GettingTheGCSRunningonAGumstixBoard
Intro
Please take note that the page is in work at the moment and that I am doing my best to have it updated as soon as possible.
Would it not be great to have your small UAS in your backpack, throw it in the air and monitor and even adjust the flight via a small device in your pocket? If you think this would be awesome, read on, since that is what this page is all about. It is the first attempt and will not be about iPad, Android Phones, Amazon Kindles or the likes as a ground station. For this we have other wiki pages. No, we will use a thrusted solution; A Gumstix with Linux on it.
Outcome
Have the Paparazzi GCS monitoring and adjusting a UA via an small Gumstix based device.
Hardware
What do you need to get this working:
- A gumstix board
- Camera
- 3.5" screen (such as the LCD panel with the Chestnut) or 4.3"
Software
Needed softwares to run this application:
- Paparazzi software
- Kivy library
- Ubuntu kernel on your Gumstix
- Driver for the camera in order to be used with the Gumstix
How to start
Well, we have some tutorials on this wiki about how to install Paparazzi. If you need any help to install Kivy, please look at their website, you will find there a good tutorial about how to get started.
Connect to the Gumstix trought the network
If you want to send files to the Gumstix, you can do it via a ssh connection. In order to do this, both devices, your computer and the Gumstix must be connected to the same same network. Once you did this, you can start setting up the connection. Fistly, you need to know the IP address of the Gumstix. Start by opening CuteCom and connect to the device. When the system loaded, type into CuteCom command prompt:
ifconfig -a
Among the data returned, you will see something like this:
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:15:c9:28:c9:ff
inet addr:169.16.29.3
Now enter into the command prompt: sudo dhclient eth1 169.16.29.3
When this is done write into the command prompt: sudo apt-get install openssh-server Set a password: sudo passwd password
Now you should be able to connect using: ssh root@169.16.29.3
Connecting peripherals
When you have a Linux version running on your Gumstix, you can add a LCD, or a mouse, or a keyboard.
To set up your LCD you must follow these steps:
Connect trough CuteCom to the Gumstix Restart the board and hit a key within 5 seconds:
Hit any key to stop autoboot: 5
Then type the following in the CuteCom command prompt:
setenv defaultdisplay lcd43
Or, if you are using a 3.5" screen (such as the LCD panel with the Palo35):
setenv defaultdisplay lcd35
You can save this setting for future boots by saving it:
saveenv
Finally, continue with the boot process by typing in CuteCom command prompt:
boot
Installing
Testing
Next
The next step will be to make onboard video work in the GCS.