How To Connect PixHawk to Raspberry Pi and NVIDIA Jetson

Preflight checklist: companion computer ✅
In this tutorial, I show you how to connect your PixHawk to both the Raspberry Pi, and an NVIDIA Jetson (a Nano in this case). This includes:
- Soldering a serial cable that connects to the telemetry port (TELEM2)
- Which GPIO pins you need to use
- How to setup MAVProxy and its dependencies
The steps shown should also work for newer models of the PixHawk (eg, Pix32v5, Pixracer, Hex Cube). Just make sure to pay attention to the cable soldering - everything else should remain the same.
A203 Carrier Board - Seeed Studio
www.seeedstudio.com/A203-Carr...
↓ Scroll down for the terminal commands ↓
Special appearance: Sasha Walters (dog)
Thanks to: Seeed Studio (www.seeedstudio.com/)
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:49 - Serial cable for PixHawk
02:21 - Software setup
02:42 - Jetson Nano GPIO to PixHawk
03:41 - MAVProxy installation (Jetson Nano)
04:54 - Raspberry Pi GPIO to PixHawk
05:41 - MAVProxy installation (Raspberry Pi)
08:28 - Wrapping up
😎 Social Stuff
Twitter: / akamatchstic
Patreon: / akamatchstic
⚙️ Commands
(copy/paste without the $)
Jetson Nano:
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install python-pip python3-pip
$ sudo apt-get install python3-dev python3-opencv python3-wxgtk4.0 python3-matplotlib python3-lxml libxml2-dev libxslt-dev
$ sudo pip install PyYAML mavproxy
$ sudo mavproxy.py --master=/dev/ttyTHS1
Raspberry Pi:
$ sudo raspi-config
$ sudo nano /boot/config.txt
$ sudo reboot
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install python3-pip
$ sudo apt-get install python3-dev python3-opencv python3-wxgtk4.0 python3-matplotlib python3-lxml libxml2-dev libxslt-dev
$ sudo pip install PyYAML mavproxy
$ sudo mavproxy.py --master=/dev/ttyAMA0
🌐 Links
MAVProxy with systemd
github.com/Matchstic/MAVProxy...
🎵 Music
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Keywords: NVIDIA Jetson Nano, Raspberry Pi, PixHawk, MAVProxy, serial

[@HoffmanTactical]

Keep these videos coming! There is a lack of good CV / AI / UAV content on the internet, and it's a fascinating area.

[@IamG3X]

Man your voice is so soothing to hear. And the editing is perfect to follow. Step by step guide is on point. Really deserve top views and likes for this KZbin category.

[@mohamedaminefaiz6378]

Perfect work! Please continue, you're helping a lot people with these videos!

[@jnick6]

clear and concise. as a newbie, this was really needed. especially when it comes to the running commands and their meaning.. reading code is my second fear, fist is algebra. thanks a lot, subbed.

[@akshaydevanpally3764]

This video really helped me, thanks for such videos

[@royjones1053]

Thanks again for the quality content

[@faraazk.8015]

just came across this vid, nicely done sir

[@harmonydevdao55]

great content!

[@AndrewBakerEngineer]

Great video. At Honeywell we use the Cube Orange and the Jetson Xavier NX combo. We don't bother with the GPIO header and just go straight from the Jetson's USB to the Cube's microUSB. Works fantastic.

[@NOVAAlimentos-ux2xw]

Hi AerialRobotics, are you have some tutorials you can share us about the communication by Jetson Xavier NX USB and Cube's microUSB?

[@Film-maker]

Hi Andrew, I hear many have issues connecting Cube Orange. Is there a way to avoid connection problems?

[@athiganesh6130]

thanku for helping bro

[@Film-maker]

Hi Matt, very informative video! Would you know which new flight controllers will work with Jatson boards?

[@vikaspoddar8443]

welcome back Matchstic !!! can you do video on ROS2 integration with pix Hawk for robot management and PyTorch for object detection ???

[@vikramurs9416]

Yes, even i was looking for such kind of videos...

[@akamatchstic]

I can try - ROS is something I played with last year but didn’t end up using, so will have to learn it myself first 😅

[@Dragoneer]

Great tutorial man, that's gonna really help me out later. I see you cut the 5V wire, but I also would like to know, is the PixHawk capable of supplying the full 20W range specified for the Nano through the telem2 port? That would be really handy as I want to install the board to the drone itself. And I'm not sure that I trust the PixHawk board will permit that power draw... Edit: Figured I would use a buck converter from the battery instead, that way I can guarantee that it is capable

[@Sam-iy1kv]

nice, I used a uart-usb connector connet pxihwak to one usb port, seems using the pins is easiers

[@CM-nq3zu]

Nice

[@elbhilatel7841]

Welcome, excellent explanation. Can you make a video of orange pi integration with pixhawk???

[@akamatchstic]

If I had access to one, sure! That said, in theory you can adapt the instructions in this video for the Orange Pi. This looks to be the pinout for the Orange 5: www.orangepi.org/img/pi-5-pin-definition.png I imagine its a case of ensuring the TX and RX jumper wires of the serial wire I showed to the pins marked UART3 - ensure the TX jumper goes to the RX GPIO! In software, it looks like that would map to /dev/ttyS3. See here for where I'm pulling that info (which is for the R1): learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-on-orangepi-linux/uart-serial#the-hard-way-using-built-in-uart-3010837 Additionally, you may need to enable UART - see here (again, for the R1): learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-on-orangepi-linux/orange-pi-r1#enable-uart-i2c-and-spi-3029848 TLDR; make sure to enable UART if needed, and connect to the relevant GPIO headers with the serial cable I showed in my video

[@DavidGutierrezhi]

bro what i have to do in the px4 im using the cube black, to enable mavlin in telemetry 1 or 2?

[@eminbozkus3896]

Hi sir, Please give me a feedback. How can I connect my jetson nano with pixhawk cube orange on python scripts, using dronekit ? Actually I know about the software side but I need to help to hardware side.

[@danielq1985]

First, love the videos. Second, how can I send you a proper set of wire strippers?

[@akamatchstic]

Thanks! So wire strippers… I do have one in a box, that is incredibly frustrating to get into 😅 Since I don’t have a PO Box etc, I am pretty uncomfortable giving out my address online, but I *seriously* appreciate the sentiment!

[@mohammadabdollahi2742]

i have quastion for you what frame and vehicle do you use on your pixhawk and how do you upload it? i use simonhardware and upload it on linux but i didnt get the same result as you for example the AP:... commands i get some #%$#EREGF$F and some EPK and GPS ... |'ll be glad if you help me

[@sgan5551]

Hello Sir, your videos are very useful. Thank you very much I am newbie to Drone building DIY. I have Pixhawk 2.4.8 and wanted to use it with 4-in-1 ESC along with Raspberry PI 4 or 5. I watched all the videos out there on this scenario and all of them uses individual ESC's for each motors. I came across encoder to use but surely not understand it. I watched this video about connecting Raspberry PI to Pixhawk so I think I am okay there but not connecting 4-in-1 ESC to Pixhawk. Would you be able to suggest how I can get 4-in-1 ESC connected to Pixhawk? Or if you could do a video on it, would be awesome. Thank you so much for all your help in advance sir.

[@sefaklcr]

Hi mr. Matt, I have some questions about coding RP4 with PixHawk. We are trying to making a VTOL UAV and it has a simple task that it will change servo angle at the determined location and altitude. So, I want write a code for RP4 that will get this mission. How can I do that, can u help me? I am an amateur on RP4. Do you have some simple examples about that? :)

[@abeshifat7707]

would you please make a video how i can make a indoor flying drone who perform like a flying robot . like if i want i can move a glass of water from one room to another room using this drone and put the glass in another room in accurate position . And what types of hardware is needed to be done to make this. Like Jetson Nano , pixhawk 2.4.8 , GPS and last thing how i can control it auto by using laptop or computers . by the way i cant write English properly so hope you kindly forgive me if i make some mistake to write this . I will be waiting for your video .Carry on brother .

[@MuhammadJunaid-yr8jd]

Hey, thank you so much for guiding me just like WOW! I am thinking about how can we connect the companion computer pi or Jetson, with Pixhawk using their micro-USB cable, I have seen a guy who is connecting, can we do it after following all the commands provided by you or there is another configuration need for that...

[@akamatchstic]

You can technically use the micro-USB cable for serial but be aware that it disables some safety checks - for example, ArduPilot will assume it is not connected to a battery when using the USB link, and disables all battery failsafes.

[@piyushmessi7758]

How do you power them up when flying with drone? I am having voltage issues

[@alexbattikha]

are there any alternatives to the a203 carrier board? or is it possible to connect a pixhawk to jetson without any external carrier boards?

[@12_auliaputriajuntira73]

please answer it

[@DeanBateman]

Now that it is connected, would love to see some examples of what you can do with them. Even if they are not fully coded examples

[@akamatchstic]

I can show you a fully functioning system using this if you wanted! This is the source code for Stanley, an autonomous drone using an RPi for the companion computer: github.com/Matchstic/stanley

[@user-mt8it3nd9n]

where can I type those command? I have connect pixhawk with resp pi.

[@RacecarJ0hnny]

omg this is what im gonna do

[@DineshKumar-ki2lf]

Hey, just a quick question - have you experimented with PX4 firmware ?

[@akamatchstic]

Not as much as ArduPilot to be honest!

[@prathamvjain7569]

Bro I’m building package pickup drone using ros and jetson nano and using pixhawk for flight control

[@alexandergeorgiev2631]

Can you use ttyTHS2 instead?

[@philippjansen6079]

Hi Matt! Great video - do you think it is possible to connect a Orange Pi 5 to a Pixhawk?

[@akamatchstic]

Cheers! I would expect so, just double check the GPIO layout before you do. There may also be a need to enable appropriate hardware like for the Raspberry Pi via a config file

[@philippjansen6079]

@@akamatchstic Thanks Matt!

[@HS_COMET]

Your video is interesting. Let me ask you a question. Does connecting using usb to ttl work in the same way as connecting to gpio pins 8, 9, and 10?

[@akamatchstic]

It should do yes - the key thing is to ensure a serial device is available to receive/send MAVLink messages

[@diannajames4453]

@@akamatchstic I too bought a usb to ttl device. But I do see how your way would save the cost and save an additional USB port.

[@ttaylor9916]

maybe next a simple diagram that shows that you connect rx to tx?

[@ensam9317]

But how to power it on the drone

[@ienMinh]

Hii Matchstic ! Can i connect the F405 mk3 lite filght control (other pikHawk)with Jetson Nano for project like u ?

[@akamatchstic]

In theory, yes! Looking at the documentation (ardupilot.org/plane/docs/common-mamba-basic-mk3.html ), you’ll need to solder the jumper wires directly to the board. I’m not 100% certain of the pins you need to solder to though. That docs page seems to suggest that the RX6 and TX6 pins are available for this, as well as any available Ground pin. As per the video, make sure you connect the soldered RX connection on the board to the TX GPIO pin, and the equivalent for TX to RX GPIO. In your autopilot parameters, you may need to update the relevant serial port’s protocol to 2 to get MAVLink messages flowing.

[@ienMinh]

I looked on the jetso nano forum and someone asked the same question. why are Tx/rx2 and tx/rx4 pins empty but we don't connect them?

[@VitaoHelloWorld]

after install mavproxy i need to install dronekit or with only mavproxy i can send commands for px4?

[@akamatchstic]

Depends on your goal to be honest. I used DroneKit in a project to send commands from a companion computer over Python. Setup looked like this: My Python program -> DroneKit -> MAVProxy running locally -> PixHawk If you’re using DroneKit and don’t need MAVProxy to eg also forward data to a ground station, you can actually skip MAVProxy and connect directly to the serial port. With MAVProxy on its own, you can connect it up to anything that works with MAVLink data over the network. Eg multiple ground stations If used on its own, you’ll still be able to send commands to PX4 on the PixHawk. DroneKit is one source that can send those commands

[@user-jw3hy1dh9z]

thanks for sharing, i'm wondering if mavproxy can work on PX4 firmware?

[@akamatchstic]

Yep, should work just fine 👍🏻

[@user-jw3hy1dh9z]

@@akamatchstic thanks for reply, it works. However i have to wire tx rx through usb signal transform device.

[@kemaldemir7045]

hello, thanks for this informative video 🙋🏻‍♂️ i need to ask that, can i do the same steps for jetson xavier nx ? and also i need to give the power supply from a lipo batterry how can i do that? does anybody here to help me?

[@akamatchstic]

I’d imagine the exact same steps will work for Xavier - just make sure your GPIO connection is correct! For the Lipo battery, I’d recommend looking into using a UBEC to source a good supply of 5V, then power the device from that - this is what I did for my drone using the Jetson Nano

[@DhruvArne-ff8kw]

Libxslt is not installing

[@dsyeta174omkshirsgar2]

jetson says permission denied on THS1 port error 13

[@RacecarJ0hnny]

Why did you choose the carrier board rather than the Nano Dev Kit?

[@akamatchstic]

I’ve used both with a drone, with the carrier board I can just wire up an XT30 connector and not need to power it via GPIO

[@denisbrown261]

Hi, when I tried to run this command: sudo pip install PyYAML mavproxy, I got an error that said the SSL Certificate Verify failed. How could I fix this?

[@LeviDeHaan]

Youre using anaconda? If so run conda deactivate and then run again.

[@sairajesh4817]

hai how u connected jetson nano without cable to pc and is there any files how to access jetson and can u sujected me which is better rasberry pi or jetson nano for pixhawk AI control

[@akamatchstic]

I used SSH to run commands on both the Jetson Nano and Raspberry Pi. If you’re looking for longer flight times, the Raspberry Pi would be preferable due to less power requirements. It’s all down to your project’s requirements really!

[@sairajesh4817]

THANKYOU SIR @@akamatchstic

[@johnmelbolaybolay6725]

Why do I get a permission denied whenever I tried to run mavproxy in serial port ttyTHS1

[@akamatchstic]

You’ll need to run it as root

[@eminbozkus3896]

I get an error saying MAV > link1 down. Could you help with the solution?

[@akamatchstic]

Sounds like one of the following: - the RX and TX pins are connected the wrong way around on the GPIO header - you’re using the wrong serial port (run the following to see available ones: ls /dev) - the cable is not soldered properly - the cable is not connected to the right telemetry port on the PixHawk (or equivalent)

[@eminbozkus3896]

@@akamatchstic There is no problem with any of the steps you mentioned. Could there be another reason?

[@chiuanshin1987]

@@eminbozkus3896 sir,I have the same problem, how did you solve it?

[@eminbozkus3896]

@@chiuanshin1987 Yes, I solved. The problem is depend on the cables of rx,th,ground connection. You should connect the rx to tx, tx to rx and ground to ground, for communication. If your problem will continue I can help you on zoom or any video conference application.

[@chiuanshin1987]

@@eminbozkus3896 Thank you so much, I successfully solved the problem by swapping "tx" and"rx", thank you again~!

[@duanebowman9595]

Are you still with US? Hope so. Can you do a more indepth Raspbeery 4??

[@akamatchstic]

Yeah I’m still here, just busy IRL! 😅 What do you mean by more in depth Raspberry Pi 4?

[@duanebowman9595]

@@akamatchstic I am A 70+ old fart. and 8min is hard for me to walk through. I need to do long range way points. Might try 4/5g to get what I need.

[@tselin7611]

But it doesn't work for PX4 right?

[@akamatchstic]

Should work just fine with PX4 too, i just used ArduPilot for demonstration purposes

[@canadianrepublican1185]

cut ur hair.

[@akamatchstic]

absolutely not!

[@canadianrepublican1185]

@@akamatchstic I used to have hair just like urs. :) So gas generators on bigger drones . Why does this seem uncommon?

[@user-bc6dh8yk3o]

hi, I'm making a drone. your drone is very awesome my project is using jetson. if I have a question about drone, can I email to you?

[@user-bc6dh8yk3o]

how do you connect jetson nano and pixhawk from a software perspective? something I have to download?