PX4 and 3D Robotics present Pixhawk: An Advanced, User-Friendly Autopilot

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

Specifications

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

Interfaces

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.

Hi Brian I understand what you are trying to say...but we need to remember that this is an open source project along with making the already existing code more efficient and compact ...we need some extra processing headroom which can be exploited by new contributors to the code who until now have not been a part of the APM copter community..there will always be a demand for more efficient and compact code...sure but that's a job for coders like Randy Mackey and people like him who have been long term contributors to the APM git and have a Better understanding of the code on a whole...being able to write sloppy code to test whether theoretical results are applicable in the practical world is a job for new people whose minds are not already cluttered with hardware constraints.....I am more for experimentation....if you look at how the ardupilot project started it was in a similar way to what I have stated above....we deserve to be moving at that rate of growth consistently rather than pausing to think over hardware shortcomings...

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Comments

David Pawlak October 29, 2013 at 3:43am

@Florian,

Even if they start shipping early Nov, the backlog may cause some of us to get them a week or two later than the expected shipping date. Perhaps the reseller is adding a cushion, and maybe a bit of "safe pessimism" from his side.

Every day of delay means another bug or two gets ironed out meantime. I know the techs are working overtime to smooth put the flaws.
AKcopter October 29, 2013 at 2:51am

It still says this on the product page

"Pixhawk orders will begin shipping in late October 2013."
RickP October 29, 2013 at 1:38am

Wether late-november is the case or not, and no matter how frustrating - it'd be a whole lot more frustrating if its not right when its shipped, don't you think? I'd rather be a little more patient and get a better product.... (and yes, I am on the list too, and would have loved to have it already - but I want it right when I get it)
Florian Eckert October 29, 2013 at 1:28am

Now im really ******!
Got an email from my local reseller, who told me that the Pixhawk will be shipped in late november! I already sold my multiwii flightboard. Can somebody tell me when the Pixhawk will be shipped and why the delivery date was moved?
Please more informations!
AKcopter October 24, 2013 at 9:30am

@Brent ...I think it is just a matter of time before the MinimOSD is supported by the PIXHAWK...... the APM 2.5 sends MAVLINK messages to the OSD which are then interpreted accordingly by the ARDUINO MCU on the OSD chip to display information on the video frame by the OSD chip....similarly the PIXHAWK can do the same... after all the PIXHAWK supports the 3DR telemetry module which again trades MAVLINK messages with your ground station and there is no reason why it cant do the same with the MinimOSD
Steven G October 24, 2013 at 5:10am

I inquired to the office and was given a bit of a CYA answer. Shipments will start late October/early November. Since there are only 5 more working days in October, early November sounds more real. If someone gets a shipping notice, please post.
Alan Roberts October 24, 2013 at 2:20am

Can't be much longer to wait now, the Pixhawk is due to start shipping late October.

how's things coming guys?
Brent Alderton October 23, 2013 at 8:21pm

I am looking to have an OSD on my quad and am interested in the Pixhawk. What are the options that would work with this? would the APM MinimOSD work and if so, which connection point would you use?
Developer

Bill Bonney October 21, 2013 at 1:11am

@brian. To counter you argument, its much better to not have to spend time on weird optimization strategies based memory foot print etc... As this can show up as bizarre errors.

With more CPU processing power, energy can be spent on function correctness, than needless optimizations.

The current devs have been focused recently on improving performance on APM2.5. They are very skilled and diligent. They do it for the glory, and not a marketing feature sheet. They are not slapping any half baked features in. I come from 15yrs industry experience, and the devs for APM use all the current best practices. It's really impressive.

And as all devs know, aim for correctness first, and optimize later, if needed. The problem with optimized code is that it can be harder to read, which impacts maintainability due to it being more obscure.

Your comment fits a generalized practice with in software, but not here.
AKcopter October 20, 2013 at 10:49pm

Hi Brian I understand what you are trying to say...but we need to remember that this is an open source project along with making the already existing code more efficient and compact ...we need some extra processing headroom which can be exploited by new contributors to the code who until now have not been a part of the APM copter community..there will always be a demand for more efficient and compact code...sure but that's a job for coders like Randy Mackey and people like him who have been long term contributors to the APM git and have a Better understanding of the code on a whole...being able to write sloppy code to test whether theoretical results are applicable in the practical world is a job for new people whose minds are not already cluttered with hardware constraints.....I am more for experimentation....if you look at how the ardupilot project started it was in a similar way to what I have stated above....we deserve to be moving at that rate of growth consistently rather than pausing to think over hardware shortcomings...

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