# ModalAI VOXL Flight
WARNING
PX4 does not manufacture this (or any) autopilot. Contact the manufacturer (opens new window) for hardware support or compliance issues.
The ModalAI VOXL Flight (opens new window) (Datasheet (opens new window)) is one of the first computing platforms to combine the power and sophistication of Snapdragon with the flexibility and ease of use of PX4 on an STM32F7. Made in the USA, VOXL Flight supports obstacle avoidance and GPS-denied (indoor) navigation fused with a PX4 flight controller on a single PCB.
Note
This flight controller is manufacturer supported.
# Specifications
# System
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Weight | 26 g |
# Companion Computer
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Base Operation System | Linux Yocto Jethro with 3.18 kernel. Additional Linux Operating Systems can be used by running Docker on VOXL, details here (opens new window) |
| Compute | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 w/ 4GB LPDDR4 1866MHz, Snapdragon 821 Datasheet (opens new window), Docs (opens new window) |
| CPU | Quad-core CPU up to 2.15GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 530 GPU at 624MHz |
| Compute DSP | Hexagon compute DSP (cDSP) 825MHz |
| Sensor DSP | Hexagon sensor DSP (sDSP) 700MHz |
| Video | 4k30 Video Capture h.264/5 w/ 720p FPV |
| Camera Interaces | Support for MIPI-CSI2, USB UVC, HDMI |
| Wi-Fi | Pre-certified Wi-Fi module QCNFA324 FCC ID:PPD-QCNFA324 (opens new window), QCA6174A modem, 802.11ac 2x2 Dual-band, Bluetooth 4.2 (dual-mode) |
| 4G LTE | Optional add-on module (opens new window) |
| Microhard pDDL | Optional add-on module (opens new window) |
| GNSS | WGR7640 10Hz |
| I/O | 1x USB3.0 OTG (ADB port), 1x USB2.0 (expansion port), 2x UART, 3x I2C, additional GPIO and SPI can be configured |
| Storage | 32GB (UFS 2.0), Micro SD Card |
| Software | Docker, OpenCV 2.4.11, 3.4.6, 4.2, ROS Indigo, Qualcomm Machine Vision SDK, see GitLab (opens new window) for lots of open source examples! |
| IMUs | ICM-42688 (SPI10), ICM-20948 (SPI1) |
| Barometer | BMP280 |
# Flight Controller
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| MCU | 216MHz, 32-bit ARM M7 STM32F765II (opens new window) |
| Memory | 256Kb FRAM |
| 2Mbit Flash | |
| 512Kbit SRAM | |
| Firmware | PX4 (opens new window) |
| IMUs | ICM-20602 (opens new window) (SPI1) |
| ICM-42688 (SPI2) | |
| BMI088 (opens new window) (SPI6) | |
| Barometer | BMP388 (opens new window) (I2C4) |
| Secure Element | A71CH (opens new window) (I2C4) |
| microSD Card | Information on supported cards |
| Inputs | GPS/Mag |
| Spektrum | |
| Telemetry | |
| CAN bus | |
| PPM | |
| Outputs | 6 LEDs (2xRGB) |
| 8 PWM Channels | |
| Extra Interfaces | 3 serial ports |
| I2C | |
| GPIO |
Note
More detailed hardware documentation can be found here (opens new window).
# Dimensions
3D STEP File (opens new window)
# PX4 Firwmare Compatibility
VOXL Flight is fully compatible with the official PX4 Firmware from PX4 v1.11.
ModalAI maintains a branched PX4 version (opens new window) for PX4 v1.11. This includes UART ESC support and improvements in VIO and VOA that are planned to be upstreamed.
More information about the firmware can be found here (opens new window).
# QGroundControl Support
This board supported in QGroundControl 4.0 and later.
# Availability
- VOXL Flight Complete Kit (opens new window)
- VOXL Flight Board (opens new window) (only)
- VOXL Flight integrated with Obstacle Avoidance Cameras (VOXL Flight Deck) (opens new window) (Datasheet (opens new window))
- VOXL Flight in a ready to fly VOXL m500 Development Drone (opens new window) (Datasheet (opens new window))
# Quick Start
A quickstart from the vendor is located here (opens new window).
# voxl-vision-px4
The VOXL Flight runs voxl-vision-px4 (opens new window) on the companion computer portion of the hardware serving as a sort of MAVLink proxy. For details, the source code is available here (opens new window)
# Connectors
Detailed information about the pinouts can be found here (opens new window).
# Top
Note: 1000 Series connectors accessible from the STM32/PX4
| Connector | Summary | Used By |
|---|---|---|
| J2 | Hires 4k Image Sensor (CSI0) | Snapdragon - Linux |
| J3 | Stereo Image Sensor (CSI1) | Snapdragon - Linux |
| J6 | Cooling Fan Connector | Snapdragon - Linux |
| J7 | BLSP6 (GPIO) and BLSP9 (UART) | Snapdragon - Linux |
| J13 | Expansion B2B | Snapdragon - Linux |
| J14 | Integrated GNSS Antenna Connection | Snapdragon - Linux |
| J1001 | Programming and Debug/UART3 | STM32 - PX4 |
| J1002 | UART ESC, UART2/TELEM3 | STM32 - PX4 |
| J1003 | PPM RC In | STM32 - PX4 |
| J1004 | RC Input, Spektrum/SBus/UART6 | STM32 - PX4 |
| J1006 | USB 2.0 Connector (PX4/QGroundControl) | STM32 - PX4 |
| J1007 | 8-Channel PWM/DShot Output | STM32 - PX4 |
| J1008 | CAN Bus | STM32 - PX4 |
| J1009 | I2C3, UART4 | STM32 - PX4 |
| J1010 | Telemetry (TELEM1) | STM32 - PX4 |
| J1011 | I2C2, Safety Button Input | STM32 - PX4 |
| J1012 | External GPS & Mag, UART1, I2C1 | STM32 - PX4 |
| J1013 | Power Input, I2C3 | STM32 - PX4 (powers whole system) |
# Bottom
Note: 1000 Series connectors accessible from the STM32/PX4
| Connector | Summary | Used By |
|---|---|---|
| J4 | Tracking/Optic Flow Image Sensor (CSI2) | Snapdragon - Linux |
| J8 | USB 3.0 OTG | Snapdragon - Linux, adb |
| J10 | BLSP7 UART and I2C off-board | Snapdragon - Linux |
| J11 | BLSP12 UART and I2C off-board | Snapdragon - Linux |
| VOXL microSD | Snapdragon - Linux | |
| PX4 microSD | 32Gb Max | STM32 - PX4 |
| Wi-Fi Antennas | Included | Snapdragon - Linux |
# User Guide
The full user guide is available here (opens new window).
# How to Build
To build PX4 for this target:
make modalai_fc-v1
# Serial Port Mapping
Note: mappings shown are for the PX4 controlled interfaces only
| UART | Device | Port |
|---|---|---|
| USART1 | /dev/ttyS0 | GPS1 (J1012) |
| USART2 | /dev/ttyS1 | TELEM3 (J1002) |
| USART3 | /dev/ttyS2 | Debug Console (J1001) |
| UART4 | /dev/ttyS3 | Expansion UART (J6) |
| UART5 | /dev/ttyS4 | UART between PX4 and Companion Computer |
| USART6 | /dev/ttyS5 | RC (J1004) |
| UART7 | /dev/ttyS6 | TELEM1 (J1010) |
| UART8 | /dev/ttyS7 | N/A |
# Support
Please visit the ModalAI Forum (opens new window) for more information.