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
AKcopter: Aside from increased memory and better sensors, the main advantage of Pixhawk is that it's easier to use: one board in an enclosure with simplified software support. This is the main PX4-based board going forward and is the best choice.
Hi Jason,
3DR has always been pretty close to the chest about what they are doing, and pretty much has never released anything remotely like a future road map.
But they have a lot invested in both the design and the implementation of the Pixhawk, I think that it is very safe to assume that at this point the Pixhawk and the APM3 are the same thing.
The Pixhawk was really designed to provide the same and better level of hardware interface capability of the APM plus adding the PX4's capabilities.
It has just become a bit more of a collaborative thing with the PX4 team now also involved.
I would be very surprised if 3DR comes out with another board within the next year or so.
Adam,
I would think it is very, very unlikely that 3DR would step even slightly away from open source or open hardware, it is the fuel that feeds the community that feeds them and their goal is not to produce the next $30,000.00 military Hexacopter but to serve us.
The APM has been the most spectacularly successful flight controller so far and is reasonably well debugged at this point, but the very fact of the $75.00 APM as mentioned by Steven is one of the reasons 3DR has to move on.
HobbyKing sells that $75.00 cloned APM and because it is essentially open hardware they have every right to do so, but the company that made it possible in the first place can't sell it at those prices and survive, so it has no choice but to move on.
The clone knockoff guys have no investment in research, development, firmware debugging or support and they have really big underutilized state of the art PC manufacturing facilities in China with really cheap labor.
They survive, often, by copying the work others have invested heavily in.
The only way those who do the work can survive is by staying ahead of them.
DiYDrones and 3DR pretty much ride the crest of that wave.
Just so its clearer to myself and others, given the evolution of 3DR's boards is the pixhawx the APM 3.0 or equivalent or will 3DR independently bring out a board to compete(32bit) with the pixhawx?, Id just like to be sure on which hardware path to follow/throw time and money at, is there a new 3DR hardware roadmap to follow?
Hi Steven, I didn't say it was dead, only that beginning very soon now all the new stuff they come up with is going to go onto the Pixhawk, not the APM.
And you are right, the APM 2.5 and 2.6 are a pretty thoroughly tested and bug free solution.
But 3 to 6 months from now I think it is a pretty strong bet that what the Pixhawk can do and the APM can't is going to make it pretty obvious what people will want to buy.
Chances are 12 months from now we'll be looking at the PX5 or PixBuzzard the same way as the Pixhawk now.
This group does pretty much represent the leading edge and the emphasis is pretty much on leading.
Its true and is probably the entry level AP of choice with many features more expensive units don't have. The Pixhawk though has the chance of running yet discovered features and more elegant nav. As with everything you pays your money.
Try to understand this, yes at this moment the in use functionality of the APM and Pixhawk is approximately equal.
Both will perform pretty much exactly the same.
But, the APM in Copter mode is out of memory, it is impossible to add anything to it without freeing up memory and that is a truly awful and unrewarding task which our "free" developers are very unlikely to undertake at all let alone with any enthusiasm.
Also, the absolute peak possible CPU performance is also currently maxed out on the APM, they can't add any additional tasks without compromising the timing loops they have on the current tasks.
The PX4 / Pixhawk has tons more memory and a huge amount of CPU processing room.
This ensures that virtually all future development is going to be targeted specifically at the PX4 / Pixhawk.
The APM is at the end of its growth cycle the PX4 / PixHawk is just getting started.
And there is a huge amount of stuff they would still like to add and performance increases to implement.
The original APM lived about a useful year after the APM 2.X series came out and a few people are still using them.
My guess is that is true for the APM 2.x too and that year started about 3 months ago.
If you still think the APM is the best way to go I am sure 3DR will be delighted, they have old stock they need to get rid of.
In fact, the Pixhawk is for this group definitely going to be the way of the future, it is better optimized for our use than it's parent the PX4FMU + PX4IO.
You can realize a small savings on the APM 2.5 or 2.6 and if you are already using them, buying another one might make sense to maintain absolute compatibility.
But for everybody else, the primary problem with the Pixhawk is that they are just ramping up production so they are still pretty scarce and shipping delays will probably result.
What is the pixhawx going to give me over my well tuned and well behaved APM 2.5's? is there a reason to upgrade based on "improved performance" or is it a pure feel good factor having the latest FC board?
Can any one tell me if the new JR X-buss will work with the Pixhawk please,thanks Marty
@Veikko You can run APM:Plane, APM:Copter, APM:Rover on it, and those are all supported with Pixhawk with Mission Planner and with the new cross-platform GCS options that will be available soon.
@Bill: That's almost correct, it misses an important part: The Pixhawk platform runs NuttX, and on top the PX4 middleware. Drivers, mixers, RC input handling, bootloaders, so quite a bit of flight relevant parts. APM runs on top of PX4 (and not only on top of NuttX). The differences are only at the flight control level, where users have the choice between the PX4 flight stack and APM. The lower layers and the IO backup / failsafe processor is in all cases running the PX4 middleware stack.
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