ESCs & Motors
Many PX4 drones use brushless motors that are driven by the flight controller via an Electronic Speed Controller (ESC). The ESC takes a signal from the flight controller and uses it to set control the level of power delivered to the motor.
PX4 supports a number of common protocols for sending the signals to ESCs: PWM ESCs, OneShot ESCs, DShot ESCs, DroneCAN ESCs, PCA9685 ESC (via I2C), and some UART ESCs (from Yuneec).
Supported ESC
The following list is non-exhaustive.
| ESC Device | Protocols | Firmwares | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARK 4IN1 ESC | Dshot, PWM | AM32 | Has versions with/without connnectors |
| Holybro Kotleta 20 | DroneCAN, PWM | PX4 Sapog ESC Firmware | |
| Vertiq Motor & ESC modules | Dshot, OneShot, Multishot, PWM | Vertiq firmware | Larger modules support DroneCAN, ESC and Motor in one |
| RaccoonLab CAN PWM ESC nodes | DroneCAN, Cyphal | Cyphal and DroneCAN notes for PWM ESC | |
| VESC ESCs | DroneCAN, PWM | VESC project firmware | |
| Zubax Telega | DroneCAN, PWM | Telega-based | ESC and Motor in one |
See Also
For more information see:
- ESC Protocols — overview of main ESC/Servo protocols supported by PX4
- PWM ESCs and Servos
- OneShot ESCs and Servos
- DShot
- DroneCAN ESCs
- ESC Calibration
- ESC Firmware and Protocols Overview (oscarliang.com)