Hardware Requirements

This section lists the hardware requirements to help you setup a real robot to run the autonomy stack. It may be possible to adapt the configuration according to the sensors you have available. ​

Hardware Requirements

Companion Computer

​ The companion computer is the computer onboard the quadrotor that will run all the autonomy stack code. Most of the stack is CPU bound. For that reason, we recommend you use an Intel NUC. Without the case, the Intel NUC 10th gen is approximately 9.5x9x2.5cm so your robot platform should be large enough to carry it. ​

Flight Controller

​We use the package kr_mav_control to send SO3 commands to different flight controllers such as Snapdragon Flight, Craziflie and PX4. We recommend you use a Pixhawk 4 (FMUv5) with PX4 as the flight controller. ​

LiDAR

​The LiDAR is used for mapping and can also be used for state estimation. We have tested the stack with the Ouster OS1 and Velodyne Puck. Other LiDARs should work fine for mapping as long as they output a 3D Point Cloud. Theoretically, this sensor could be replaced as long as another source of point cloud to build the map is provided. We have tried using stereo depth estimation algorithms to compute the map, but the computational burden is was too high to run real time with the rest of the stack. ​

External IMU

​The OVC3 supports the Vectornav 100 IMU, which provides high-quality at a high frequency, the Pixhawk and the Ouster already have IMUs that can be used, but using a better external sensor can improve your state estimation.
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Stereo Camera (optional)

Note: Stereo camera is highly recommended for robust performance, alternatively, you can use LIDAR + IMU only, refer to lidar-only autonomous flight).

​We use the Open Vision Computer V3 (OVC3), an open hardware project developed by the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF) to run S-MSCKF for state estimation. Other cameras such as the ZED or Intel Reasense can be viable, but be sure to add dampening to the sensor to reduce the effect of the quadrotor vibration. The stereo camera needs to be synchronized (highly recommend hardware-sync) with the IMU. ​

Quadrotor Frame

​In our experiments we use a custom quadrotor frame to optimize flight time and payload capacity. However, other off-the-shelf frames can also work. We have run this stack using a Tarot 650 and a DJI F450, but be mindful of the sensors you will use, since these frames will be able to carry a smaller payload. ​

Motors/ESC

​TODO ​

Batery / Power Distribution

​TODO