Upgrade to Pixhawk Questions

ArduRover Rover 3.5
1

Hi All,

I am currently using APM 2.8 with the latest beta of Ardurover, Dual APM2 HC-SR04 range finders, GPS, etc., on a Frankenstein vehicle setup as a test bed for the Ardupilot software. Very nice, btw, thank you.

My future plan is to build a new rover from the ground up using a Pixhawk 2. Is my understanding correct that I can still use 2 range finders, one using the IC2 interface and the other the analog interface of the Pixhawk? If not, is using one MB1200 LV-MaxSonar-EZ1 sufficient? Perhaps LiDAR? I am curious to what the experienced builders are using.

The rover will be used indoor and outdoors.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you.

2

@copterguy, just to be clear, if an APM2.x board is used, then it will be a very old version of ArduPilot Rover on the vehicle, probably Rover-3.1 or 3.2. The MP’s firmware install screen may not do a great job of making it clear what firmware will be installed.

Re the sonar/lidar, yes, two can be used with the Pixhawk (or any of the other supported flight controllers). For my development vehicle that does object avoidance, I use 360deg lidar, in particular the RPLidarA2 for indoor use and the SF40C for outdoor use. On my boats or smaller cars I don’t use a lidar…

3

@rmackay9,

Yes, I am currently on the APM2.x board. I re-purposed it from an burnt up quadcopter.

I will be ordering the Pixhawk in a couple of weeks. I definitely want to use the RPLiDAR A2, but that will be further on down the road.

Thank you for your help and input.

Take care,
Pete

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