# Interfacing a Six-Axis Load Cell with Cube Orange+ for Real-Time Logging and Control in PX4

**URL:** <https://discuss.px4.io/t/interfacing-a-six-axis-load-cell-with-cube-orange-for-real-time-logging-and-control-in-px4/44876>\
**Category:** PX4 Autopilot\
**Created:** [April 8, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://discuss.px4.io/t/interfacing-a-six-axis-load-cell-with-cube-orange-for-real-time-logging-and-control-in-px4/44876 "2025-04-08T00:29:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![skaz](https://discuss.px4.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@skaz](https://discuss.px4.io/u/skaz)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://discuss.px4.io/t/interfacing-a-six-axis-load-cell-with-cube-orange-for-real-time-logging-and-control-in-px4/44876/1 "2025-04-08T00:29:04Z")

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Hi everyone,

I’m working on integrating a **six-axis load cell** with a **Cube Orange+ flight controller** running **PX4 v1.14 (or v1.13 alpha)**. The aim is to enable a **multi-rotor UAV** to interact physically with its environment using a rod-mounted load cell that provides **force/torque feedback**.

#### **System Overview:**

- **Load Cell** : Comes with its own **interface board** , **user manual** , and **iDAS software**.
- **Provided Materials** : Manufacturer has also provided example code (attached to the project knowledge base).
- **Connection** : The load cell is physically connected via **UART (TX, RX, GND)** to the **GPS2 port** on the Cube Orange+.

#### **What I’ve Tried:**

I attempted to modify the PX4 firmware to read data from the load cell and display it in the **MAVLink console or MAVLink inspector** in QGroundControl. The goal is to:

- **Log the force/torque data in real time** ,
- Make it available for **monitoring** ,
- And potentially **use it in a control loop**.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get the data to show up correctly or reliably through this approach.

#### **My Questions:**

1. **What’s the proper way to integrate a custom UART-based sensor (like a 6-axis load cell) into PX4 for real-time logging and monitoring in QGC (via MAVLink console or inspector)?**
2. **Can the GPS2 UART port be used for this type of data, or should another port/method be considered?**
3. **Would I need to create a custom driver and/or MAVLink message to support this integration?**
4. **How can I make this data available for control use inside PX4 (e.g., to feed into a control loop)?**

Any advice, examples, or direction on similar implementations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

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**Author:** ![system](https://discuss.px4.io/uploads/default/original/3X/7/3/73ce918bdcd64854de904f0c8d9ab70ca9723f2a.png) [@system](https://discuss.px4.io/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://discuss.px4.io/t/interfacing-a-six-axis-load-cell-with-cube-orange-for-real-time-logging-and-control-in-px4/44876/2 "2025-07-07T00:29:30Z")

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