Almost exactly one year after the first PX4 announcement, we would like to introduce our newest member of the family, Pixhawk! For those familiar with the existing PX4 electronics, it is the all-in-one board combining PX4FMU + PX4IO, combined with a processor and sensor update and a number of new features. The current board revisions will however remain in full service and active development and are fully compatible. Pixhawk is designed for improved ease of use and reliability while offering unprecedented safety features compared to existing solutions.
Pixhawk is designed by the PX4 open hardware project and manufactured by 3D Robotics. It features the latest processor and sensor technology from ST Microelectronics which delivers incredible performance and reliability at low price points.
The flexible PX4 middleware running on the NuttX Real-Time Operating System brings multithreading and the convenience of a Unix / Linux like programming environment to the open source autopilot domain, while the custom PX4 driver layer ensures tight timing. These facilities and additional headroom on RAM and flash will allow Pixhawk the addition of completely new functionalities like programmatic scripting of autopilot operations.
The PX4 project offers its own complete flight control stack, and projects such as APM:Copter and APM:Plane have ported their software to run as flight control applications. This allows existing APM users to seamlessly transition to the new Pixhawk hardware and lowers the barriers to entry for new users to participate in the exciting world of autonomous vehicles.
The flagship Pixhawk module will be accompanied by new peripheral options, including a digital airspeed sensor, support for an external multi-color LED indicator and an external magnetometer. All peripherals are automatically detected and configured.
Features
32 bit ARM Cortex M4 Processor running NuttX RTOS
14 PWM / Servo outputs (8 with failsafe and manual override, 6 auxiliary,
high-power compatible)
Abundant connectivity options for additional peripherals (UART, I2C, CAN)
Integrated backup system for in-flight recovery and manual override with
dedicated processor and stand-alone power supply
Backup system integrates mixing, providing consistent autopilot and manual
override mixing modes
Redundant power supply inputs and automatic failover
External safety switch
Multicolor LED main visual indicator
High-power, multi-tone piezo audio indicator
microSD card for long-time high-rate logging
32bit STM32F427 Cortex M4 core with FPU
168 MHz
256 KB RAM
2 MB Flash
32 bit STM32F103 failsafe co-processor
ST Micro L3GD20H 16 bit gyroscope
ST Micro LSM303D 14 bit accelerometer / magnetometer
MEAS MS5611 barometer
5x UART (serial ports), one high-power capable, 2x with HW flow control
2xCAN
Spektrum DSM / DSM2 / DSM-X® Satellite compatible input
Futaba S.BUS® compatible input and output
PPM sum signal
RSSI (PWM or voltage) input
I2C®
SPI
3.3 and 6.6V ADC inputs
External microUSB port
Power System and Protection
Ideal diode controller with automatic failover
Servo rail high-power (up to 10V) and high-current ready (10A +)
All peripheral outputs over-current protected, all inputs ESD protected
- Monitoring of system and servo rails, over current status monitoring of peripherals
Dimensions
Weight: 38g (1.31oz)
Width: 50mm (1.96")
Thickness: 15.5mm (.613")
Length: 81.5mm (3.21")
Availability
This announcement is a service to our users and developers to allow them to plan their hardware roadmaps in time, and to show what we're currently working on. The board will not be immediately available, but 3D Robotics is taking pre-orders for Pixhawk now, and will begin shipping in late October [Update 11/11: the current expected ship date is late Nov]. The price is $199.99.
Comments
I think that your labeled multicolor led looks more like a reset button are you sure its a led?
Hi all,
The start of the Pixhawk Overview Wiki page is here: http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-pixhawk-overview/
Please insert comments in this Blog about data you would like to see added or any editing you feel would benefit.
Data is still a little scarce at this point.
And those are the only 2 illustrations I could find, but I will continue to update this as things develop.
Will my card be charged right away, or not until it ships?
@Matthew Coleman re: Mixing: All mixing is done directly on IO (for multicopters and fixed wing), so in case of a fixed wing you have the same mixing (and RC calibration) in manual override as in the autopilot, despite that the autopilot is out of the loop. This is a huge improvement over other failsafe / override systems, where a loss of the main autopilot also kills your mixing. We're offering per-vehicle presets for popular airframes, but you can also fully configure your mixers yourself, as described on this (rather technical) developer guide page: https://pixhawk.ethz.ch/px4/dev/mixing
it says right in the description pre orders 199 dollars that is the price 199 dollars
No it would mean it's just one more solution added to the list of already available autopilot controllers diydrones cover as a community, the fact that 3dr produce it makes the px4 family more end user assessable to users who might not have ventured into that class or architecture
I'd be very happy to leave the 8-bit Arduino architecture behind. Anyone who's done software development in a highly constrained, maxed-out system knows it's a major PITA. Managing memory is difficult, watching CPU times is a pain and debugging overflowing interrupt queues is almost impossible. Moving to a more robust and powerful system will make software development easier and less buggy and move the platform far, far ahead.
So are we hinting at Apm 2.6 may be the last Apm? ie no Apm 2.7 or Apm3. The Pixhawk is the Future of 3DR and DIY? Cause I like it! Pre-order time!!!
I compensated for lack of facial hair by building a tricopter.
@Lorenz, I see that it is smaller area but it needs a stackup with the IO module. This makes it too deep for my 3m airframe.
Did you ever get some configurable mixers put on the IO module?
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