NVIDIA Jetson Nano for Pixhawk

[dorukcapraz]

Hello all,

I have a NVIDIA Jetson Nano. I want to use it as autonomus flight controller. Is it possible like Jetson TX1&TX2? At the ‘Companion Computers’ link, there is no information about that. At TX2 Link suggests Jetpack 3.3 but Jetson Nano has Jetpack 4.2 Is it compatible for my purpose?

I’m waiting your helps and opinions…
Thanks in advance…

[ppoirier]

Yes The NANO makes a good Companion Computer. I used it in the visual odometry test with great results

GSoC 2019: Integration of ArduPilot and VIO tracking camera for GPS-less localization and navigation

[image] 1. Introduction Navigation through unfamiliar spaces while avoiding obstacles is always of utmost importance for any autonomous robots. In many applications for ground and aerial robots, there is a growing need for accurate navigation and localization in areas where GPS is not accessible. One such technology that has the capability to provide accurate, robust GPS-less localization and navigation is visual inertial odometry (VIO), which combines information from a camera and an inertial …

[dorukcapraz]

Dear ppoirier, Thank you for your reply,
Did you use Jetpack 4.2 or different Jetpack version and how did you flash APSync?
And i have one more quesiton Did you use SDK manager for setup activities on Jetson Nano?

Thank you again…

[ppoirier]

Actually I did not flashed APSYNC, I used the JetPack 4.2 and added packages manually, read the instruction on the blog above ( and associated labs) on how to load different modules like DroneKit Python.

[LuckyBird (Thien Nguyen)]

If you are using Jetson Nano with the Intel Realsense T265 tracking camera, a great way to start is to follow the instruction on Jetsonhacks: https://www.jetsonhacks.com/2019/05/07/jetson-nano-realsense-tracking-camera/

[huseyinozn]

Hi in the picture above you see the connection between usb port and telem2 port.
How did you make this connection?

I tried to connect telem2 with the serial port in the picture and I ran this code
mavproxy.py --master=/dev/tty0 --baudrate 921600 --aircraft MyCopter
but didn’t work please help me. I’m trying to communicate with pixhawk and make flight control with dronekit.

[ppoirier]

I am using a USB to serial converter.
You can check your connection work ok by reading MavLink raw data from a terminal software (like minicom) on the NANO

[huseyinozn]

sorry for my simple questions. what should I do if I use usb to serial converter

[ppoirier]

Any USB to serial module should work, in my picture you can see the CP2102 on the rear right arm of the quad.

[huseyinozn]

where should I choose as the connection path. tty0 is ok?

[ppoirier]

It seems you might need to disable console on this serial port:
https://devtalk.nvidia.com/default/topic/1050148/jetson-nano/serial-console-setup-parameters/

So I guess my solutions makes things simpler and safer as you as you dont connect external devices directly to the NANO

[huseyinozn]

I also want to use your solution after connecting usb serial converter which code did you use
to make the connection

[ppoirier]

This is basically a copy of the system that @LuckyBird used on the T265 VIO blogs, as I used the NANO to double check what he has done with the RPI3 . Main difference is that having a USB3 interface I could get the image stream

[Dork-knight (_mea_)]

How can i add packages and which packages should i add?

[huseyinozn]

I used usb ttl and run this command

mavproxy.py --master=/dev/ttyUSB0 --baudrate 921600 --aircraft MyCopter

Problem is solved

[faikvural]

Which packages added ?

[ppoirier]

We generally use drone kit python to control via MavLink

pip install dronekit
pip install pyserial

[ECainCheetah (Edan Cain)]

make the connection via the UART pins 8 and 10, same as a Raspberry Pi. To find the serial port, pull up a terminal window and type: $ dmesg | grep tty. Connections will likely be on ttyTHS1.

Install dronekit on the Jetson Nano this way:
sudo -H pip install dronekit

[optimus]

@ppoirier This is my first time connecting a companion computer with pixhawk (not the first time building a multirotor though) , I had some questions , and would very great full if you could help in answering those :

1. I am planning to connect Jetson Nano to Pixhawk 4 , and have used both the Telem 1 and Telem 2 ports. I was thinking of using UART port (J44) on Nano to connect to UART port on Pixhawk 4. Any caution to be vary of ?
2. I was following the GSoC blog you recommend, but that is to connect RPi to Pixhawk, are the underlying softwares which you have used on Nano similar to what is being used on RPi.
3. Are you powering your Nano through GPIO pins or barrel jack.
4. Are you running Nano at 5W or 10W setting, and what is the flight time you get.
5. Do you get any interference with heading / magnetometer using Nano.

Thanks

[ppoirier]

Hello

Yes you can use the onboard serial port to connect to pixhawk, just make sure you have common ground

As for software, Yes I used same configuration as with the RPI.There is no major difference as both are on Ubuntu.

I am powering through barrel jack on a 10 watts setup, using a dedicated 5A UBEC.

As for magnetic interference, if you refer to the picture, you can see that the nano is installed at the back end of vehicle to counterbalance the T265 so it is quite far from the PH2.