Following up with the PixHawk Fire Cape (PXF) series that was started a while ago, I'm happy to announce the PXFmini, an open autopilot shield for the Raspberry Pi. This autopilot shield allows anyone to create ready-to-fly autopilots with support for Dronecode’s APM flight stack priced at only 69 €. The shield has been designed with low cost in mind and specially for the Raspbery Pi Zero (it is also compatible with other Raspberry Pi boards). Find below some of its features:
A tiny yet powerful design
The PXFmini shield weighs only 15 grams and on it’s 31mm x 71 mm embeds all the power electronics necessary to comply with most of the existing components for drones using its 2xI2C and UART ports.
The design is based on previous iterations with proper APM upstream support and provides 8 PWM output channels as well as a PPMSUM input.
A shield for sensing
PXFmini includes a 9 axes IMU (MPU9250), a digital barometer (MS5611) and an ADC for voltage measurements.
An improved experience
Forget about breaking those DF13 connectors. We’ve decided to bet on the new JST GH connectors (adopted by the Dronecode Foundation) to provide an amazing new experience. We’ve also partnered with manufacturers to provide DF13 to JST GH converters.
Open design
All the schematics are open for you to hack around. They’ll be released as soon as the boards start shipping. Shipping will start in early February 2016.
We made a short clip closing the year where we show the board:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXZb2gN9SEg
Thanks everyone and merry christmas!
Comments
Cool, when will the schematics and layout be available?
Hi Bjorn,
I'd say it's a good replacement for the PXF 2.0 and similar shields to create Linux autopilots. The PXFmini is an iteration over the PXF 2.0 and involved relevant design for manufacturing that helped us cut the costs.
Nice addition Victor! Looking forward to it.
Fantastic! The smaller form factor will make Linux autopilots viable for a much wider range of vehicles. Well done!
Does this replace the PXF 2.0 and/or erle brain 2?
Congrats on the release btw :)
Hey Patrick!
Connecting to sensors, actuators, transceivers etc. As hardware evolves, we expect JST GH-compatible peripherals to appear. People will demand cables and we've reached agreements to provide them. We are hoping to cut the costs down as we purchase bigger quantities.
They are the usual GPS and Power modules you know but include the cable already fixed for direct connection to the PXFmini.
With regard the JST GH connectors, I have to admit I was skeptical about the change at the very beginning but after having worked with them for about a month I have to say i love them! The cost is higher but totally worth it.
Hola Victor,
Nice design , quite impressive to see you going from concept to final product within 3 month.. Congrats !!
Looking get one in February, in the mean time can you answer these:
Power module (JST GH) = Can you describe this module please
UBlox Neo 7M (JST GH) = Is this the only model compatible ?
JST GH (4 pins) = What are these needed for ?
JST GH (6 pins)= What are these needed for ?
Concerning these connector, are you selling just the connector , or it is supplied with cable ?
Which chip are you using to drive PWM ?
Best Regards , Happy New Yrear
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