Multipilot32F4 Project Update: board and VRIDE PRO with VR OS 0.0.1 Available for developer

[Roberto Navoni]

Dear Friends ,

I'm happy to present the new revision of Multipilot32.

This new revision of product use STM32F4 as micro controller.

The VR Ide Pro is available and downlodable here :

http://code.google.com/p/multipilot32/downloads/list

In the framewark is available :

• Eclipse IDE.
• GCC compiler that support MP32F1 and MP32F4.
• Debuger that use ST-link v2.

The library available for MP32F1 are :

Maple first revision and last revision that support DMA and new timer functionality as timer capture.

The library available for MP32F4 are :

ST std library and ChibiOS operating system complete with an example of makefile and firmware.

We open a developer group on virtualrobotix website:

http://www.virtualrobotix.com/group/armcopterdevgroup?xg_source=activity

the next step is porting all available APM library for MP32F1 to MP32F4.

The board is available for pre order :

MP32F4 95,00 euro

MP32F1 85,00 euro 

* this revision use STM32F103 the firmware is yet available.

The MPU6000 Option is available as option at 35,00 euro

send a mail to [e-mail] for info.

Hardware:

• ARM Cortex-M4 processor STM32F407VET6. 168 Mhz
• Flash 1024 Kbytes RAM 196 Kbytes
• DSP + MCU + FPU - Hardware floating point -
• 16-bit Timer 4
• SPI 2 (ADC Interface , MicroSD connection Option)
• I ² C 2 (First I2C (sensor), Second I2C control until ESC 12)
• USART 5 (GPS, DEBUG Console, XBee Pro Telemetry)
• USB 1 (Upload Firmware, Debug Console, Power Board for Debug)
• CAN 1 (Interconnection with Professional ESC 1 Mbit update rate)
• 6 PWM Output Bit 16 (ESC / Servo Control)
• 8 PWM Input 16 Bit (RC Input Channel, accept PPM SUM)
• 8 Analog Input 12 Bit.
• Professional 4 layers PCB.
• DC: DC 30 V (6s Lipo): 5 volts and 3.3 volts

We integrate on same board the MPU6000 that use SPI bus and DMA to transfer data between the micro and imu sensor.

in this sensor is available:

• Tri-Axis angular rate sensor (gyro) with a sensitivity up to 131 LSBs/dps and a full-scale range of ±250, ±500, ±1000, and ±2000dps
• Tri-Axis accelerometer with a programmable full scale range of ±2g, ±4g, ±8g and ±16g 
• Digital Motion Processing™ (DMP™) engine offloads complex MotionFusion, sensor timing synchronization and gesture detection

 

Check this link for more info about the product :

http://invensense.com/mems/gyro/mpu6000.html

For MP32FX is available the VR Navi Board :

VR Navi board Option :

• 1 Magnetometer 3 Axis HMC5883 compass functionality.
• Barometer : BMP085
• GPS Mediatek all in one (Default) protocol MTK16 10 Hz update integrated Aerial.
• GPS Battery Backup.
• 1 FET for ON / OFF subsystems.

Input Output:

• 6 12 Bit analog input available for Board Setup or for interconnect accessories.
• 4 Digital Output
• 3 Status Led available

Price 70 euro.

Complete Kit STM32F4 + Navi Option 199 euro.

Preorder Open Today !!!

Original link  for more info : http://www.virtualrobotix.com/profiles/blogs/arducopter32-and-multipilot32-11-11-project-update

[Thomas Bredehorn]

Hi Roberto,

Is there something like the LN_MULTIPILOT_2_0_Schematic (F1 board) available for the F4 board?

best

    Thomas

[Guillaume Helle]

Hi Roberto,

this is the MP32F4 (i have verified : it is 407) with MPU6000 and VR Navi board...

Do you know when the Arducopter software will be available for this board?

[Roberto Navoni]

Hi Helle,

sorry your board is an MP43F1 or MP32F4 ... you can verify the kind of micro controller that 407 F4 103 is F1 .

Best

Roberto

[Guillaume Helle]

Hello,

i have plug my USB FTDI cable (ref: TTL-232R-3V3) on JP7 but with Mission Planner i can't communicate with the board...

I am using USB cable for power : perhaps i need to plus the LiPo too?

[Oyvind Amundsen]

look at this page 

I have the same controller, and plan to buy the same NAVI or the new Navi2012

[Guillaume Helle]

Hi Roberto,

 

i just receive the VR Navi board option for my Multipilot32F4 board with MPU6000 extension

Is it possible to have the schematic of the VR Navi Board ?

Where i can find a documentation of this board? Is it in the comments of the C++ code you are writing? :-)

I want to connect the Multipilot32F4 to my PC with Mission Planner.

So i must wired a uart cable between my USB/Serial board (Sparkfun) and the Multipilot32F4 board.

I suppose i must connect it in usart1 in JP7 or JP19 connector?

Do i must cross Tx and Rx between the connector and the USB/Serial board ?

 Thanks for your help !

 Best regards,

 Guillaume

[Darren Corley]

Hi Roberto,

I just got my APM2 in the post, which free's up an APM1280/Oilpan. So do you think I should use the Oilpan on my original dev MP32F1 you sent me awhile back; or I send that back and order the new F4 to test out? Which way would be better?

Also I was thinking of using the now defunct 1280 as a groundstation/antenna tracker. any suggestions there?

[Roberto Navoni]

Hi Ian,

is not so simple ... varesano board are only a mpu6050 put on pcb on a bad i2c bus :) Is not a complete systems .. diyd v3 is a mpu6000 + arduino micro a 328 atmega .. :(

So we're working on a complete system based on 1 years of experience on STM32f1 and a lot of sensor interface on different kind of bus : i2c , SPI , digital io , serial port , usb

A lot of work on library and firmware ... now after experience on STM32f1 port it on STM32f4 .

The micro is STM32 but between the F1 and F4 there are a lot of work to rewrite lib and driver .

Best

Roberto

[ian]

I assumed there was some size difference, but was unable to compare since no dimensions are given for multipilot on this page or the discovery on ST's:

http://www.st.com/internet/com/press_release/p3228.jsp
http://www.st.com/internet/evalboard/product/252419.jsp

Re: sensors

I planned to just use one of the many MPU6000 daughterboards: e.g varesano, or diyd v3 imu

But I understand your other points of developer tools/accessories and libs. I saw the chibios port and assumed this abstracted away lib concerns.

I have no experience with ST products, just probing what my options are.

Thanks

ian

[Roberto Navoni]

The discovery board is great for starting to evaluate the micro. But there isn't lib ready to use for developer autopilot and also there isn't totally free tools available  and accessories yet compatible with that board. On discovery there is only accelerometer and not integrated gyro-accelerometer component. And yes is bigger respect of MP32FX

Best

Roberto