments –
Follow

You need to be a member of diydrones to add comments!

Join diydrones

Comments

  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson July 28, 2008 at 7:41am
    Guy,

    There's no "kit" per se yet. That will be coming out in fall. For now if you want to experiment with this board, you can buy it and the individual components from all the links above. It's not recommended for people new to this, and probably won't work as is. I'd suggest you wait until we release the commercial version.
  • Guy July 28, 2008 at 1:51am
    Im Sorry but im new here and i would like to order the board and the kit. how do i do that ?
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson July 10, 2008 at 11:47pm
    No, those are female to female. They include a male-to-male pin if you want to convert one or both sides to male.

    No strain relief, although that's not a bad idea. I'm just not sure it's necessary.
  • Moderator
    Brian July 10, 2008 at 11:41pm
    Cool Beans!
    Regarding the update "Three female-to-female RC cables (you'll cut them in half to make the pigtails to the RC receiver) " doesn't the link show Male-to-Male RC cables? What are you doing for strain relief? Will future boards have a spot for the cables to be zipped to the board?
  • Geetesh Dubey June 8, 2008 at 12:16am
    do we have some sort of autopilot code for avr...if so...im looking forwaRD TO it very eagerly... in my project im using an AVCS gyro to stabilize only the roll of F-22 Raptor Hangar 9 airframe...hope ardupilot is gonna be a lot useful with some tradeoffs(parts availability constraints)...i dont have an FMA co-pilot...so gotta look 4 sm alternative...
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson June 7, 2008 at 12:15pm
    James,

    Good catch. I'll fix that earlier post and delete the BatchPCB board with the incorrect version number.

    And yes, that diode error came when we integrated Jordi's original MUX. He's updated that one with a much improved board, which we'll be posting soon.
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson June 7, 2008 at 12:13pm
    bGatti,

    I think that's exactly what Paparazzi does. Check it out here.
  • James Ross June 7, 2008 at 7:15am
    On the BatchPCB website, the old version is titled ArdupilotBeta3 currently linked on the original ArduPilot post

    Also, I'm not a EE, but it appears the diode short also plagues Jordi's Open Source MUX (AntiFail) V2
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson June 6, 2008 at 10:47pm
    Erk. Beta3? That's a mistake--do you have a link? I'll correct it.

    Here's the latest board and schematic (Eagle format):

    ardupilotBETA.brd

    ardupilotBETA.sch
  • James Ross June 6, 2008 at 9:45pm
    This is labeled as Beta2 but there is a Beta3 floating around. Could you upload the latest schematic and board layout?

    Anyone building this will also need the AVR programmer when they order their stuff.
This reply was deleted.