PixHawk Fire cape crowdfunding campaign

Here it is! Finally, the PixHawk Fire Cape (PXF) is ready for a wider audience and we've launched a crowdfunding campaign so that everyone can get theirs. We've been iterating through different generations over the last year and with the help of many, we are finally proud to announce the PXF starting at $100.

This board was born out Philip's hands and pushed by members of this community so it's just reasonable to try making it as affordable and accesible as possible. Some technical details:

Sensors

MPU6000: 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer and temperature sensor.
MPU9250: 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis magnetometer and temperature sensor
LSM9DS0: 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis magnetometer and temperature sensor.
MS5611-01BA03: Barometer that includes pressure and temperature sensors.

Connectors

3x LED indicators (Green, Amber and Blue)
2x serial UART ports (ttyO0 is not active)
1x CAN connector and transceiver
3x I2C ports
1x Buzzer
1x Safety switch
9x PWM output channels
1 PPM/S.Bus in
1x Spektrum
1x Power brick connector
1x Battery backup (1 LiPo cell)
1x ADC
2x GPIOs exposed (IO)
1x analogic pressure sensor (AIR)

Mechanical characteristics

Size: 88.6 x 54.73 x 20.69 mm
Layers: 6
PCB Thickness: 1.62 mm
Weight: 31 grams

Support the crowdfunding campaign of the PXF here.

Hi Victor,

I also agree with Chris, how you present this is going to make all the difference as to whether you hit your somewhat ambitious target.

When you get the main Indiegogo page tweaked, go around and make announcements: BLOGS, Facebook references, links, wherever you can think of: Maker, Drone racers, RC Groups, Linux sites, everybody.

If you can actually get that many of them out there you will have seriously hit and surpassed the critical mass necessary to make this the next flight controller.

And I for one am really rooting for you!

How about BBBpilot?

You already have BeaglePilot and that is probably the best name, How about BeaglePilot Adapter or BeaglePilot Interface?

All the Best,

Gary

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Comments

Wilhelm Matilainen March 26, 2015 at 10:44pm

I will advertise your cape.

I vote for BeagleDrone.

BBB is something someone has to find out, thus just Beagle is better. Drone tells what's all about.
John Dennings March 26, 2015 at 9:57pm

Julian> I would never be totally confident that code on one device running the autopilot as well wouldn't freeze under load...

I too have been a bit apprehensive about that and the difference between Pixhawk/ a true RTOS like NuttX. But if Tridge could fly a plane on Linux and compile a kernel at the same time, that's good enough for me so I am in! Ethernet connectivity for one thing will be real nice ...

Are all three sets of gyros and accelerometers actually used and fused in the Ardupilot port?
Rob_Lefebvre March 26, 2015 at 6:07pm

Agree with Chris as well.

So, why is Fire in the name? Was there a Thermal Event in the design and testing at some point? ;)

I'm in for an Early Bird.
Gary McCray March 26, 2015 at 5:18pm

Hi Victor,

I also agree with Chris, how you present this is going to make all the difference as to whether you hit your somewhat ambitious target.

When you get the main Indiegogo page tweaked, go around and make announcements: BLOGS, Facebook references, links, wherever you can think of: Maker, Drone racers, RC Groups, Linux sites, everybody.

If you can actually get that many of them out there you will have seriously hit and surpassed the critical mass necessary to make this the next flight controller.

And I for one am really rooting for you!

How about BBBpilot?

You already have BeaglePilot and that is probably the best name, How about BeaglePilot Adapter or BeaglePilot Interface?

All the Best,

Gary
Adam Erickson March 26, 2015 at 4:49pm

Excellent advice from Chris. B^3 Drone or Pixhawk B^3 could work too for the BeagleBone Black, which is typically abbreviated BBB.
3D Robotics
Chris Anderson March 26, 2015 at 3:54pm
Just a couple marketing tips to help this campaign hit its target:
1. Put a photograph of the cape on a BBB at the top. Leading with a 3D render makes people think this is just a concept, not a working thing.
2. Even better, lead with the photograph of the case, which looks much more accessible
3. Try to avoid the word "cape" in the main marketing headlines. Nobody knows what a cape is ;-)
4. Consider a better name. I am probably one of about five people in the world who knows why the word "fire" is in the name, and I've already ranted about "cape" ;-) How about "BeagleDrone"?
Chris March 26, 2015 at 3:53pm

Hi Victor,

I think the FW update should be supported on both MP and APM Planner 2.0. But if it's done for one then it will be ported to the other.

I just picked up one on the earlybird deal. So hoping you guys get the numbers, it came out to approx $150AUD which was my price point to buy.

Good luck!
Adam Erickson March 26, 2015 at 3:29pm

Nice work!
Víctor Mayoral March 26, 2015 at 2:48pm

Thanks @Randy. We started taking a look at APM Planner 2.0 and thought that might be a better option since it's multiplatform. Is there any reason why you suggested MP?
Developer

Randy March 26, 2015 at 2:40pm

Victor,

Nicely done. In the dev team I think we've found the timing on this board is fine. I'm sure it will fly arducopter, arduplane, etc a-ok. We are very keen for the production of more Linux autopilot boards. I think another important step will be to make the upload process for the firmware (i.e. MP upload) super easy.

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