Do you want to build a drone with your Raspberry Pi? Learn how to connect it to the Pixhawk flight controller!

This tutorial will guide you through connecting a Raspberry Pi to a Pixhawk flight controller and installing necessary software for drone development. …


Updated September 5, 2023

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This tutorial will guide you through connecting a Raspberry Pi to a Pixhawk flight controller and installing necessary software for drone development.

Introduction

Pixhawk is an open-source autopilot platform designed for drones, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), and other robotic systems. It is a powerful flight controller that allows you to control your drone using programming languages like Python or C++. Raspberry Pi, on the other hand, is a small, affordable computer that can be used for various projects including robotics and AI. Connecting these two devices opens up a world of possibilities for creating innovative drones and UAVs.

Requirements

  • Raspberry Pi (any model)
  • Pixhawk flight controller
  • USB to TTL serial cable (3.3V or 5V)
  • MicroSD card with Raspbian OS installed

Preparing the Raspberry Pi

  1. Insert the MicroSD card into your Raspberry Pi and connect it to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
  2. Power up the device and log in to the terminal.
  3. Update and upgrade the system by running the following commands:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
  1. Install required packages for Pixhawk communication:
sudo apt-get install python-serial python3-serial
  1. Enable the UART interface on your Raspberry Pi by running the following command:
sudo raspi-config

Navigate to “Interfacing Options” > “Serial” and enable it. Reboot your device after making changes.

Connecting Pixhawk to Raspberry Pi

  1. Connect one end of the USB to TTL serial cable to the Pixhawk’s TELEM2 port (the one with the FTDI logo).
  2. Connect the other end of the cable to your Raspberry Pi’s UART port (usually labeled “TXD” and “RXD”).
  3. Identify the serial port assigned to the Pixhawk by running:
ls /dev/tty*

This will list all available serial ports. Look for one that has “USB” in its name, such as “/dev/ttyUSB0”.

Testing the Connection

  1. Open a terminal on your Raspberry Pi and run:
screen /dev/ttyUSB0 57600

This will open a screen session connected to the Pixhawk’s serial port with a baud rate of 57600. 2. Power up your Pixhawk and you should see some data streaming on the terminal, such as heartbeat messages. Press “Ctrl+A” followed by “K” to exit the screen session.

Installing QGroundControl

QGroundControl is a ground station software that allows you to configure and control your drone through a GUI. To install it on your Raspberry Pi, run:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install qgroundcontrol

Now you can launch QGroundControl from the menu or by running:

qgroundcontrol

Connect your Pixhawk to QGroundControl using the serial port and configure it according to your needs.

Next Steps

With your Raspberry Pi connected to Pixhawk, you can now begin developing software for drone control and automation using Python or other programming languages. You can use libraries like MAVProxy, DroneKit, and Pymavlink to interact with the flight controller and send commands to your drone. The possibilities are endless!

Happy coding and safe flying!