Connecting Raspberry Pi w/ Pixhawk and Communicating via MAVLink Protocol

[@karkin96]

The one and only youtuber making some higher end tutorials about drones connecting raspberry pi and pixhawk, with dronekit. Very interesting :) I sure hope there will be more tutorials about RPI and pixhawk coming!

[@dennisbaldwin]

Thanks so much for the good words. Yes more RPi/Pixhawk stuff coming soon. Take care.

[@karkin96]

Hi sir. I have done the dronekit configuration. However, I can only read from Pixhawk, I couldn't send commands from RPI to pixhawk. Any idea why?

[@khushalbrahmbhatt5352]

I can't thank you enough for making these videos. They're the only video tutorials out there on using companion computers with pixhawk. They're really getting me through my college project.

[@dennisbaldwin]

Good luck on your project and thanks for the good words. I appreciate it.

[@Nebul3r]

ive been so interested in building a Long range fixed wing with autonomous capabilities read a load of non sense crap on groups when i asked about Pixhawk Ardupilot etc no one gave me a straight answer felt discouraged and demotivated, its very nice of you to explain in so much detail, atleast now i have proper superficial knowledge about what is what and whats going on, thanks allot!

[@deltavcreations1862]

Hi Dennis I have a question or maybe a clarification. I have been seeing everywhere, whenever RPI and Pix are connected - it is suggested to do over Telem1/2 to RPI serial Pins or use an FTDI connector to an RPI USB. What should happen if we connect it directly from Pixhawk USB to RPI USB? I tried that connection and it still works at least for reading Flight data using Drone kit. Just wanted to know, why it is recommended to connect over telem port! Thanks in advance!

[@danielnainggolan8796]

Hallo Dennis.. I have a problem when the connect to pixhawk.. When the syntax is run, the command is "link 1 down" and "no link".. Can you help me to solve the problem.. Thank you..

[@Migueldeservantes]

May I ask... do this system have to be used with pixhawk??? or its compatible with other AP like the ardupilot? I'm very interested.. but in honesty I just can't change all my aircraft auto pilot controllers...

[@dennisbaldwin]

A lot of ArduPilot based flight controllers support companion computers as discussed here: ardupilot.org/dev/docs/companion-computers.html I have messed with APM 2.6 but will take a look. Good luck getting going.

[@isabido]

Hi Dennis, what version of raspberry are you using? We are testing on a PI v1, and the mavproxy service loads 90% cpu, with a very slow response. Thanks for sharing your videos.

[@dennisbaldwin]

Version 2. I've never used V1 so I'm not sure if that's a known issue. Please let us know what you discover.

[@sergiopostigo1412]

Question: Is it a good practice to feed the pi directly from telemetry port?. I want to do something similar but I´m afraid about the current that the pi will drag from the pixhawk.

[@noahorosw]

The pi3 continues to reboot , and I can't connect through ssh . So I plug in hdmi , and see the pi trying to reboot . So I solder small power outlet wires from main board , and install ubec and plug into pi . Now I can ssh to pi no more trying to reboot everything works good . Don't use telemetry port 2 to power pi .

[@khtan5531]

I have a similar experience where the pi kept trying to reboot when it was powered from the telemetry 2 port. I ended up using a small powerbank to power the pi via its own usb port and strapped it to my drone.

[@karatugba]

I am planning to use ROS2 with Fast DDS in my companion computer, in this case do I need to install Mavlink? I have read px4 guide page and there was always a Mavlink for Flight Mode etc. And I confused. Could you help me with this issue?

[@clyde1820]

Where does the control of the RPi step in? Does it override the current Flight Mode (e.g. Mission) and the Telemetry 1 Port or what? And can I also use the RC at the same time, because I thought the RC was usually connected to Telemetry 2 port.

[@ZiemzyOG]

How do you get your pixhawk to recognize the camera module? I have been looking for a while and cannot find anything ):

[@ravfpv6201]

Hey Dennis Your timing is incredible. I am currently working on a raspberry pi 3b project using Emlid apm sheild along with Emlid Reach. Unlike yourself, I am far from a computer programmer. So I'm running into a language barrier. Thank God I have teenagers. Looking forward to future videos on this discussion. Thanks for keeping us all in the loop Dennis Keith

[@dennisbaldwin]

Keith, Emlid looks like some serious computing power! I'm familiar with Edison but wasn't familiar with Emlid until you mentioned it. I'll post an update soon and hopefully we can all learn from each other on this topic. Thanks for the feedback and I hope all is well.

[@angelleal3005]

I am currently trying to connect a Jetson nano with the Pixhawk but haven't found much information about it. Do you know if it's possible ? and maybe how to approach this task ?

[@siddharth4662]

Hi Dennis... both the Telem ports on my Pixhawk are already occupied... what would be the option to connect a RPi to the Pixhawk?

[@johnmelbolaybolay6269]

Hello. I have dronekit python scripts and usually, it takes some time for the robot to connect with the R-pi. Are there any reason about this one or are there any methods that can make the connection faster?

[@IdleBroadcast]

I'm working with an Arduino to receive telemetry information via serial 4 on PixHawk however some but not all MAVLink messages are received despite boosting the rates: for example setting SR2_EXT_STAT to 10Hz and I still only receive 2/7 messages which are supposed to be bundled with SR2_EXT_STAT. Do you know if PixHawk limits which messages go to the extra serial ports or if I am missing some step in getting the other messages?

[@TurBull4nc3]

Hi, do u connect a telemtry radio to your raspberry pi as well or just the pixhawk and the computer?

[@yokonthesage]

The 6 pin ftdi to toe entry cable is found where? What’s it called or how do you make one?

[@nathanschroeder2193]

I had trouble with this myself, but ended up getting it working. I would be very interested if someone has a better suggestion: -I bought a set of "Dupont" wires -My pixhawk came with a telem to telem 6 pin wire I cut the telem cable in half, and spliced each of the wires to a dupont wire of the corresponding color (leaving the 4th, and 5th pins unconnected) according to these instructions: www.researchgate.net/publication/323683430_Communicating_with_Raspberry_Pi_via_MAVLink

[@angelleal3005]

In my case I have a jetson nano and a pixhawk mini. I don't have a second telemetry port on the pixhawk. Can I use any other port and do the same software configuration you did here ?

[@PaulFreemanTheTall]

Hi Denis, another very interesting video, thanks for that. Supposing one built a bunch of programs on the Pi and wanted to trigger them from the ground e.g.: to execute custom flight operations, what do you think would be a good way to go about that? Is it possible to transmit commands from the operators Tx (I have a Taranis) to the Pi to trigger these 'operations' or would it be necessary to have a separate command radio to transmit commands? I was wondering if it would be possible to use MAVLink to encode ones own command protocol and add those commands to whatever method is used to send e.g.; MAVlink commands from a ground station like qgroundcontrol to the aircraft. My real desire is to use this to develop a richer camera controller for the Olympus OPC 4/3 camera, but its analogous to executing remote commands on a Pi, in fact the same protocol might be used to operate the Raspberry Pi camera, or to control some other kind of sensor such as Lidar etc.

[@dennisbaldwin]

This is such a good question that I've been sorting through lately. I'll post some more info later this week. I'm traveling right now but have some ideas to achieve this. I like your idea of more fine grained control of the your camera. I've been wanting to do the same with my Canon S110 and other cameras that I put into my wing.

[@FPVcambodia]

That's pretty impressive Dennis; I was presented PI some 1 year ago from an open source club in Phnom Penh; and here we are integrating PIxhawk and this small powerful enough computing PI machine! Wow; this looks promising for a few Grams more on the craft with its slaves commands.... Cheers once again for such inspiring tutorials intros; truly inspiring... The only problem is that I do not code on Linux! ;( Cheers and Safe Flying!

[@dennisbaldwin]

I'm not sure if you're into programming at all, but if you are I'd love for you to join our gitter chat sometime. Maybe we can collaborate on some projects together. gitter.im/dbaldwin/DronePan Take care.

[@AASSDD2022]

Hi there! Nice and useful video, thanks for sharing. Just a quick question, hope you can help me: do you know if I can supply the Pixhawk with a power supply instead of a LiPo battery? I will be a lot of time working with PC, so I don't need to fly the drone yet. Thanks for your time and hope you are ok these days!

[@brendendas]

This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you. Eagerly looking forward to your next tutorial.

[@dennisbaldwin]

Thank you for watching.

[@karan7848]

I am having a power-up issue. It says low battery power. Any idea how I can overcome this. Same hardware R-Pi4 + pixhawk 2.4.8

[@henrikarrour8442]

Instead of a mac, would a pc/laptop running windows 7 / 10 could be used? Thank you. Henri

[@khtan5531]

Is it possible to connect the Raspberry Pi 3 to the Pixhawk via the USB ports on both devices (instead of connecting the GPIO pins to the Telem port) ?

[@materialdesign9038]

It should be.

[@gwyne8353]

Very nice tutorial, thanks! Do you know if this would work on Matek H743-wing V2 FC? Or just the Pixhawk? Cos it's kinda expensive and I'm looking for an alternative FC into Ardupilot where I could connect many sensors too

[@laurenceharrison4056]

How did you get the cable to connect the pi and pixhawk (6pin gpio to telem connection). If you made it yourself, do you have parts list for what you used incl tools?

[@dennisbaldwin]

I wired up the cable per this diagram: ardupilot.org/dev/docs/raspberry-pi-via-mavlink.html and used the telemetry cable that shipped with my Pixhawk. Wired it to one end of an FTDI connector I had like in this photo: www.ftdichip.com/Products/Cables/USBTTLSerial.htm Obviously not the USB end but the end with the black connector.

[@koustubhjaiswal6509]

Hi, I am currently working on a project that involves an onboard Raspberry Pi, I have a question that how do I communicate with the onboard computer from my laptop on the ground, shall I add a Wireless internet connection onboard the UAV or is it possible to communicate via the telemetry radio connected to Pixhawk?

[@JARC99_]

Would you recommend buying a pixhawk 2.4.8 like yours in 2020 or should I look for something better? I'm plannin on using a companion computer as well. Excellent video BTW :-)

[@zaknick]

The most common flight controller is still Pixhawk. Navio2 is also pretty sweet. You're building an aerial drone? I'm building a sub.

[@JARC99_]

FLUX_CAPACITOR yes, an aerial one :-)

[@milicbogdanovic9853]

Dennis, I purchased QAV400 years ago I was going to use a raspberry pie and pixhawk to control QAV400, I am missing few items. Do to a job I put this aside for since 2013 and would like to finish my QAV400. Current Specs: - Lumenier QAV400 frame - T-Motor MT2212-11 1100KV motors - fpvmanuals 30 amp ESC’s with SimonK firmware - 3DR Pixhawk with GPS - APC 8x4.7 SF and APC 8x4.7 SFP - GoPro Hero 3 camera - Lumenier 5200mAh 4S battery As you can see I am missing few items, but my intent was to control the QAV400 via smart phone or tablet. I see you connected a raspberry pie, but not for that purpose, I love to pick your brain, so I can finish this build.

[@ericjohn3817]

Thank you so much for the sharing. I have a question about the Raspberry PI you used. Is it a 32bit or 64bit? Does it matter? Thank you.

[@david07haynes88]

Where did you get the cable to connect the RPi and PIXHAWK? The 6 pin fdti to 6 pin telemetry cable?

[@dennisbaldwin]

I made it by splicing together the FTDI and telemetry cables. It would be nice if there were a source that sells them.

[@fatclimber1]

hi Dennis , i am going to but the Pixhawk with Pi.. which version of Pixhawk will you recommend ans how about the GPS, accelerator and other sensors required? thx

[@dennisbaldwin]

I'm a big fan of Pixhawk 2.1 with the accessories as mentioned here: www.proficnc.com/system-kits/31-pixhawk2-suite.html Good luck with your project.

[@thiagocavalcante2366]

Hello Dennis, have you used the dronekit api? I need to use it on raspberry PI, but I could install it :( Can you help me?

[@ais_robotic]

brother i just can read data but arm throttle, mode GUIDED -like as setting command not work how can i do now? plz tell me?

[@Afiso]

Awesome, thank you. Finally i got it working because of your clear video. Greetings from Holland

[@anishpratheepkumar4184]

Hai, I am trying to connect my pixhawk to rapberrypi. Could you please let me know where to find the command list (documentation) for communicating to pixhawk from raspberry terminal ? I mean commands you mentioned here like 'Arm safety off'. I am looking for controlling altitude, roll, pitch and yaw from terminal so i need a related command list to do the same. Thanks in advance!

[@gilquinones6652]

Hi Dennis Great Presentation. I am using Cube PX2 with Raspberry pi. I see an issue with MAV> Link 1 Down. I cannot get around it. Any Ideas?

[@dorrosen2121]

Hello, i'm unable to install some of the libraries and would love for some help. i'm getting those after the line i type in: sudo apt-get install screen python-wxgtk2.8 python-matplotlib python-opencv python-pip python-numpy python-dev libxml2-dev libxslt-dev Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done Note, selecting 'libxslt1-dev' instead of 'libxslt-dev' Package python-wxgtk2.8 is not available, but is referred to by another package. This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or is only available from another source E: Package 'python-wxgtk2.8' has no installation candidate Any advice? Thanks

[@melonstreams9369]

Are there any commands that can be run through Rpi Terminal where the wheels would move?

[@SatinKab]

Hey, I hope you will see this comment. I am new to raspberry pi coding and I am not sure which raspberry pi model to buy. Will this image still work on a raspberry pi 4?

[@최정훈-x9n]

Great video. Have a question. While running drone using MAVlink protocol, can I also see that drone's status connecting to Mission Planner?

[@Manoj-yantrayug]

hello, can you do the same with pixhawk cube orange and pi4 as i'm getting some tracback error, if u have the solution let me know how to sort it out. thank you

[@pdeepakjayan5515]

NICE VIDEO. if instead of using an ardupilot for a drone, if I have to use ardusub in pixhawk to control my REMOTELY OPERATED SUBMERSIBLE, how will I start the mavproxy?

[@Arthur-rh9tf]

Hi! is your pixhawk running px4 or ardupilot?

[@T-Sav]

Does this allow you to control servo out puts? If yes could use this with a 4g modem to fly and stream video over 4g network

[@jimmi00011]

what are the benefits of a pi onboard over just pc on the ground communicating with pixhawk over mavlink. also on another note, can fpv be sent over the mavlink system

[@dennisbaldwin]

Pi onboard gives you closer to realtime processing where sending data back and forth from the GCS will have some delay. As Pi and Edison get more powerful it will allow for more interesting applications to be done onboard. To answer your other question apparently it is possible to send image data over mavlink: qgroundcontrol.org/mavlink/image_transmission_protocol I've never done it but definitely work looking into. Thanks for the question.

[@BDRCkid]

Dennis, At 10:22 into this video you show changing the Uart from zero to two. Looks like in my version of Raspbian jessie that line is not there at all. Have you noticed this and possibly have a way around it? Also did you have to change your values in mission planer such as SERIAL2_Protocal. It dose not look like they are listed in MP anymore. Thanks for the videos too.

[@dennisbaldwin]

I'll have to take a look at this as I'm not really sure. It's been a few months since I've messed with this setup, but I plan on revisiting soon. I'll share what I find out and please do the same if you figure it out first. Thank you.

[@BDRCkid]

Thanks for the reply, I think I have found out how to enable the serial channel on the newest version or Raspbian jessie. I don’t have it in front of me now but if you click the raspberry in the top left corner of the desktop it was under preferences or system settings. Basically its in the same screen to enable ssh and VNC. I still need to find the parameter for the serial ports on the pix-hawk to get it to work. Did you do this too. I noticed this step was not in your video.

[@BDRCkid]

Update, I think I got it workings with out changing any of the prams. I think there is an extra space in the documentation for the code to install on the pi 3. I copied and pasted from git hub these lines in the link. github.com/bduva002/ardupilot_wiki/commit/4264da1884e3dd835de864ebea316b76e4c65059 . Now I just have to figure out why the modes wont change. when I type mode RTL i get argument is not a float or it is unknown.

[@ezekielmonfero2646]

Can arduino connect with the pixhawk while the arduino are connected in 3 sensors like ph do and turbidity sensor?

[@akshaytimmalapur]

Rpi console gets hung when I install pymavlink "sudo pip install pymavlink". Any suggestions or solutions? Thanks

[@pratikprajapati9133]

HAve you made any further videos regarding RPi3 with pixhawk ? If any please send link of it thanks

[@Hazar-bt6nf]

Can we establish the connection using serial0 instead of ttyAMA0?

[@BrianLMurphy]

Hi, have you had any experience with the Pixhawk 2.1 Cube and the Edison?

[@dennisbaldwin]

Just with 2.1 Cube. I haven't done any work with it and Edison. I hope to soon. Thanks for the comment.

[@diegoamaya6353]

Did you make a video for image processing? I want to load OpenCV in my Raspberry Pi, do image processing and tell the UAV where to go, but I can't find how to set the waypoints dynamically. Thanks

[@dennisbaldwin]

I'll need to look into this. I haven't been able to do any image processing yet, but definitely plan to. Let us know if you come up with anything. Thanks.

[@mohsinraza-xp8pj]

sir please help i have error this error while connecting to my rpi2 with pixhawk.. serial exception devise respond readiness to read but returned no data (multiple devices connected or multiple acces on port?)

[@mohsinraza-xp8pj]

sir i have done everything but unable to

[@davidringler7131]

Dennis, This is way over my head but to me this looks like doing this makes pixhawk just like the solofc but more powerful, am I even a little bit correct?

[@dennisbaldwin]

Very close my friend. The only difference is that the Solo doesn't have an on-board companion computer like Pi so you'd still need to add one. With the Solo you'd have to access it through the accessory bay, which requires a unique connector.

[@davidringler7131]

SO IT CAN BE DONE?

[@koukibghr9836]

Thnk you for this video ...i have a question about the pixhawk ...can we change the algorithm of PID control with an other algorithm if yes how can we do it

[@erfanmonemi8112]

Hello. Thank you so much for this tutorial. I’m going to make a flying wing with 4g telemetry like this but the problem is that the official 3DR pixhawk isn’t available in my country, and a clone of that from Radiolink is also expensive and is said to be not much stable so I was thinking if I can do the same using apm2.8 and an old frimware of ardupilot. Is that possible and is that the same as what you showed in the video? Thank u so much in advance for your help.

[@emirzmen]

Thank you for the video. I have a telemetry connected to my laptop. Is it possible to send data from my laptop to raspberry pi over Pixhawk?

[@dennisbaldwin]

I need to know a little bit more about your setup. Is there a telemetry module connected to Pixhawk? If so you should be able to connect your Pi to another telemetry port and get MAVLink out of it.

[@paytufo]

Could I use a Pi Zero and a GoPro to do this? Will I pilot my drone in a long range watching the video in qgroundcontrol? Thank you a lot!

[@MrDayinthepark]

I think you can but you need to solder in the RPIO pins if you use an extender. I tried without soldering and it failed, but moved to a pi 3 and it worked, I believe because the RPIO pins are connected, not just passing through a loop.

[@HoaNguyen-jj6nr]

How would you know in your case is plane instead of MyCopter? Where can I find it?

[@dennisbaldwin]

What happens is when you run the mavproxy command like this for example: mavproxy.py --master=/dev/serial0 --baudrate 57600 --aircraft MyPlane That last parameter is a folder that gets created wherever you run the command. So in the case above there will be a MyPlane folder that contains telemetry logs for the current flight.

[@mariamalkasemi2678]

DO you know how to test the servos connected to Pixhawk by commands from Raspberry Pi (Using DroneKit)?

[@dennisbaldwin]

Maybe this will help: stackoverflow.com/questions/36636073/is-it-possible-to-control-an-actuator-using-dronekit-python

[@dedehizaz287]

i have some quaestion about video processing in raspberry. can i use video tx from camera raspberry after processing in raspberry and direcly sending by video tx to Ground station. if possible what port in raspberry can use to connect to video tx? thx

[@dennisbaldwin]

I'm not sure about this. I don't have experience working with video processing and RPi but will hopefully look into it in the future.

[@jameslyons3306]

Perfect project! Can't wait to see all the uses that can come out of this setup. Gr8 vid, way to go!

[@dennisbaldwin]

Thank so much for the feedback.

[@BrianLMurphy]

Hi I would like to echo the previous comment and esquire about weather you have made any further progress connecting raspberry pi and pixhawk?

[@dennisbaldwin]

I'm working on a tailsitter build right now and doing DJI development. I will revisit this in the near future and do a tutorial from start to finish. I haven't touched this project in a while so I'm a bit rusty. Appreciate you watching and your comment.

[@LenRamSa]

Dennis, thanks for such a great educational video. I'm considering putting together a Drone with Pi Zero (or Pi Zero W) and the PXFMini flight controller (designed for Raspberry Pi by Erle Robotics). Have you tried something similar?. are there any advantages of your setup over the one I'm considering?.

[@dennisbaldwin]

Thank you for the kind words. I don't have any experience with either of those hardware components, but sounds like a really cool project. I've seen both of them and have wanted to mess around with them. Please keep me posted on how your project goes.

[@sameenashaikh_29]

Hi, I followed ur tutorial, I got everything working, but at the end i get APM: PreArm: RC not calibrated APM: PreArm: Compass not calibrated APM: PreArm: Accels not calibrated Could you please help me with this Thanks & Regards

[@andrewalder6181]

Hi Dennis, thanks heaps for your video! I've used your exact setup but with the computer (GCS) running windows. Using a companion program called MatMav within Matlab I'm requesting pitch data from a pixhawk. However, I get the following issue: When I look at the Putty terminal where I connected to the Raspberry Pi and started running MAVProxy it continuously says: ('Time has wrapped', 1170937, 1219906) Time has wrapped ('Time has wrapped', 1170937, 1220010) Time has wrapped ('Time has wrapped', 1170937, 1220110) Time has wrapped ('Time has wrapped', 1170937, 1220210) I was wondering if you knew what might be wrong?

[@dennisbaldwin]

That's a new one to me. I haven't seen it before but this thread talks a bit about it: groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/drones-discuss/I8sGdE-g8I0 Please do let us know if you figure it out. I'd be interested in learning what's going on.

[@marcoantoniosalasabreu5304]

Hi, do you know something about ardurover? I am looking for help

[@jorgejimenez4325]

Wait... why did you disable the serial port only to re-enable a minute later?

[@Savendsavend]

Do you know if it is possible with the Rpi3 and the wifi to connect smartphone with qgroundcontrol ? Thanks!

[@dennisbaldwin]

Not sure, but that would be nice. I'll have to look into this. Please let us know if you have figured anything out in the meantime.

[@kawsarfarooq1539]

how you opened the terminal in Mac book? i am using windows

Hi! how to make mission planner way points give order to raspberry take a picture? thanks

[@hyunsimon3992]

Hi. You connected raspberry pi and mac with Wi-Fi network I will fly my drone(pixhawk connected by raspberry pi) outside. and I wanna keep connection between my laptop and raspberry pi while drone is flying even far away flight distances would be 1/4 miles(maximum). I know using RF modules, I can get streaming video data. But I wanna receive not only video but also image processing data using openCV and send extra operation messages from my laptop to drone. Do you know the solution about this problem? Thanks~

[@dennisbaldwin]

The telemetry radios definitely are the way to go for traditional command/control. Regarding OpenCV and accessing the image data I'm not sure what the best approach is at the moment. I have a similar need and will continue to research and share my findings. Let us know if you figure anything out as well. Thanks for the question and wish I had a better answer.

[@badrobot1179]

Hey dennis great Video. I was curious if I can read sensor values(accelerometer and gyro) from the Pixhawk to Raspberry Pi during flight and issue commands to the pixhawk from the Pi, like move from Point A to Point B and maintain pose and prevent drifting?

[@dennisbaldwin]

Definitely possible based on the documentation I've read, but have never implemented this before. If I can get some free time I'll put together a tutorial. Thanks for the question and good luck with your setup.

[@electromind4183]

How did u connect u r pc with raspberry Pi to controll pixhawk

[@danaralifian7695]

why I can't set arming_check 0, and showing message "unable to find arming_check"?

[@JARC99_]

I first want to thank you for this awesome viedo and channel, it has served as a great inspiration for a bunch of academic and personal projects I am planning on undertaking. Using OpenCV for object detection and tracking on UAV platforms is one of the topics I am interested in and I'm looking into buying a Raspberry Pi 4 for this. I am kinda of on a budget so I wanted to ask you, whether the 2GB Raspberry Pi 4 would be enoguh for this application or if getting more RAM would be mandatory?

[@acelere]

Dennis, great video (as all your others - you are great). The possibilities are huge. Could you share what is your big plan? I guess this will help (at least for me) build a mental picture and fit the puzzle pieces together... Tks!

[@dennisbaldwin]

No big plan other than experimenting with opencv and some other external sensors to give input to Pixhawk. I'd love to get OpenCV object recognition for avoidance and tracking. I'm not an expert in this area, but want to experiment with that combined with DroneKit. Hope that gives you some insight. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. Thanks.

[@DaveMerc]

Wow that was an eye opener! I had no idea that was being developed. Thanks for sharing.

[@dennisbaldwin]

No problem. I've really enjoyed the flexibility of having a companion computer that communicates with the main flight controller. It really opens the doors for some interesting drone applications.

[@benpascoe8533]

Hi, followinng along with this, using a pi3, however I keep getting a waiting for heartbeat message with no connection, tried a bunch of different baud rates, and ttyS0, ttyAMA0 and serial0 but still no luck, any idea whats up? cheers

[@CrownThyGood]

Same problem for me Ben. I'm working on it now. Let me know if you find a solution and I'll do the same. I got an attempted heartbeat when I switched the serial ports on my RPI 3 (~~?~?~~~?~?~~~?~?~~~?) This article is good for understanding the new serial setup for the 3 spellfoundry.com/2016/05/29/configuring-gpio-serial-port-raspbian-jessie-including-pi-3/

[@dennisbaldwin]

Ban, thanks for sharing that info. I'm not sure about Pi 3 as I haven't messed with it yet. I plan on getting my hands on one soon and will run some tests. Let us know if you figure out anything in the meantime.

[@benpascoe8533]

some reading around indicates it could be not having certain peripherals plugged in, I'll be getting a complete system on Tuesday to test, will report back then

[@jamesnear8051]

Did you figure this out? I'm having the same problem.

[@rabahnory4909]

Well same problem with me I know that the problem was the modifications in the RP3 for incorporate Bluetooth there are some blogs explain the problem .Indeed I try all the solutions but failed . RP3 has will not work with mavlink protocol . sorry for disappoint you

[@dgb5820]

Great video, do you think it’s possible to connect the nvidia nano with a wifi add on for nano

[@mariohermoso100]

I hope you can help me with this. I have my PIXHAWK connected to a Raspberry PI 3 and communicating through the internet. It is working great with a UDP connection only while both my laptop/Mission Planner and the Raspberry PI are both on the same wireless router. How do I make it work when the PI needs to be on its own hot spot so it can be controlled remotely ?I hope you can point me in the right direction.

[@dennisbaldwin]

Good question. I haven't found a good way to do this yet. Right now I've put my script on a delay just for testing purposes. You can see it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJDPpZ5ro9aKis0 I'm looking into a way to use my RC channels to start/stop a script, but haven't figured it out yet. Will share more details as I research this. Please do the same.

[@mariohermoso100]

Thank you for responding. Some one gave me some ideas such as checking my internet provider and firewall settings. I am going to try different things and if I figure some it out I will share it with you. Thank you for the other video you sent me.

[@CrownThyGood]

Hi Dennis, thanks for making such an easy to follow video. I have a quick question. Im not getting a response when I try the ARMING_CHECK I installed Mavproxy and Mavlink over ssh after setting up a static ip for the pi. I have telem 2 connected to the pixhawk (5v, gnd, tx, rx) I ran these 4, no problem: sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install screen python-wxgtk2.8 python-matplotlib python-opencv python-pip python-numpy python-dev libxml2-dev libxslt-dev sudo pip install pymavlink sudo pip install mavproxy I disabled os control of serial through the advanced options then tested the connection: sudo -s mavproxy.py --master=/dev/ttyAMA0 --baudrate 57600 --aircraft MyCopterConnect /dev/ttyAMA0 source_system=255 no script MyCopter/mavinit.scr Log Directory: MyCopter/logs/2017-03-13/flight2 Telemetry log: MyCopter/logs/2017-03-13/flight2/flight.tlog MAV> sudo -s MAV> mavproxy.py --master=/dev/ttyAMA0 --baudrate 57600 --aircraft MyCopter Heres where I'm having issue. I'm not getting a response and its not moving into STABILIZE> MAV> param show ARMING_CHECK MAV> Any idea what Im missing? Thanks so much!

[@dennisbaldwin]

Hey Ashley, it sounds like you're doing everything right. I can't think of anything that would cause you not to receive a response. The first thing that comes to mind is a firmware update if you're not on the latest. I will think on this some more and Google around to see if I can come up with anything. Good luck and let us know if you get this resolved. Thanks.

[@CrownThyGood]

Thanks Dennis! Here's where Im at now: root@raspberrypi:/home/pi# sudo -s root@raspberrypi:/home/pi# mavproxy.py --master=/dev/ttyS0 --baudrate 57600 --aircraft MyCopter Connect /dev/ttyS0 source_system=255 no script MyCopter/mavinit.scr Log Directory: MyCopter/logs/2017-04-11/flight5 Telemetry log: MyCopter/logs/2017-04-11/flight5/flight.tlog MAV> Waiting for heartbeat from /dev/ttyS0 ~~?~?~~~?~?~~~?~?~~~?~~~?~?~~~??~?~~?~~~?~~~~~?~~~?~~~~??~?~~~??~~~?~??~?~~~??~~~?~?~~?~??~?~~~~?~??~~?~??~?~?~?~~~~??~~?~?~~~~~~~??~?~~~~~~???~~?~?~?~~?~~~?~?~~~?~??~?~~~~?~??~~?~~~~~~??~~~~~~~??~?~~~??~?~~~?~ Any idea on the heartbeat response? I'm not finding it anywhere online...

[@michal.j8729]

Hello Ashley, I would like to ask you if you solved that problem? I dont receive response too. Thank you for your answer.

[@CrownThyGood]

No, I havent solved it... I am setting up an RPI2 right now to see if I have the same problem on a 2

[@guixermo94]

Hey! I just found your video. I'm trying to est up the connection but i am getting "link 1 down" when trying to connect pixhawk 4 mini and raspberry pi zero w. I did the steps in the webpage (they are different than yours). It should work with that, but no luck. Thank you!

[@guixermo94]

@SERGEN ERBAY hi, i did solve it but i dont know how. I followed the instructions on the mavlink site. I did it like 15 times and one of them actually worked. I did the same 15 times so i dont know what went wrong. The cable was also loose so maybe that had something to do also.

[@guixermo94]

@SERGEN ERBAY sure, [e-mail]

[@pepeBetico1994]

Hi man!! I am stucked wih my project, i need to connect a raspberry pi with a APM 2.7 (hk mega 2.7), and i cant find a tutorial or a guide that goes step by step. Could you give and advice? Does it works for my APM or it has nothing to do with it? I really appreciate your tips. Thanks in andvance

[@dennisbaldwin]

I think it should work with your hardware, but have never used the HK Mega so I'm not 100% sure. Please let us know what you find out.

[@pepeBetico1994]

Hi Dennis!! i finnaly connected my APM with raspberry pi3 via USB using ttyACM0 but i have one more problem it says something like: APM: PreArm: RC not calibrated What is my problem now? I really appreciate your advices!! Thanks in advance!

[@mustafaefecetin]

Hi, I followed the instructions on the website but can't figure out how to start mavlink at the startup.

[@dennisbaldwin]

Maybe this will help. Good luck and keep us posted: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e33EZ6psj5ugrdU

[@mustafaefecetin]

Thanks for response. I can connect over SSH but I want to run the script on startup but I couldn't. I followed the instructions on ardupilot.org/dev/docs/raspberry-pi-via-mavlink.html#

[@manueljohn7674]

Very helpful tutorial. I am using an APM 2.8 flight controller.Can I proceed with the same procedure for APM.

[@sukruuzun1911]

Hey Dennis, really good job here. I wanted to ask you i did what you show here exactly but after online system 1 script i had no line APM ... When i tried to enter a command, it doesnt show me anything. I have just 'STABILIZE>' line here. Im using rpi zero and apm 2.5. Another note i wired them with logic level converter. Thanks for your help...

[@dennisbaldwin]

Strange. It almost sounds like something is wrong with your RX line where responses are coming back. I'll give it some more thought and let you know if I come up with anything. Let us know if you figure out anything from your end. Thanks for the comment.

[@arya8431]

if you use APM you must add --mav10 , it will be mavproxy.py --master=/dev/ttyAMA0 --baudrate 57600 --aircraft MyCopter --mav10 explanation in here : ardupilot.github.io/MAVProxy/html/getting_started/starting.html

[@fhfhfh145]

what battery are you using

[@salahuddinashraf3329]

Hi Dennis. Thanks a lot for sharing your experience. I've tried to follow your instaructions. Everything was fine untill I tried to run mavproxy.py --master=/dev/serial0 --baudrate 57600 --aircraft MyCopter from raspberry pi. It was not able to connect to Pixhawk. I don't know why???I'm sure that I've connected rx and tx in the right way. I'm using external power source for the Pi but I'm connecting tx, rx, and GND to between pixhawk and Pi. What should I do to get it working? Thanks

[@dennisbaldwin]

I'm not sure but did notice a note on this page: ardupilot.org/dev/docs/raspberry-pi-via-mavlink.html "On newer versions of Raspberry Pi 3 the uart serial connection may be disable by default. In order to enable serial connection on the Raspberry Pi edit /boot/config.txt andset enable_uart=1." Another thing I recall was that the older versions of Raspian the port was located at /dev/ttyAMA0 but newer versions use /dev/serial0 as you tried. Just trying to help out with ideas. Let us know what you find out.

[@salahuddinashraf3329]

Thanks for your reply Dennis. I'm using raspberry pi 2 not 3 . I've tried serial 0 and ttyAMA0 but both are not working What do you suggest?

[@salahuddinashraf3329]

It now worked. I used "--mav10" option after mavproxy.py --master=/dev/ttyAMA0 --baudrate 57600 --aircraft MyCopter and it worked nice. Don't know why?

[@tfergusonjr]

This is a great demo. I look forward to watching more of your videos. Have you experimented with Intel Edison and Pixhawk? I have a Pixhawk 2 w/ integrated Edison. I want to learn how to program it similar to what you have done.

[@dennisbaldwin]

I have limited experience with Edison but would really like to get more familiar with it. Thanks for watching and I appreciate the feedback.

[@Davedav84]

good day, where i can find the code for test this project pls

[@MichelMrz]

Hi Dennis, I wonder if there is a way i can use Raspberry pi to save GPS data from pixhawk while at same time it tooks pictures from Raspberry pi camera i hope there is code or any instruction on how doing it :) i'm doing a similar project as u did here i must say i really enjoy ur channel. I already connected my pixhawk to Raspberry, and everything works fine.

[@dennisbaldwin]

Very cool to hear about your project. I'm not sure about saving the GPS data while taking a picture. That sounds like a neat idea. Hopefully I can look into this soon. Thank you for the feedback on my channel. Take care.

[@Juli-ky7oh]

does something like this work on inav aswell?

[@divyatejapasupuleti3283]

Where can I get that df13 to raspi cable

[@faikvural1119]

Can I Use Raspberry Pi 4 Model B for Companion Computer ? ardupilot.org/dev/docs/raspberry-pi-via-mavlink.html This article based on Raspberry Pi 3B, for this reason can I use APSync images on RPi 4 ? Or Are there any problem for connect ?

[@thomasvarghese6712]

is it the same procedure for UGV using pixhawk and Rpi?

[@dennisbaldwin]

I would think so but don't have experience with building a UGV. This sounds like a fun project. Please keep us posted.

[@SYNFPVPILOT]

Great vid. I've planned to experiment w/ CV on a 150lb rover I built. Object recognition and tracking is high on the list for my project. Watching your progress w/ RP closely.

[@dennisbaldwin]

Sounds like an awesome rover!!! I'm by no means an expert when it comes to object recognition, but will hack together an example. Thanks for following along.