Simplest development board for rover currently supported by ArduPilot

ArduRover ArduBoat
1

Hi there:

When looking at the rover config for an autonomous boat, the boards available (pixHawk, APM, PX4), all seem over built for a rover. Doesn’t the rover just need serial inputs (GCS, GPS), compass and PWM?

What is the most simple board that’s supported by the ArduPilot code base for rover?
Can one build a generic STM32F4 discovery board and plugin a GPS and compass?

JS

2

If you are OK running the latest Dev version of firmware there are many choices. The F4 boards for example.
http://firmware.ardupilot.org/Rover/latest/

1 Like
3

Dave, thanks for the reply.

Yes, development code would work.
This folder you are linking to shows ready to use firmware versions. Where can I find descriptions for the boards used?
When I look at the firmware files (the json versions for Instance) i can see the targeted processor. Where can I find the pin mapping for these boards?

Thanks,
JS

4

The hwdef.dat files are basically the pin mappings.

5

As James says plus there is some additional information for some boards here. The F4 Nano V6 for example which I am working on for a small quad. The F405-Wing seems to be an increasingly popular choice.

http://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-autopilots.html

6

Thanks for the reply. Comparing the files I am gatger the F427-min port would be the minimal configuration for an STM32F4.

Would you recommend a link to a project that uses the F27-min port?

Thanks,
JS

7

The minimal port is just a reference to get started from.
I’d really suggest using an off the shelf controller. So long as it’s an F4 or F7 with 1mb or more of flash, it’s likely to be straight forward to bring up. Home brewing adds hardware risk and is unlikely to save time or money.