Sky-Drones.com unveils SmartAP 4 Autopilot - the latest generation flight control system for multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles of various configurations and sizes aimed at the wide range of applications. The main feature of the system is the capability of fully autonomous flight including take off, waypoints flight, landing and much more. The core is based on powerful 32-bit microcontroller ST Microelectronics® STM32F4 and 9-axis Inertial Measurement Unit. The latest UBlox® GPS module with integrated 3-axis magnetometer and pressure sensor can be connected externally for autonomous flight capabilities as well as wireless telemetry module for system configuration, mission planning & control and in-flight monitoring via specially designed SmartAP Ground Control Station and Configuration Tool. SmartAP 4.x supports any type of multirotor UAV with outstanding flight performance, reliability, navigation and control precision. Compact size and weight makes integration of the system fast and easy, various I/O interfaces allow creating the applications for interaction with 3rd party electronics and payload.
General specifications
- Powerful microcontroller 32 bit 168 MHz STM32F4 ARM Cortex M4
- Compatible with GPS/GLONASS receiver (UBlox NEO8, GPS/GLONASS, up to 24 sats, 10 Hz) active antenna
- Up to 12 PWM I/O support (5V out)
- USB interface for configuration / firmware update
- Various communication lines (UART, I2C, SPI)
- MicroSD, 4-bit SDIO interface for data-logging / parameters storage
- Backup battery for RTC
- 2x ADC inputs for battery voltage / current monitoring
- Electromagnetic sound audio indicator
- 3-channels LED support (up to 500mA / ch)
- 2-channels solid state relay
Flight performance:
- Extremely stable flight in stabilize (user control), position hold (semi-autonomous control) and auto (fully autonomous navigation and control) modes
- Native support of SmartAP Ground Control Station and Configuration Tool
- Accurate GPS Position hold (up to 40cm), manual position override
- Accurate Altitude hold (up to 10 cm), manual altitude override
- Fully autonomous waypoints flight
- Return to home mode
- Failsafe detection and event triggering
- And many more…
Available flight modes
- Stabilization
- Altitude Hold
- GPS Position Hold
- Loiter
- Return to Home
- Autonomous Waypoints Flight
- Guided / Follow me
- Take off
- Landing
Processor
- ST Microelectronics STM32F427VI
- 32 bit 168 MHz ARM Cortex M4
- Hardware FPU
Sensors
- 2x 9-axis IMU InvenSense MPU-9250 (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer)
- 2x Pressure sensor MS5611 (integrated and external)
- 1x 3-axis magnetometer HMC5883 (external)
- 1x UBlox M8N GPS Module (external)
Interfaces
- 12x PWM I/O
- 1x PPM / SBUS Input
- 1x SBUS Output
- 1x Power Input port
- 1x LED Output port
- 3x UART
- 2x I2C
- 1x SPI
- 1x USB Mini-B
Size
- Length: 63mm
- Width: 42mm
- Height: 16mm
- Weight: 21g
More information at http://sky-drones.com/
Comments
Olivier, thanks! The biggest advantages are the stability, navigation and control precision.
Marc, yes, you're right, this is very close to SmartAP 3 but more compact and includes only the most essential parts. The peripherals from Pixhawk is compatible. The thing which was improved is the connectors type - SmartAP uses Molex Picoblade which are higher quality and more reliable compared to DF13 used in Pixhawk.
Side by side comparison is coming soon.
Hellcat74, the final price will be announced after starting the sales. Currently I can say that this will be around $490 including the main controller, GPS, telemetry, power supply module, buzzer, set of cables and etc.
Kirill the specs are amazing. It looks like a very accurate design. This can be a new milestone.
My hat off!!.
Congratulations, if you able to match the tens of thousands of man hours of development and testing that went into Ardupilot or PX4. What advantages does it have over these?
So this is the small form factor version of the Smart AP3? I am guessing it is close to a swap out for a Pixhawk and you could probably re-use the same peripherals, right down to the telemetry radios and GPS. Looks nice.
Still waiting for the side-by-side test against Pixhawk!
Olivier, the code we're running is proprietary and not based neither on APM, nor on PX4. The same about SmartAP GCS, it's our custom designed from the scratch ground control station.
Could be a great new addition in the world of autopilots, Kirill. Is the flight controller code running on that STM32F4 based on Ardupilot or PX4? And the ground station software based on Mission Planner or QGroundControl?
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