new autonav / GPS / IMU / OSD !!!

[corvette321]

hello

i run a small electronics company.

the techFX motion controller will be coming out soon.

it will be able to provide 6 degrees of freedom motion control with upto 16 IO including driving upto 8 servos at 5 v.
it has GPS optional, and Zigbee (xbee series 1 and series 2) modules optional for communications (1 mile) and soon a dongle for Xbee Xcite (for upto 20 miles)

also has an OSD chip with video in and out.... via SPI port.

it is well suited for auto navigational devices, robot balancing, motion sensing, and robot control applications.

the features are as follows:



40 MIPS dspic MCU
3 axis accelerometer
3 axis gyroscope (2 axis equipped, 3rd is optional)
GPS module optional (20 channel) etek eb85a
DGPS port
Zigbee / 802.15.4 module optional (Xbee series 1 or series 2) , Xbee xcite optional
1 Mbit eeprom
128K flash memory for programs
64K user ram
16 IO configurable as 12/10 bit A2D, input, output, 8 IO are at 5 volts ideal for servo control
FS USB
SPI port
I2C port
UART port
can drive upto 8 servos with pwm at 5v
power headers (5v, 3.3v, GND)
small 2x2.5 inch size
and many more features to be added!!!!
max 7456 OSD chip with video in and outhttp://www.thesiliconhorizon.com/images/motion1.jpg

you can checkout our website at

www.TheSiliconHorizon.com (http://www.TheSiliconHorizon.com)

and will also take trades for helo stuff too!

but ill be posting youtube videos really soon of the OSD tests..

some of the software examples are written.... working on OSD routines now.

:clappp:clappp:clappp:clappp:clappp:clappp

[corvette321]

another shot :hug::thumbup::thumbup:


http://www.thesiliconhorizon.com/images/motion2.jpg

[corvette321]

just a few more notes:

total of 13 major chips on there is a small 2" x 2.5" package.

will be available without the 6 DOF chips in a cheaper version....



techFX motion full IMU version with everything and OSD
techFX motion light no IMU

optional addons:

-can uppgrade to full IMU later on with Z-riser and 2 chips
-Xbee Xcite addon dongle for commo upto 20 miles (900 mhz)
-etek eb85a GPS module 32 channel
-DGPS module
-Xbee series 1 or series 2 or Znet 2.5 (approx 1 mile with pro versions at 2.4 ghz)
-RXmux board

[ErichF]

So, what is it, as it relates to helicopters? A payload control, an autopilot, or stabilizer? I don't see any static barometric sensors, so it's not going to be the best autopilot, but could work from GPS on a good day.

[corvette321]

you hook up what u need.

this is also for ground vehicles...


so if u need a compass (magnetos...) then u can hook that upto the I2C port (sparkfun sells a cheap one..)

same with pressure....

its modular.

add what u need, and dont buy what u dont need.

yes, there will be different variants of autopilot for helo and airplanes...also for ground

and the source code will be open so it can be modified and developed upon.

[corvette321]

hmm working from gps alone??

i dont recommend that!!

is that what you do?

no the firmware and filters will only use GPS data when above a # of sats (maybe 5) and a goos confidence level

HDOP, VDOP

you are familiar with HDOP right?? a lower # is better....

but yes, first you should use onboard sensors..and compare them with gps data.... thats a no brainer.

have you used the etek? its a 32 channel and on good days it gets like 9 sats.

thanks

:clappp:clappp:clappp

[corvette321]

remember most sensor boards (that are modular and not a complete embedded solution) come with one of threee interface methods.

1) I2C at 100, 400 khz or 1mhz


2) SPI at various rates (maybe max 10 mhz) with chip select


3) UART (aka serial) at upto maybe 250 Kbaud or slower....


just a matter of hooking up what you need.

we were going to include the honey well 3 axis magneto but we decided to make it an option and on pins so it could be mounted away from the zigbee rx/tx as we didnt want interference....

always a good idea to mount sensors away from other electronics..

[ErichF]

hmm working from gps alone??
i dont recommend that!!
is that what you do?

no the firmware and filters will only use GPS data when above a # of sats (maybe 5) and a goos confidence level

have you used the etek? its a 32 channel and on good days it gets like 9 sats.

thanks

No, it appeared that was what your system was doing.

My experience so far is with Procerus Kestral, Micropilot MP2128, and Cloud Cap Piccolo II. The MP2128 is a heli version with external magnetometer and sonic altimeter. The Kestral and Piccolo are basic setups without compass or sonic altitude.

The GPS on the MP2128 is Ublox, and I think the Piccolo is as well but not sure. It should be no problem for any quality GPS to get 12 sats.

BTW, you can edit the first post, without posting separate entries for every late thought...

[double0757]

Corvett 321: I'm going to speak for my self, but I can't understand all the techincal data. I would like a system that you can take your hands off, take pictures or film and land. I'm sure your system can do this in different ways but telling me for example 12c at 100, 400khz or 1mhz leave me ???? I know is 12 chanels and it operates in different frequencies but I don't know what It all can you connect to it and in what way to my reciever or camera. Hopefully some techie can understanded and explain it to us pilot. Double O

[corvette321]

thanks for the editing suggestions eric :)

[corvette321]

Corvett 321: I'm going to speak for my self, but I can't understand all the techincal data. I would like a system that you can take your hands off, take pictures or film and land. I'm sure your system can do this in different ways but telling me for example 12c at 100, 400khz or 1mhz leave me ???? I know is 12 chanels and it operates in different frequencies but I don't know what It all can you connect to it and in what way to my reciever or camera. Hopefully some techie can understanded and explain it to us pilot. Double O


there will be levels for everyone :)

will be frontend software for various applications such as complex OSD setup.

or some simple autonav functions as well....

trying to make this as modular as possible and using known hardware addons that everyone already uses.

and it will also be very advanced for that crowd, those who want to modify our code and make something themselves.

but yet there will be a frontend GUI app in windows :)

thanks for the reply

[vrwired]

Sounds interesting.. I like the modular aspect and the OSD..
I would love altitude hold and position hold..

What kind of pricing are you thinking of?
Also.. is there onboard swash mixing?

[corvette321]

hello :)

yes the idea is to be modular as possible to appeal to all platforms...

being open source, i want people to develop custom firmwares and post them on our site.

we will also be heavily developing firmwares and applications.

starting with OSD, then next is camera hold functions such as alt hold etc.....

switching between user control and the function will be accomplished via an optional RX mux board... thats also the failsafe.

and of course the OSD will function throughout along with the other functions....

our test setup is going to be a trex 600 as that seems to be one of the most popular for camera work (costly professional models aside)

there are 8 servo lines on this MCU which can control whatever it is programmed to control.... but that doesnt limit you to 8 servos.. you could hook up a devantech SD 21 to the I2C port and control another 21 servos!! it is limitless with all the ports and analog / digital lines we have.

as soon as the pic 32 comes out, this conroller will goto 80 MIPS (from 40 MIPS now dsPIC 33), that is about 3 months away. so theres plenty of power to accomodate all these tasks./.... stop flying with puny pic 18's !!!!!

all of the development software is free from microsoft visual c# (thats what we develop in for GUI applications...) and

we will also develop a GUI dashboard for telemetry applications... this goes great with the Xbee Xcite 900 Mhz link which is good for upto 20 miles!!! couple with 5.8 ghz a/v link (cheap from www.dpcav.com (http://www.dpcav.com)) you can easily have a 5+ mile rig that is reliable.... (now you just need to extend your flight time!!! i know the electric helos are hurting for this kind of range... with sub 10 minute flight times....but for planes hey this is very doable...

our OSD will have a GUI frontend for custom setup.

hmm what else did i leave out...

oh yah price...

well the IMU chips are expensive in itself.... thats why we offer a No IMU option, or you can upgrade later by having you or us use a hot air station to install the chips.

the gryoscope chips are 80 bux total.

the accelo is a cheap chip and im thinking to include it with all models at only 6 bux.

so for the light version were looking at 120-150

and the full IMU version is probably 250-300. yah you can checkout sparkfun and youd be paying 350-400 just for the IMU alone with no GPS, no OSD no nothing!! (not even code....)

with the addons we have and other manufacturers (notable www.dpcav.com (http://www.dpcav.com)) this is going to be a wonderful setup.

but it does have a little learning curve. however you guys having built your own helos are upto the task of light programming if needed. thats part of the fun.

but there will be no programming options too.

we will produce some addons for it, namely the Xbee Xcite dongle which allows upto 20 miles 9600 buad telemetry link.... those will be cheap!! about 20 bux each.

the 5.8 ghz stuff we are leaving upto www.dpcav.com (http://www.dpcav.com) they already sell the modules and those modules rock!! they can go further than others.... at 3.3 volts its 500 mA power... and in ISM band. (ham radio license...)

the RX mux is already a product also.. and can be purchased through www.acroname.com (http://www.acroname.com)

current sensors, can be purchased from www.dpcav.com (http://www.dpcav.com)

magneto 3 axis honeywell I2C module from www.sparkfun.com (http://www.sparkfun.com)

pressure sensor SPI from www.sparkfun.com (http://www.sparkfun.com)


hmmm what else did i leave out??

rpm , hall effect you can get that anywhere.

but the above represents a full complete solution and is very highend.

but that is what i would use (and will) in my own.

already developing the OSD code... and will post youtube videos and update our website accordingly, but we are really excited to offer this platform since we feel nobody else offers such a complete solution and one that is as fast and scalable (modular...)

if u made it down here thanks for reading my blog hahaha :)

-drex

[Cryofix]

More more more more

Date the final will be available
Price
step by step guide.

[corvette321]

hahahahah

hmm final version :p

it will never be final!!

we will always be updating it with more features and more firmware and more GUI's...

hahahahaha...

havent even released the 1st one yet and we are already planning to more than double the processing power!!!

as soon as the pic32 are ready to go well drop it in!! (they are saying Q2 so well see.....) i give it maybe 3-4 months....

:)


the techFX motion light version will be good for ground based RC's... you could stand to do with pure GPS on it... and have great triangular and even object avoidance algorithms... and OSD... and very cheaply too when u drop the IMU....

then you add the IMU and now your in the air.... with planes and helo's... with OSD.

so thats our "all in one" approach.

there will be comprehensive manuals written also with tons of tech support.

[corvette321]

still writing code like crazy...

heres a working OSD image.....

adding GPS and other things now..

coding is fun :)

:Bang:Bang:Bang:Bang:Bang:Bang:Bang:Bang:Bang:Bang :banana:banana:banana:banana:banana

[Hogster]

Gosh this sounds incredibly exciting! I will put a link in the Aerial Photography forums on RCGroups and RunRyder for you! :D :D

We were discussing something like this only today:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9489358&#post9489358

Keep us posted!


David :)

[corvette321]

wow someone revived that thread from april 2007 !!! :clappp:clappp:clappp

hey good info :) the helicommand system is popular as is the ap2000....

we hope to offer something modular and open source :thumbup::thumbup:

thanks for spreading links !!!

:clappp:clappp

[corvette321]

oh forgot to mention cheaper!!! hahahahaha

cheaper is better!!!

:smokin::smokin:

[Griffo]

I've been considering the HC Rigid but really like your idea of a modular system with open source for development.

Altitude hold and horizontal (perhaps even position) hold is what I need. If this can be made availalbe with altitude hold at a cheaper price than HC rigid then I'm in!

[corvette321]

the cheapest possible route for a full IMU with all the features mentioned above would be to buy our techFX motion light board (thats without the IMU components) and solder on the parts for the IMU yourself!!!

yes we are using the same PCB for the light version!!!

so if you have a hot air rework station or a reflow toaster oven, you can put together your IMU even cheaper than what we will sell the full version for!!

but the 1st one we are releasing is the techFX motion light version with windows OSD software.....

the options for this are:

1) no programming, complete GUI version with firmware preinstaled.

2) can program your own firmware and change source code using free MCC 30 pic compiler and a cheap clone ICD 2 programmer (or pickit 2) available on ebay for about $30 dollars.

the techFX motion light version (everything but the 6 DOF IMU) will be available as early as 3 weeks from now.

complete IMU version to follow soon.

[corvette321]

pricing for the techFX motion light version with software will be around $100-120 range.

techFX motion full version (IMU) will be around $250 range.


if you reflow or rework your own IMU chips on there (about 90 dollars worth of chips) you can save yourself about 50 dollars.

[corvette321]

oh yah forgot to mention another great feature of both versions.

the Xbee communication module.... (which can go upto 20 miles depending on which one you choose) will be able to control your camera!!!

it will provide a serial link, and will be transparent to current software..!!!

thats right you can use your favorite software that you are already using to control your camera!!! no need to buy a separate camera control board.

All that is needed is to hook up the serial cable from your camera to our controller.

how can we do this?

this is basically a hardware patch.... we are using the Xbee module to provide a wireless serial protocol link betwen the computer and the controller on your UAV.

that hardware is transparant to your windows software and will use a standard com port.

why do we like this?

CAUSE WE DONT HAVE TO WRITE ANY SOFTWARE hahahahahah

:clappp:clappp:clappp:clappp


the Xbee link could also be used in other ways such as a "telemtry dashboard" etc.

[corvette321]

here is the 1st test layout.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcxilxPlc4M

the heading scroll and distance to home and target arent coded yet (2 bottom lines...)

this has thresholds for GPS start (hdop, vdop, and pdop) that wont proceed to screen 2 until they are past the threshold values (then it will log the home coordinate for DTH calculation)

the screen swiching rate is adjustable as is what data u want to display.

all variables can be set via windows GUI interface...

also there are threshold for blink values for battery voltage and current-hour meter....(as seen in example..)

we are basing the altimeter on the SCP1000 baro and temp chip (via SPI port)
compass will be external also, and each board will have the accelo chip on them so they can use 3 axis magneto and calculate a heading WITH TILT!!! (cheaply done...)

u could use a 2 axis also if u really wanted too :)

the current sensor is adjustable via windows GUI also so you can use a 50 amp or 100 amp and just quickly change the rate in eeprom.

its also very modular, you can add what u want and modify code yourself if you like....

and will be very low cost!!

anywhoo this isnt a flying example.... (yet)...

was just testing out the NMEA parsing routines and playig with the layout.... i like this layout...

it aint a graphical OSD, but we will make one later this year after the pic 32 comes out. (i promise!!!)

:clappp:clappp:clappp

[corvette321]

microchip is selling pic 32's now!!!

thats about 120 DMIPS (80 mhz...)


its a pretty fast little MCU...

and is pin for pin compatible with dspic..


so the techFX motion full IMU version will come with the PIC 32

and the light (non IMU) version will come with the dspic.

:):smokin::smokin: