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
@Robert I owe you my sincerest apology. I did misunderstand. Also, I was unaware that anyone other than beta testers were getting the Pixhawk before us who preordered. That is what was indicated to me and that approximately 90 per day were being shipped out to the early preorder folks when the problem was discovered. Quality Control (QC), while checking the finished products before they were shipped out, apparently found the issue and stopped the shipping line. Again, my apologies.
@Robert Wiklund There was a small problem discovered last week while the team was sending them out. My understanding is the issue involved a flash memory card. I for one am glad to know the problem was identified and the unit I receive will be problem free instead of having a potentially defective dataflash card. Mine was also preordered and has been delayed several times. I'm just glad they are taking the time to make sure what I receive is thoroughly QC'ed and is the best they can deliver.
I work in the Airline industry and have to deal with QC and QA issues daily. QC is very important due to the hazardous nature of flying machines. A gent at our club recently had to have many stitches on his fingers and arms due to a quad getting away from him in his apartment. It was an ugly sight and I am glad 3DR takes a little extra time for safety.
Sorry for the rambling post but I just think they are doing a fine job. Maybe others see it different.
Lol, you obviously didn't wait for the 2.5 release. That one seemed to take foreeeeeever.
I'm really not convinced presales are a good thing.
Just to repeat, all the Pixhawks will be sent by the first full week of Jan. There were many hundreds of orders on the announcement date, and yours should be going out next week.
@Brian the Pixhawk board does more than a NAZA can do you don't need anything else.
Brian,
You would need to give the Pixhawk a 5v power supply and a vibration isolated mount
Provide PPM RC inputs (you can use an encoder if needed)
GPS and magnetometer input, signal out to your ESCs
Mount the safety switch and buzzer.
Those are the basics. I don't have any first hand experience with the X830, but I'm sure it would be fairly straightforward.
I'm actually really curious about what Airware will come up with. They haven't really given out much information or press conferences about their OS.
@ Adam,
Odroid is a fine embedded PC but with a major drawback: It doesn't have any GPIO pins.
That means that if you are to drive any servo outputs with it, you need to have a cooperating microcontroller onboard as well.
Well the x830 was 900.00 and all I would like to do is install the Mission planning software and autopilot features. I did not think that you would have to "gut" the quad. I was hoping for just an add on. I am wondering if this is a difficult task or not.
Thanks
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