Issue link: https://resources.mouser.com/i/1442871
NXP 2021 25 to start from scratch. The kit allows you to build with a specially selected and well-tested hardware and software configuration, avoiding wasting time sourcing many individual pieces. The software is PX4 autopilot, developed over more than 15 years, and is the most commercially deployed open-source drone platform globally. The key to its adoption is its business- friendly BSD-3 license, which lets you focus on your proprietary enablement while still freely leveraging the rest of the open- source code. Eventually, you might want to contribute to this very active open-source community. PX4 is governed by the Linux foundation DroneCode organization, which hosts an active Slack channel, web forum, and weekly working group meetings. PX4 is widely adopted for academic and professional applications alike, and enterprise solutions are available from Auterion, founders of PX4 software. NXP's Drone Development Platform NXP's KIT-HGDRONEK66 gets you started learning and developing quickly. Most everything you need for a fully functional robotic drone is a flight controller, drone frame and hardware, debugger, serial cables, remote controller, and telemetry radio. All you need to complete this kit is a lithium polymer (LiPo) battery–not included because of shipping restrictions. As a kit, you'll benefit from the learning experienced by building. Extensive step-by-step documentation is available online covering assembly, programming, and tuning, as well as YouTube videos for guidance. NXP Communities has a dedicated area for mobile robotics, and that's where interactive support can be found. Open-source software and hardware mean the drone you build is truly yours. There is no hidden source or binary files. It's also fun to learn to fly the drone and test new sensor peripherals already supported in PX4. As an engineer or programmer, the excitement also comes knowing you can extend the software. PX4 uses various modern middleware and provides a publish- subscribe system architecture. A uORB messaging API allows inter-thread and inter-process communications. MAVLink protocol and MAVSDK tools allow offboarding control. Also supported is a Real Time Publish Subscribe Protocol (RTPS) bridge for ROS/ROS2 (robot operating system) running on a Linux-based companion computer such as an NXP i.MX 8M Mini applications processor. The PX4 flight stack itself runs on NuttX real-time operating system (RTOS), with some direct peripheral drivers used to meet the demanding real-time position control requirements. NuttX brings a very nice Portable Operation System (POSIX) interface to embedded systems and makes a comfortable environment for developers familiar with Linux. This modern architecture employs publish-subscribe messaging systems and a POSIX RTOS. Some PX4 functions can even migrate to a Linux companion processor. Typically, the FMU needs to deal with the challenging real-time requirements of keeping the vehicle airborne and level and reflex-like responses such as stopping short of slamming into a wall. Still, higher-level detect and avoid planning functions are done in a Linux companion computer. The lines do become blurred sometimes because modern processors such as NXP's K66 and i.MX RT1060 MCUs have significant processing power on their own. Modern robots are made from a distributed architecture of multiple processors and can function well even without a Linux companion computer. Two or more powerful processors, such as the K66 FMU and i.MX RT1060 running at a 600GHz and the NXP Rapid-IoT module with a gas sensor attached, could easily follow and sniff vapor trail autonomously. The i.MX RT could perform collision avoidance by OpenMV vision, while the flight management unit (FMU) could log this mobile-IoT data to SDcard. In addition to local logging, key results could stream live via an NXP OL2385 SigFox radio. Figure 1: Improved resolution heat sensor mapping