Hi, This is my first major project using ardupilot and an autopilot. I am building a swarm. We would have a companion computer Rpi aboard. Which would be a good FCU to go with ? We are looking for one around $100.
Really depends on what you need. Anything with a H7 processor and 2MB flash memory (i.e. NOT H743VG-series) will allow you to utilize all current features, provided you have the required modules/sensors/connectors/ports.
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Thanks for the reply, Oli. Do the onboard sensors work well on these FCs ? eg. Do vibrations and propwash, etc cause them to misread measurements ?
It depends on how good you build your drone.
- Flexible frames vibrate a lot more then stiff ones.
- Umbalanced props cause vibration, etc, etc.
Build it well, and any board will work.
Build it badly and even the most expensive IMU or the most advanced flight controller board will not save you .
See section 1 of Methodically configure and tune ArduCopter
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What @amilcarlucas said.
I would start with a list of requirements and restrictions, then look through the FCs listed here (while keeping in mind that you want an H7 processor and 2M flash) and select a couple that fit your use case best. Then check for price and availability, and maybe look up the model names in the forum search to see if there are issues reported. Do keep in mind that popular FCs like the Matek models will pop up a lot, that doesn’t mean they’re bad (they’re not), but with many people using them many problems will get reported and questions asked.
Since you want to build a whole swarm please start with a single prototype. You don’t want to order equipment for 1000s of $ just to find out that you didn’t account for some detail and now you’re stuck with 10 FCs that you can’t use.
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