Ghetto DJI Matrice + Manifold (experiment)

Hi, today I would like to share with you my experiments using the Nvidia Jetson TK1, used for automated vehicle computing and various other advanced small embedded computing systems. It's a more ghetto - but advanced ghetto - experiment.

The reason why I wanted to get involved with the Jetson TK1 board was to see how it compared with other small embedded devices. The obvious one is the Raspberry Pi 2, but there are others out there such as Beaglebone, Odroid and so on.

(size comparision between a Jetson TK1 & Raspberry pi 2)

They all are trying to open the door to general users and hobbyists somehow, to allow us into the world of advanced computing in a small form factor which is a perfect combination when you are attempting to attach it to a small flying object and send it up into the sky to perform various tasks. The smaller the better, the lighter the better. Powerful is also good, however cost begins to creep into the equation and for experimental drone hobbyists, cost - crash - repair factors come into play and unless we are equipped with an unlimited academic bursary fund, or sizeable parental trustfund, then you and me are going to be super careful how we invest our 60 hour -week minimum wage.

Even low entry requirement, poor research funding universities like MIT are onto the 'place a TK1 onto a drone' game:

(Look it's shiny and I'm from MIT. Fund me. Or that's how I think it goes.)

So, when I got the opportunity to take up the offer of a TK1 at the super special offer rate,
I figured that the invite is just too much of an offer to turn down. The spec sheet and observed capabilities roped me in, and I soon discovered that it is indeed the super computer of a hobbyists dreams. It has good I/O, good peripheral support and much faster general performance.

Frist time software setup was quick to perform:

1)Plug in power

2)command: cd NVIDIA-INSTALLER

3)command: sudo ./installer.sh //(installs the desktop environment)

4)command: sudo reboot

/---------------------------------------/

Ubuntu is pre-installed to the TK1's onboard 16GB fast eMMC (i think)

Some of the first things I wanted to setup included:

1)3d print a case

2)look at the mini pcie options: wifi + bt 4.0

3)look into the db9-uart port, see if it's possible to have mavproxy run through this into the APM board

4)hardware button shutdown?

5)look into an ssh app + remote keyboard/mouse app to control using my android tablet. (I would like to do away with keyboard & mouse)

/------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

And a little later:

1) look at available vision systems. I had a few rejection emails for dev kits, and too costly ($$$$) for me to buy as a diy tech developer, so in true DIY style it might be some kinda hack of a laser range finder, or a kinect-mod with a brighter ir-led installed. see how that goes.

2) the sata power port looks like a neat option for +5v & +12v outlet for devices. time will tell.

3)look into gpio for servo control/sweep

Dji Matrice 100 = £2799/$4200

Dji Manifold computer = £600/$800

Dji A2 Flight controller = £915/$1376

Total = £4314/$6376

Bargain?

After a day or so figuring out the TK1 over coffee, I learned:

1) Soft power button brings up Ubuntu shutdown options menu.

2) There's an Android app which enables ssh control, and also acts as a mouse & keyboard for Ubuntu. There is a guide to making it work here, however i'm currently having issues after executing 'sudo apt-get install xdotool'. console says 'unable to locate xdotool', so I have to fix that.

3)There is a way to modify the power button to shutdown on press. Here's a demonstration of an added switch and power button mod:

Here's the Pin-out:

I decided to get myself a mini pcie wifi & bt 4.0 module (Atheros AR5B225 WLAN Bluetooth 4.0 Mini PCIE WiFi Card > eBay > $2)

I also required a pair of antenna (which strangely cost more than the pcie card):

Unfortunately (or fortunately if you are a developer wanting to start from scratch) the TK1 does not have a vast array of driver handling as it arrives in the box.

So I had to install the Grinch kernel:

My board: Jetson TK1 R19 Rev 2.0 (important to check using: "sudo head -n 1 /etc/nv_tegra_release")

Therefore for my R19 version: Grinch Kernel version: 19.3.6

 -install guide worked first time: (https://gist.github.com/jetsonhacks/928d84f159e1c7c2eacb)

 -few tweaks used here: (https://gist.github.com/jetsonhacks/9259acbd31b2dfc6dfe6)

 -bit more information: http://jetsonhacks.com/2014/10/12/installing-grinch-linuxfortegra-l...

Result:

Amazingly, everything compiled and installed smoothly and without issue first time. Coming from an Arduino background, it is pretty similar to using a host computer with Arduino IDE > connecting the Arduino to the computer > compiling > uploading.

In the case of the TK1, it requires a host computer running linux (to use terminal commands), I used the latest Ubuntu on a (ghetto) laptop. Compiling, then installing to the TK1 is all done using USB cable & Terminal window.

It took about an hour and a half to compile and upload the Grinch code. The Grinch works well. I have my Mini Pcie WIFI + Bt 4.0 adapter working straight away. As a test, I connected & played some youtube using audio over bluetooth A2DP to a small speaker.

Future:

Anyway, I just wanted a pcie wifi device to allow me to setup and use ssh with my android device. it cost me very little, and works without issues. It was a gamble on which devices are compatible with the TK1.

Eventually I learned how to setup an SSH terminal with an android app:

For the record, I got an Android ssh + mouse + keyboard app working with the TK1. The android app is called 'Home Remote Control'.

Negative points:

 - It has a nag screen to upgrade to a pro version which I.....blah.

 - It seems that when TK1 is started, without a keyboard or mouse initially connected, I'm not getting the mouse cursor on screen showing up, even though I can move around, forcing me to guess, or replug/unplug the mouse which brings up the cursor and fixes the issue. Bit of a pain. Maybe fixable somehow? SSH works well.

Maybe try a different remote app in future....There's lots of them.

To use a remote app on the TK1 you have to install SSHserver & XDOtool:

sudo apt-get install openssh-server
sudo apt-get install openssh-client
sudo service ssh restart

ssh localhost

sudo apt-get install xdotool

That is all.

Later on, I'll be upgrading again to L4T 21.3 (Grinch), but for now some discovery and exploring.

- I have a good idea to create a 3d-printed case/drone mount for the TK1 which i'll get around to making this next week or so. I hope to integrate a decent LED-Ring switch to allow me to boot/shutdown with a little bit of $swag$.

I would really like it if there are some device developers out there who would offer me test devices, right now, i'm looking at Kinect & Webcam + OpenCV, but would be pleased to get involved with Zed/Lidarlite. Any offers just get in touch. Thanks

F450 Mounting

So, then I decided to see if I could mount this on one of my F450 drone frames. With a little bit of careful planning and measurement, some 3D printing and cardboard I got something acceptable for my experiment

I mean, how much is the DJI Matrice 100 + Manifold again?

I have belief that the tk1/tx1 module is going to create a next generation of drones that are complete packages > I can see why DJI added it to their system. The TK1, i'm certain, is capable of flight control + 4g telemetry + vision system + on-the-fly image processing + more. All in one package. - a downward facing webcam to manage optical flow & precision landing, a depth camera such as zed/or a DIY 360 lidar controlling obstacle avoidance & point cloud mapping.


Some people are asking "What's the point of this?", and I guess you can say that sentence about anything and everything. The question ususally comes up by people who just don't understand or are confused about ideas. From a ghetto DIY or maker environment, imagine using the TK1 with a Kinect camera attached and mounting it onto a drone, then flying the drone around a building to collect damage and repair assessment data. Having this data in 3D without having to hire expensive cranes or time consuming and costly surveying, this would mean an advancement. Here's an example of this setup collecting 3D data:

I think 3DR would be wise to create a standalone IMU unit for the TK1, an install script for Ardupilot + 4gmetry, and the vision systems will arrive and develop separately.

My raspberry pi 2 is still waiting in the corner, booting, and refusing to load/power 4G dongle drivers. With the TK1 it is so much more trouble free, everything loads, everything installs, it has voltage power, and processing power. There are no SD card bottle necks.

Building the cover:

So now that I have got the physical model planned and organised, it is time to think about data communications and devices.

I contacted Ericsson & Huawei to help me find a Half-mini pcie 4g lte board so I can make better use of proxy communication to control APM. Fingers crossed I get some good support form these guys. 

Alas, there does not appear to be any half-mini pcie 4g LTE boards on the market yet which I find unusual considering here we are in an age of being able to mount a supercomputer onto a drone in my spare room using small amounts of money. I do hope the big mobile manufacturers sort things soon.

In the meantime, I dug out my old 3.5g HSDPA+ dongle which I picked up for under $5/£3 when I was at Imbi Plaza next to Plaza Low Yat in Kuala Lumpur a few years past. I really love Imbi Plaza, it is like the dirty, rough market for poor geeks. Anything repaired, anything old-tech can be bought. Compared to the gloss and shiny-pristine gleam of Low Yat and it's high price tags, it's really a great market. I mean, here we are, in the west, getting super excited about 4G data using our phones, and back in 2011 most of Malaysia was hocking their 4G dongles on flea markets and getting ready for 5G. Anyway.

(Green for Go)

The good news is, that my 3.5G HSDPA+ dongle works with Grinch Kernel without having to install anything (wvdial, ppp, qt) to Ubuntu. It already has a neat setup wizard.

Now, I need to read up on enabling UDP over 3G/3.5G/4G, sending webcam video to the New Droidplanner app via gstreamer, installing and configuring mavproxy.

It's all really interesting anyhow.

Next up is to connect a camera.

Most people let's face it, don't get this far. To mount a companion computer onto a drone that you made yourself is a stretch. We generally are happy to pootle around the sky, content in our minds.

However, if you have any interest in mounting a companion computer, in this case the Nvidia Jetson TK1, Then here I would like to show to you how to get it up and running untethered and wire-free on your f450 drone.

First up we have to scrape through our scrap box for an old webcam; 720p or higher is a good idea. I have a Microsoft Lifecam Studio that I am happy with, I use it for my blog photos. What we have to do is cut all the excess wire from the usb cable to make it nice and short and light for mounting on our companion-computered-drone. I don't wish to cut the wires on my Lifecam Studio, so I took my older webcam which is an HP 720p camera that is no longer used and is just in a drawer. To trim it down we just choose a suitable length and cut with some nice sharp scissors.

We can then use some dupont connectors to join the 4 wires (Red/Vcc, Black/GND, Green & White/TX/RX). I crimped the connectors using a pair of crimping pliers that I also have. Shop around and you can find them for $10.

We also have to make a power connector for a drone lipo battery. I used an XT60 connector and connected a 3s lipo (12.6v) but you can also use a 4s if you wish because the Jetson TK1 has a voltage tolerance of 9.5-16v (16v if you are not using sata drives too, else it is 13.5v to avoid damaging the drive). The outer barrel of  the power plug is the ground (GND/Black wire), the inner hole is Power (Vcc/Red wire). Confusing the two can screw up things if the TK1 does not have reverse polarity protection. I don't recommend trying to find out.

It's then a matter of sticking/fixing the camera module in a location you want and plugging it all in and booting up the Ubuntu OS. Et Voila. You have a camera-ready companion computer connected using a lipo battery, all free from ground tethers, ready to fly in the air. 

You can check/view that the webcam picture is sending to the Jetson by running 'cheese' application. It should be installed already to ubuntu on the jetson if I remember correctly. There are many options to view your webcam - VLC does it too.

What next? Well, we want to set up something to run something useful for the big & powerful Jetson board don't we. So I guess using a cheap webcam, we could experiment using OpenCV for object detection

Or Caffe for 'deep learning' object identification (although the results are somewhat comical)

The algorithms are improving day-by-day and improvements are progressing, but be prepared to not have your dream results for your 'crime-policing drone' right now. We are safe from big brother for now.

For my tests, I am using a cheap webcam that didn't cost me much. You can also find a used Xbox Kinect camera these days in junk stores for under $20 (Version 1, or for better resolution Version 2 but more $$). With the Kinect we can fly around and generate 3D imaging in real-time, mapping the flight area, or creating an image to allow the drone to avoid objects upon repeat flights. Real-time will take time, as they say. 

For connecting the Kinect you have to again trim the wires short using the dupont connectors, also the kinect v1 requires 12v input which you can get from the TK1's Molex port.

From these two options, the only way is up (in price). Some cameras I have seen include:

-Minoru 3D webcam ($20)

-Asus XTion webcam (not sure if in production anymore)

-Intel Realsense Dev Kit ($99) (Greater depth range (40m) than Kinect cameras)

There are others out there such as Lidar modules (Lidar Lite/Velodyne), and other depth cameras with prices over $400. The velodyne Lidar has a huge price. Keep reaching for that rainbow:

(Velodyne VLP-16 --- RRP $7999)

There are suggestions that long-range (100m) Lidar modules can be made using a decent home DIY laser rangefinder, removing the module and connecting to an Arduino or Teensy board. The DIY method can be done for $20 if you buy a decent used laser rangefinder such as a bosch unit on ebay. Why use a board? It's suggested that it is better to process the range in metres using an arduino/teensy before connecting to a companion computer which will do the mapping/imaging. There is a 360-degree rotating Lidar module tutorial here.

If you want to download the 3D files I used to make the F450 mount, you can do so here:

Google Drive

Or View it on Thingiverse