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
thanks for you reply lefebvre
but there are some things who are bad like connectors....
i am waiting to see if with this new sensors they will not have vibration problem.
titeuf007: Naza can't do half of what the APM is capable of, and with PX4 the gap will widen even further. These aren't even in the same league. And the APM and PX4 are not really "DIY" anymore either, not like you have to solder anything. So it's not really a surprise that the prices are similar. And as for the BOM, have you even seen what's inside yet? There's a lot you don't know, such as that ideal diode controller we're talking about.
Lorenz: Ok, right, so there's a 3.3V regulator inside. What's the maximum input on it? I guess what I'm really getting at is that if I could have 8.4V on the servo rail, and get the benefit of it potentially being a fail-over supply, that would be awesome.
it was hard work to put the existing PX4 inside phantom frame. the new would be a piece of cake.
The mounting hole distances on the bare board with no case ?
you can t say that i have one and i am very happy with it
i am happy with my apm too but you can t compare comercial production and diy board
on top of that,components are less expansive on this new board than apm but finall price is higher....
It means that it will pick automatically one (in a fixed order) of the available voltage rails as long as its within specs (nominal 5V with margins). If the voltage goes higher or lower, it will automatically fail over to another input. This protects not only from disconnected supplies, but also from malfunctioning ones.
Note that as 5V is these days not used any more for microcontrollers, the 5V rail is like the battery voltage just a supply voltage. Of course there are onboard regulators for all parts, but on 3.3V. The power takes its main input from a 3DR power brick, which has the huge benefit to be able to measure current directly. There will also be a solid high-current story on that, more news in the next weeks. I would be surprised if we missed any power considerations for "big" systems.
Excellent!
Oh yes, I was also wondering about the ideal diode controller (which is awesome!) what does that mean exactly? You've already alluded to the fact that it can fail over to the servo power rail if necessary, but only if it's 5V? So there's no internal power regulator? Just the diode controller intended to take in 5V?
But I love that you're using an ideal diode controller and do away with all these fuses and diodes voltage drop headaches.
@Lorenz: Thanks - that is what I hoped it meant, fantastic!
@Robert one more comment on high current: It will easily take 10A with a smile and handle even higher currents still fine.
Actually I need to update the post. It has been designed to take up to 10V, the 7V number was just picked as nominal value. If you exceed it you still don't damage the system, but it will then not be able to use the servo rail as backup power for the override / safety processor. If the servo rail is around 5V, it also serves as failover for the main autopilot, although the 3DR power brick is the intended main power source.
The power system design is following the philosophy of high availability systems and uses similar components.
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