Connect Computer(Desktop) to Pixhawk Wireless for programming

Pixhawk
1

I am currently working on a project in which I want to connect the pixhawk to my Desktop Computer, so that I can run heavier programs. The reason I cannot use a raspberry pi, is that I want to run object detection software which requires a lot of GPU power. Hence a raspberry pi is not suitable.

I am wondering how I could connect the Pixhawk wirelessly to my desktop?

Any help would be much Appreciated :slight_smile:

2

I suggest you should use the raspberry pi to send the images to your desktop computer and run the obstacle detection from there. After that, you send the data or instruction back to pixhawk through raspberry pi again.

Pixhawk <----> Raspberry Pi <-----> PC

3

Hi Haritsahm

I recently posted this idea of connecting the raspberry pi pixhawk and pc together, however most stated that it would be overly complicated and cause a delay. However it is still something I am willing to consider.

Furthermore, from your answer does this mean that there is no way of connecting directly to the pc instead of using the raspberry pi as a telemetry device.

4

As far as I know, telemetry is only used for sending simple instructions such as mission command, sensors data, status etc. not to control the pixhawk movement (position, attitude, velocity)

5

So just to confirm, it is not possible to connect the pixhawk directly to a pc(wireless) for programming purposes?

If this true, do you know of any links or examples of setting up the raspberry pi, pixahwk, and pc together?

6

I hope the pixhawk developers can confirm it. You can start by reading the documentation about companion computer,robotics section to see the communication method, and accessing raspi over wifi using ssh or sending data using socket programming . I believe there are a lot of projects that use wifi but I can’t find it for now. Hope this helps and good luck!

7

It is possible to connect Pixhawk directly to the PC using (for example) SiK radio. On the UAV side just connect SiK radio to one of the TELEM/SERIAL ports. On PC side, SiK radio will be seen as serial port. The radio itself operates almost transparently.

2 Likes
8

j_p is correct. There is information on telemetry radios in http://docs.px4.io/master/en/telemetry/

This approach has its limits, depending on how much information you’re sending back and forth. Usually people have a more powerful onboard computer than RaPi and use a fast wired serial link.