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.

Have you read the comments???!!???
Was already answered!

"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."

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Comments

AKcopter November 16, 2013 at 8:45am

Pixhawk orders are expected to begin shipping in late-November 2013.

hey c'mon is this a joke...how much longer before this gets shipped.....how many times are you guys going to keep extending the deadlines..at-least can we get some details as to when 3dr is planning to ship them..
John November 15, 2013 at 12:10pm

It's hard to control the release of new development hardware. Look at the 787....2 years.

If it's not right the first time it's released there will be a LOT more unhappy people commenting than there are now cause it's late.
Tommy Larsen November 11, 2013 at 1:48pm

Thank you for the update Chris :-)
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson November 11, 2013 at 1:26pm

Manuel: We have hundreds of them out there already in the Iris Developer Edition, and we're using the feedback from those beta testers to make both hardware and software changes to increase reliability, ranging from improved USB drivers to improved power systems. We want this to be the most tested and reliable board we've ever shipped, so we're going to do at least one more hardware rev and test it throughly before releasing it. That is currently targeted for the end of Nov, which is approximately 30 days later than originally planned.

-Chris
Manuel Ramos November 11, 2013 at 1:01pm

Chris, any updates on the Pixhawk? It will be nice to at least know where do you stand in the development and the reasons for the delay...
Dean November 9, 2013 at 11:06pm

I think there will be so many back orders that they will sell out
Peter November 9, 2013 at 12:47pm

Any release dates?????
Florian Eckert November 4, 2013 at 3:59am

Have you read the comments???!!???
Was already answered!

"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."
Brent Alderton November 4, 2013 at 2:56am

It is but needs some modification before release. It will increase the capability of future features that the other cant do. It will be worth it when it finally comes out!
Dean November 4, 2013 at 2:52am

Oh that sucks man, can i ask is this the next best thing since the APM 2.6. Is this a much better flight controller then the 2.6 and why, what different from this controller and the APM 2.6 besides processor power and what does higher processor power mean/allow me to do?

Thanks!

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