As drone technology becomes increasingly mature, the application fields of drones continue to expand, and the demand for drone research and development is also increasing. However, many developers face pressures of time and energy to build drones from scratch, as well as a lack of suitable software platforms to support their development efforts. In order to solve this problem, we have specially developed the advanced version of the scientific research drone platform P600 to provide developers with a comprehensive solution.
The advanced version of the scientific research drone platform P600 is a professional scientific research drone development platform based on PX4 open source flight control technology. It can be equipped with high-precision RTK positioning modules, efficient data transmission links and multiple types of airborne computers. The platform uses the Prometheus independent drone software platform as the airborne system, providing various code frameworks and corresponding interfaces such as control and communication. It has both software and hardware and is highly scalable, making it suitable for application development in the drone industry and outdoor environments. The drone algorithm verification under the system helps developers quickly implement secondary development and greatly improves scientific research efficiency.
Hardware composition
1. Flying platform
The power system of the Coldwell DP1000 industrial-grade drone platform adopts FOC (Field-Oriented Control), that is, magnetic field oriented control, which makes the motor torque stable, low noise, high efficiency, and has high-speed dynamic response. The entire set of drones is ready to fly, with the advantages of large load capacity and long endurance.
2. Open source PX4 flight control
PX4 is an open source flight control software for drones and other unmanned vehicles (such as unmanned cars and unmanned ships). It provides drone developers with a flexible set of tools to share technology and create tailor-made solutions for drone applications.
3. Onboard computer
The advanced version of the scientific research drone platform P600 provides three onboard computers, Sunrise, NUC and Allspark, which developers can choose according to their needs for data center, CPU and GPU respectively.
4、RTK
In terms of positioning, GPS and centimeter-level high-precision RTK are available, and you can also choose to replace the visual V-RTK positioning.
Software composition
1. Airborne open source software
The Prometheus V2 system is based on ROS and the Prometheus open source framework and has rich functions. Provides positioning information, flight mode, battery status, IMU and other UAV status and sensor data interfaces, control interfaces such as position, speed, acceleration and attitude, as well as related development interface usage routines. Built-in safety protection mechanism reduces the risk of machine crash; supporting software simulation supports quick switching between simulated demo and real machine.
2. Professional ground station software
PrometheusGroundStation-Pro is a ground station software dedicated to the Prometheus autonomous drone system (V2 version) and supports all drones or simulation hosts using the Prometheus v2 version. Functions include stand-alone control, cluster control, data monitoring, video stream display, satellite map trajectory display and real-time position display, flat map real-time position display and desired point indication, parameter configuration, one-click start and other functions. At the same time, the software uses the control interface, image operation and other functions of the Amu laboratory pod, and provides RTCM data forwarding functions in all H16-RTK versions of drones. The following is a partial functional interface display:
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Map description
It is divided into satellite map and flat map. The satellite map uses UAV GPS data for real-time location display.
The flat map is displayed in real time based on the drone's own position data (i.e., the Position data in the drone status data), and some prompts are given based on the desired location provided by the user to tell the user where the aircraft is flying.
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One-click start instructions
Here, set the script that needs to be started on the airborne terminal. It supports launch files and script files (.sh). After the button is generated, it will be displayed on the function script, and the corresponding script on the onboard side can be started by clicking it.
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Parameter configuration
You can load the yaml file on the onboard side or the parameters in some launch files for display, and you can make real-time modifications on this interface.
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Flight log recording, trajectory drawing
Core advantages of scientific research drone platform P600 advanced version
1. Strong scalability
The advanced version of the scientific research drone platform P600 has good scalability and can be equipped with communication modules such as Homer and 5G, as well as other sensor equipment such as pods.
2. Support secondary development
The advanced version of the scientific research drone platform P600 supports secondary development and provides detailed instructions for the uav_control control module, as follows:
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uav_control code framework description;
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Introduction to uav_control topic;
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Introduction to uav_control parameters;
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uav_control message introduction;
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uav_control coordinate system and safety protection;
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Prometheus ground station control logic;
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Secondary development tutorial Demo.
3. Provide customized services
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Supports replacement of V-RTK (visual RTK);
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Customization of airborne computer models (x86 series, arm series, etc.);
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Communication module customization (Homer, Minihomer, 5G module, etc.);
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Ground station software customization;
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Install additional sensors (such as lidar, binocular cameras, etc.);
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Provide cluster communication development services.
Technical parameters and configuration
Technical manual: https://docs.amovlab.com/p600-uav-wiki/#/
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