Alternative ArduPilot Controller for ArduRover

We’re making a skid steer (tank-styled tracks) robot. The components are similar to ArduSub with respect to being wired/tethered whereas the ArduRover seems to use wireless communications. I’ve decided to adopt the PC104 format. There are no ArduPilot controllers I can find in the PC104 format.

To get started, my first question is, am I restricted to the controllers recommended and if not restricted, is there any known record of using an alternative SBC? The pixhawk, for example, appears to be a task-specific single-board computer that allows it to work without companion computers. It uses the same communications protocols as can be found on many SBCs.

This, [https://www.embeddedts.com/products/TS-7250-V2], is one such SBC I’m looking to use. The board appears to have the same protocols as the pixhawk or navio2 such as I2C. I am hoping to connect the sensors to the I2C assigned pins, and the motors and lights to DIO and PWM pins. This way I can operate the robot.

I’m using ROS (robot operating system) as is used in ArduSub (specifically referring to the BlueROV2). The OS is Ubuntu. I have a top-side (master computer) and the PC104 SBC will be the bottom-side (slave computer). In between is a network consisting of passive ethernet switches, copper to fiber converters, and cables.