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Pixhawk Details #3: Digital airspeed sensor, multicolor led and USB

Posted by PX4 on September 5, 2013 at 10:30am

3689546552?profile=originalThe above picture shows PX4 Airspeed (in fact its so new this is even a picture of a (proven) prototype), a small, digital airspeed sensor. If features a Measurement Specialties (coincidentally swiss, too) 4525DO sensor, with 1 psi measurement range (roughly up to 100 m/s or 360 km/h or 223 mp/h). Its resolution of 0.84 Pa is quite good, and delivered as 14 bit data from a 24 bit delta-sigma ADC. It also measures temperature to allow to calculate true airspeed from indicated airspeed using the MS5611 static pressure sensor on Pixhawk. As the temperature is not influenced by the heat of nearby processing components, it is much closer to the air temperature than with the previous analog sensor setup. It comes with M3 / 6-32 mounting holes. It is supported on all PX4 autopilot generation boards (and in the PX4 flight stack as well as on APM on PX4). Andrew Tridgell has intensively test flown the sensor and will share his experience soon.

This is just the fanciest peripheral, but maybe not the most popular one: The high-brightness multicolor led featured inside PX4 is also available as external option, and it is even supported by the APM 2.x boards.

3689546525?profile=originalLast but not least a peripheral only available for Pixhawk and simple yet convenient: An USB port extender, which allows to mount the micro USB port outside of the fuselage / shell. In contrast to normal USB extenders this one is for DF13 plugs and thus does not require the enormous radius of a normal USB cable in the fuselage.

3689546394?profile=original

All these peripherals are intended to improve the ease of use and robustness when working with a PX4 based system, and will be available shortly.

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Comments

  • Steven G September 8, 2013 at 10:59am

    Hi,

    Great! When will these items be available?

  • Euan Ramsay September 6, 2013 at 9:11am
    Are there links to the physical specs? I'm doing the final revisions to my "gold" prototype CAD, and would be good to include mounting holes for them in this (my frame has mounts for px4flow and normal maxbotixs sonar and the optiflow).
  • Charles lakins September 6, 2013 at 6:21am

    love the airspeed sensor footprint over previous ones

  • Simon Wunderlin September 5, 2013 at 10:28pm

    The external usb port and led are great! Having a digital connection for the airspeed sensor is going to solve some headaches for us. Thanks for this Lorenz.

  • Matt September 5, 2013 at 5:01pm

    Very nice! I am glad to see a plethora of options that are coming to fruition with the new Autopilot.

  • Gary McCray September 5, 2013 at 1:34pm

    Great to see a number of worthwhile accessories showing up.

    Really amping up the PX4 / Pixhawk systems.

    You state the high brightness multicolor LED is the same as the one in the PX4, I take i you mean the FMUv2 alias Pixhawk.

    But I presume it will also be available for the original PX4-FMU / PX4-IO hopefully with an appropriate cable.

    That digital airspeed sensor looks very nice and should alleviate a lot of the difficulties associated with the current sensor.

    I will mention these in the Pixhawk Overview in the Wiki.

  • Chris Riccio September 5, 2013 at 11:53am

    @Alex Lee,

    I'm picturing something like the latest external GPS/Compass plastic case.

  • Alex Lee September 5, 2013 at 11:50am

    The external USB connector is a perfect idea. There is a long list of "now I don't have to do. xx" coming. Maybe a self contained external mount for the LED?

  • Wojciech Batog September 5, 2013 at 11:47am

    What would be the cost of the airspeed sensor?

This reply was deleted.