Very Interesting! Linux/APM flight control system!

[Bartman]

Well, things are getting very interesting in the world of flight control systems. Here is a new system that runs the Linux operating system while also using the APM firmware for helicopter control.

The benefit is that you can run your applications via the onboard Linux system while the proven APM firmware is controlling your helicopter.

The system is called the Navio+ and here's an excerpt from the manufacturer's website (www.emlid.com)

Navio+ runs well proven APM autopilot and can operate in different flight modes including manual, stabilize, follow-me and auto. Code is executed directly on Raspberry Pi with real-time Linux kernel and you can run your applications alongside. Copter, Plane and Rover are supported.

I've invited them here to introduce themselves and to explain the various benefits of their system but until that happens please have a look for yourself!

www.emlid.com

 

[Kilby]

This is very interesting. I've been playing around with a Raspberry Pi linked up with a Pixhawk via a serial connection. It uses MAVLink protocol to send commands back and forth. This is much more straightforward though. Nice find!

 

[Igor Vereninov]

Hello, my name is Igor and I am one of the developers of Navio+. I would be happy to answer to your questions about the project.
The idea behind Navio is to run the flight code directly under Linux. Our first choice was Raspberry Pi as it is very popular and community is just incredible. At the moment there was no hardware available and we created our first board - Navio. In June we successfully funded an Indiegogo campaign to run a large batch of Raspberry Pi autopilots. Navio+ is our latest model, it was improved based on the customer feedback and new HAT standard. As Bartman already mentioned, we run APM software and you can easily modify it or even run your own applications alongside.

 

[SleepyC]

Sounds pretty awesome!
How hard is tuning a new airframe? Complicated or fairly easy?

 

[Igor Vereninov]

Well as with any other APM autopilot you can expect to fly on default settings if your airframe is around average. Our 250mm copter flies with standard parameters nicely.

 

[SleepyC]

Is there any size limit to frames or weight limits? (ie. have you tested the unit with large hex or Octos?)

 

[Igor Vereninov]

Not really, but please keep safety in mind. There is still a Raspberry Pi and we can't be absolutely sure in it. Navio+ with Raspberry Pi is incredible to learn, research and have fun, but I would not trust Raspberry Pi a heavy octo with a lot of expensive equipment.

With APM code you can fly almost anything

 

[Bartman]

Hi Igor, very excited to have you here talking with us about your project.

Is the Rasberry Pi something that you will eventually replace with more durable electronics for the flying environment?

Very cool project and an interesting step forward for flight control systems with the ability to run Linux apps on the same equipment that is flying the heli!

Welcome to the site!

 

[dazzab]

Did you guys see the video I posted in the 3DR section showing lead Ardupilot developer Andrew Tridgell doing a demo of 'Flying with Linux' at LCA2015 in Auckland, NZ? If you are interested in autopilots running on Linux it's a must watch. Not long ago I actually had the honour to photograph the very first plane flying on Linux. Since then things have moved forward very rapidly.

 

[Igor Vereninov]

Sure, and he talked about Navio for some time. He will be one of the first to receive Navio+, I know that he wants to use it with Odroid C1 - quite a powerful board.

 

[Bartman]

I can see this type of integration of an operating system and the inclusion of periphery applications as the next learning curve for us as a group. Flight controllers, though not perfect, have settled into a steady-state existence of features and performance for the most part. The cheapest boards have great flying qualities and the basic things that can be done with GPS are in use by many manufacturers.
So it appears we're moving up from dedicated flight controllers to flight and systems administration controllers where onboard monitoring and execution of tasks will be the new normal sometime soon.
Exciting and very scary at the same time!!

 

[Gary Seven]

Well, things are getting very interesting in the world of flight control systems. Here is a new system that runs the Linux operating system while also using the APM firmware for helicopter control.

The benefit is that you can run your applications via the onboard Linux system while the proven APM firmware is controlling your helicopter.

<<snip>>

Just to play the devil's advocate here (sorry). I have tried on and off for over 12 years to use Linux (in it's various flavors) as a replacement to Windoze. All my attempts failed because I was never ever able to get it to play nice with my hardware...never. Not to mention a CLI that is exceeding difficult and "opaque" to use. I gave up on Linux because I wasn't smart enough to get it to do what I needed.

I hope this doesn't transfer over to this attempt here. Just sayin.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Did you guys see the video I posted in the 3DR section showing lead Ardupilot developer Andrew Tridgell doing a demo of 'Flying with Linux' at LCA2015 in Auckland, NZ? If you are interested in autopilots running on Linux it's a must watch. Not long ago I actually had the honour to photograph the very first plane flying on Linux. Since then things have moved forward very rapidly.

Not just that...

He flew the plane over the internet from another city. And it was busy compiling the Linux kernel as it flew, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the pre-empt code that has been developed. Basically, the processor was running wide-open doing something not related to flying, yet the flying demands were given priority and thus ran as needed. Quite amazing really.

 

[eskil23]

Just to play the devil's advocate here (sorry). I have tried on and off for over 12 years to use Linux (in it's various flavors) as a replacement to Windoze. All my attempts failed because I was never ever able to get it to play nice with my hardware...never. Not to mention a CLI that is exceeding difficult and "opaque" to use. I gave up on Linux because I wasn't smart enough to get it to do what I needed.

I hope this doesn't transfer over to this attempt here. Just sayin.

Linux has a higher learning-threshold than most other operating systems targeted at the home-user market. I manage Linux systems for living and I still run into those "how the heck do I do this?"-moments from time to time.

I guess that most of your problems are caused by bad hardware support. Linus Torvalds himself explains the problem in this video...

 

[dazzab]

Not just that...

He flew the plane over the internet from another city. And it was busy compiling the Linux kernel as it flew, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the pre-empt code that has been developed. Basically, the processor was running wide-open doing something not related to flying, yet the flying demands were given priority and thus ran as needed. Quite amazing really.

Let's not get him in trouble. While he technically _could_ have flown the plane from Auckland, he didn't. We don't want to push our luck with CASA too far. . However, he has promised to do something a bit more from California this March at the Embedded Linux Conf in San Jose. So stay tuned...

 

[dazzab]

Just to play the devil's advocate here (sorry). I have tried on and off for over 12 years to use Linux (in it's various flavors) as a replacement to Windoze. All my attempts failed because I was never ever able to get it to play nice with my hardware...never. Not to mention a CLI that is exceeding difficult and "opaque" to use. I gave up on Linux because I wasn't smart enough to get it to do what I needed.

I hope this doesn't transfer over to this attempt here. Just sayin.

Linux was never designed as a replacement for home Windoze machines, even though it certainly is possible. So if Windows suits your needs than that is what you should use. Heck, I'm a Unix Sys Admin and I'm typing this using an Apple system (don't tell anyone) although it runs Windoze, OS X and a couple of versions of Linux. But you would have a very hard time getting an autopilot to run on Windows let alone all the software required to crunch the data coming in from all the sensors. Linux is perfect for that. That's why it's used in so many embedded systems.

 

[Gary Seven]

Linux has a higher learning-threshold than most other operating systems targeted at the home-user market. I manage Linux systems for living and I still run into those "how the heck do I do this?"-moments from time to time.

I guess that most of your problems are caused by bad hardware support. Linus Torvalds himself explains the problem in this video...
]

LOL! Thanks for posting that video.