Hello, I am building a large mower/UGV. It is designed to be fully modular.
The RC version is almost finished, see YouTube video: RC version tested indoor because of winter here
The mower deck can be added within a minute (4 screws) so I can use it for other tasks very easily like transportation, snow plow, pesticides sprayer,…
Goals:
vehicle for large properties
modular design
I might make as an open-source project of it with all steps to rebuild if others are interested
using only parts which are online available (no old things laying around in the shed)
easy to build as possible (most difficult part is welding)
easy to maintenance (e.g. good wiring, connectors,…)
autonomous mode for mowing and RC
optional seat
fully electric
enough battery space
camera, WiFi
For mower deck I am using an 51cm electric mower with 80V system. I connected it to a large e-bike controller and a step-up converter.
I am using Wifi Halo so I have good internet connection for camera, and on-board computer. I tested it already in 200m distance with trees in line of sight.
The electronics for RC version of main body including camera and WiFi is trivial to build up (no soldering needed and totally beginner friendly). The mower deck electric transition is more difficult.
Now am planning GPS-RTK. My current favorite setup would be Orange Cube+Hero4+Mini Carrier Board. I want to place it at top of antenna mast so there is 50cm distance to the 24V cables and around 80cm to the electric motors avoiding any interferences. I am digging to the threads here on this topic. I am an advanced programmer but those flight controllers are totally new for me. So I appreciate any suggestions.
I made 3D printed housing for the low-voltage control electronics
it is mounted using rubber dampers
inside I have Wifi Halo for long range and Recamera. Recamera is an hackable AI camera and comes with object detection and Linux/Node-Red out-of-the box
brass logo
mounting rails and a seat which can be removed quickly
There is no solution and I do not want to build a custom Firmware. It took several months in summer time which would been best for real test. So I finally decided to remove OrangeCube/Ardupilot and I am using RaspberryPI Zero 2W instead now. Development is much easier there.Hope to make some good progress now.
Apollo Turfstorm seems to be perfect solution for this it is overall better design than mine but the core ideas are very similar.
Apollo Turfstorm will be on Kickstarter and so nobody knows if it will be a product.
After I finished my current implementation I will change several things to come closer to Apollo design.
I went to reply, and found a mostly written reply from a while back that was left in draft format, so sending now after the fact.
RTK is a critical for operation, but a small part of the problem i think you are solving. I’d get RTK working with ArdusimpleRTK2B x3 ($$) then work on the rest once you’ve got operational info.
old message follows…
Great work on progressing the rtcm messages.
some generic issues to consider
Good clear view of the sky
voltage levels to the GPS
Cable issues
Does the gps vendor provide a windows/android app for the GPS
I got a CUAV RTK2 HP working over the weekend over canbus. Little drama, and my first play with non-F9P. It worked fine (no RTK until outside).
