UAV flight controller using Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4

Pi CM 4 UAV flight controller

If you are interested in building vehicles either land-based or airborne using a Raspberry Pi you might be interested in a new article by Bryan Cockfield over on the Hackaday website explaining more about a UAV flight controller specifically designed to be powered by the Compute Module 4.

The Pi CM 4 is a compact, highly integrated system-on-module (SoM) developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. It is designed for embedded applications that require a powerful and flexible computing platform in a small form factor. The Compute Module 4 builds upon the success of previous Compute Modules, offering improved performance and expanded features.

The CM4 module itself is a small board measuring 55mm x 40mm, which contains the main components of a computer system, including the processor, memory, and storage. It is intended to be used as a building block for creating custom devices or integrating into existing products.

The Compute Module 4 is primarily targeted at industrial applications, IoT devices, robotics, automation, and other projects that require reliable and powerful embedded computing capabilities. It provides a cost-effective solution for developers to create customized products based on the Raspberry Pi ecosystem while leveraging the extensive software and hardware support available for Raspberry Pi devices.

Key features of the Compute Module 4 include:

  • SoC: Broadcom BCM2711C0 quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 (ARMv8-A) 64-bit @ 1.5GHz
  • GPU: Broadcom VideoCore VI
  • RAM: 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDDR4 SDRAM
  • Networking: Optional 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet PHY
  • Bluetooth: Optional Bluetooth 5.0 and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
  • GPIO: Carrier board dependent
  • Interfaces: PCI Express, 2× DSI, 2× CSI, 2× HDMI
  • Storage: External (CM4 Lite); on-board 8GB/16GB/32GB eMMC (CM4)
  • Ports: Hirose U.FL antenna connector, 2× 100-pin high-density connectors
  • Dimensions: 55 mm × 40 mm × 4.5mm, 12g (exc. carrier board)

Raspberry Pi UAV flight controller

“The advantage of this board compared to other similar offerings is that it is built to host a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, while the rest of the flight controllers are separated out onto a single circuit board. This means that the Pi is completely sandboxed from the flight control code, freeing up computing power on the Pi and allowing it to run a UAV-specific OS like OpenHD or RubyFPV.

These have a number of valuable tools available for unmanned flight, such as setting up a long range telemetry and camera links. The system itself supports dual HD camera input as well as additional support for other USB devices, and also includes an electronic speed controller mezzanine which has support for quadcopters and fixed wing crafts.”

Read the full article over on the Hackaday website by following the link below

Source : Hackaday

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Top News


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