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Posted to dev@nuttx.apache.org by Matteo Golin <ma...@gmail.com> on 2025/01/24 03:00:30 UTC
L1 Flight Computer for NuttX
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to share that I have finished developing a flight computer for my L1 rocket, which I have designed from
scratch with the intent of running NuttX (right down to the LED status indicators). This is distinct from the InSpace
flight computer designed this year that I have mostly been emailing about, which is more capable and designed for higher
power (L3, 30,000ft) rockets.
I have posted all of the design files here (https://altusmetrum.org/TeleMetrum/), and started on creating the
out-of-tree board support for it: https://github.com/linguini1/pygmy-nx
Many friends that I have made through the rocketry hobby are very interested in having electronics on board their
rockets as they do certification flights and hobby flights. This allows them to come up with some flight characteristics
about their rocket. Unfortunately, most telemetry capable flight computers are quite expensive.
This board is meant to be an open-source alternative to existing, pricey flight computers like the Altus Telemetrum
(https://altusmetrum.org/TeleMetrum/) and similar, which cost around $430CAD where I live. The Pygmy and its ground
station receiver totals about half of that, and that is as a prototyping cost with a small batch order.
Since discovering NuttX and how capable it is, I knew that it would be a great candidate for use on this board. It's
open source and well maintained, with a nice ability to customize its features. Unlike a lot of commercial alternatives,
I have designed this flight computer to be "hackable" so that hobbyists can modify the NuttX image on it, write their
own applications or even put MicroPython on it. NuttX is really conducive to the goal of being hackable and powerful.
I have successfully been able to bring up the board just recently, communicate with all my sensors, use the existing
UORB driver for the MS5607 and test the GPS with the wonderful `gps` example in the apps collection. I have a few
sensors to write drivers for and I have yet to test the SPI micro SD card, but it's looking like NuttX was a great
choice for getting this going. I'm very excited to get some software written for it, and I will be launching it in the
spring for my Tripoli L1 certification flight if all goes to plan.
I want to say thank you to the community here again for being so welcoming and for dedicating so much time to creating
an incredibly powerful and easy to use RTOS. I would not have believed it was possible for me to create my own flight
computer from scratch and bring it up so quickly based on my experience with other RTOSes.
Hopefully this is of some interest to you all! I don't know how many boards have been built with the intent to run
NuttX specifically, but here is another that will hopefully gain some popularity in the rocketry community.
--
Matteo Golin
Re: L1 Flight Computer for NuttX
Posted by Alin Jerpelea <je...@gmail.com>.
Kudos Matteo!
I am looking forward to hear about your interesting achievements
Best regards
Alin
On Fri, Jan 24, 2025 at 8:14 PM Matteo Golin <ma...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thank you Alan, looking forward to continuing to contribute to this amazing
> project!
>
> Matteo
>
> On Fri, Jan 24, 2025 at 10:25 AM Alan C. Assis <ac...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi Matteo,
> >
> > Congratulations for achieving it! I just posted about it on LinkedIn too!
> >
> > We are grateful for all you have done for NuttX too! The Raspberry Pi 4
> > port for example will open new possibilities for NuttX!
> >
> > BR,
> >
> > Alan
> >
> > On Fri, Jan 24, 2025 at 12:00 AM Matteo Golin <ma...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Hello everyone,
> > >
> > > I just wanted to share that I have finished developing a flight
> computer
> > > for my L1 rocket, which I have designed from
> > > scratch with the intent of running NuttX (right down to the LED status
> > > indicators). This is distinct from the InSpace
> > > flight computer designed this year that I have mostly been emailing
> > about,
> > > which is more capable and designed for higher
> > > power (L3, 30,000ft) rockets.
> > >
> > > I have posted all of the design files here (
> > > https://altusmetrum.org/TeleMetrum/), and started on creating the
> > > out-of-tree board support for it:
> https://github.com/linguini1/pygmy-nx
> > >
> > > Many friends that I have made through the rocketry hobby are very
> > > interested in having electronics on board their
> > > rockets as they do certification flights and hobby flights. This allows
> > > them to come up with some flight characteristics
> > > about their rocket. Unfortunately, most telemetry capable flight
> > computers
> > > are quite expensive.
> > >
> > > This board is meant to be an open-source alternative to existing,
> pricey
> > > flight computers like the Altus Telemetrum
> > > (https://altusmetrum.org/TeleMetrum/) and similar, which cost around
> > > $430CAD where I live. The Pygmy and its ground
> > > station receiver totals about half of that, and that is as a
> prototyping
> > > cost with a small batch order.
> > >
> > > Since discovering NuttX and how capable it is, I knew that it would be
> a
> > > great candidate for use on this board. It's
> > > open source and well maintained, with a nice ability to customize its
> > > features. Unlike a lot of commercial alternatives,
> > > I have designed this flight computer to be "hackable" so that hobbyists
> > > can modify the NuttX image on it, write their
> > > own applications or even put MicroPython on it. NuttX is really
> conducive
> > > to the goal of being hackable and powerful.
> > >
> > > I have successfully been able to bring up the board just recently,
> > > communicate with all my sensors, use the existing
> > > UORB driver for the MS5607 and test the GPS with the wonderful `gps`
> > > example in the apps collection. I have a few
> > > sensors to write drivers for and I have yet to test the SPI micro SD
> > card,
> > > but it's looking like NuttX was a great
> > > choice for getting this going. I'm very excited to get some software
> > > written for it, and I will be launching it in the
> > > spring for my Tripoli L1 certification flight if all goes to plan.
> > >
> > > I want to say thank you to the community here again for being so
> > welcoming
> > > and for dedicating so much time to creating
> > > an incredibly powerful and easy to use RTOS. I would not have believed
> it
> > > was possible for me to create my own flight
> > > computer from scratch and bring it up so quickly based on my experience
> > > with other RTOSes.
> > >
> > > Hopefully this is of some interest to you all! I don't know how many
> > > boards have been built with the intent to run
> > > NuttX specifically, but here is another that will hopefully gain some
> > > popularity in the rocketry community.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Matteo Golin
> > >
> >
>
Re: L1 Flight Computer for NuttX
Posted by Matteo Golin <ma...@gmail.com>.
Thank you Alan, looking forward to continuing to contribute to this amazing
project!
Matteo
On Fri, Jan 24, 2025 at 10:25 AM Alan C. Assis <ac...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Matteo,
>
> Congratulations for achieving it! I just posted about it on LinkedIn too!
>
> We are grateful for all you have done for NuttX too! The Raspberry Pi 4
> port for example will open new possibilities for NuttX!
>
> BR,
>
> Alan
>
> On Fri, Jan 24, 2025 at 12:00 AM Matteo Golin <ma...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Hello everyone,
> >
> > I just wanted to share that I have finished developing a flight computer
> > for my L1 rocket, which I have designed from
> > scratch with the intent of running NuttX (right down to the LED status
> > indicators). This is distinct from the InSpace
> > flight computer designed this year that I have mostly been emailing
> about,
> > which is more capable and designed for higher
> > power (L3, 30,000ft) rockets.
> >
> > I have posted all of the design files here (
> > https://altusmetrum.org/TeleMetrum/), and started on creating the
> > out-of-tree board support for it: https://github.com/linguini1/pygmy-nx
> >
> > Many friends that I have made through the rocketry hobby are very
> > interested in having electronics on board their
> > rockets as they do certification flights and hobby flights. This allows
> > them to come up with some flight characteristics
> > about their rocket. Unfortunately, most telemetry capable flight
> computers
> > are quite expensive.
> >
> > This board is meant to be an open-source alternative to existing, pricey
> > flight computers like the Altus Telemetrum
> > (https://altusmetrum.org/TeleMetrum/) and similar, which cost around
> > $430CAD where I live. The Pygmy and its ground
> > station receiver totals about half of that, and that is as a prototyping
> > cost with a small batch order.
> >
> > Since discovering NuttX and how capable it is, I knew that it would be a
> > great candidate for use on this board. It's
> > open source and well maintained, with a nice ability to customize its
> > features. Unlike a lot of commercial alternatives,
> > I have designed this flight computer to be "hackable" so that hobbyists
> > can modify the NuttX image on it, write their
> > own applications or even put MicroPython on it. NuttX is really conducive
> > to the goal of being hackable and powerful.
> >
> > I have successfully been able to bring up the board just recently,
> > communicate with all my sensors, use the existing
> > UORB driver for the MS5607 and test the GPS with the wonderful `gps`
> > example in the apps collection. I have a few
> > sensors to write drivers for and I have yet to test the SPI micro SD
> card,
> > but it's looking like NuttX was a great
> > choice for getting this going. I'm very excited to get some software
> > written for it, and I will be launching it in the
> > spring for my Tripoli L1 certification flight if all goes to plan.
> >
> > I want to say thank you to the community here again for being so
> welcoming
> > and for dedicating so much time to creating
> > an incredibly powerful and easy to use RTOS. I would not have believed it
> > was possible for me to create my own flight
> > computer from scratch and bring it up so quickly based on my experience
> > with other RTOSes.
> >
> > Hopefully this is of some interest to you all! I don't know how many
> > boards have been built with the intent to run
> > NuttX specifically, but here is another that will hopefully gain some
> > popularity in the rocketry community.
> >
> > --
> > Matteo Golin
> >
>
Re: L1 Flight Computer for NuttX
Posted by "Alan C. Assis" <ac...@gmail.com>.
Hi Matteo,
Congratulations for achieving it! I just posted about it on LinkedIn too!
We are grateful for all you have done for NuttX too! The Raspberry Pi 4
port for example will open new possibilities for NuttX!
BR,
Alan
On Fri, Jan 24, 2025 at 12:00 AM Matteo Golin <ma...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
> I just wanted to share that I have finished developing a flight computer
> for my L1 rocket, which I have designed from
> scratch with the intent of running NuttX (right down to the LED status
> indicators). This is distinct from the InSpace
> flight computer designed this year that I have mostly been emailing about,
> which is more capable and designed for higher
> power (L3, 30,000ft) rockets.
>
> I have posted all of the design files here (
> https://altusmetrum.org/TeleMetrum/), and started on creating the
> out-of-tree board support for it: https://github.com/linguini1/pygmy-nx
>
> Many friends that I have made through the rocketry hobby are very
> interested in having electronics on board their
> rockets as they do certification flights and hobby flights. This allows
> them to come up with some flight characteristics
> about their rocket. Unfortunately, most telemetry capable flight computers
> are quite expensive.
>
> This board is meant to be an open-source alternative to existing, pricey
> flight computers like the Altus Telemetrum
> (https://altusmetrum.org/TeleMetrum/) and similar, which cost around
> $430CAD where I live. The Pygmy and its ground
> station receiver totals about half of that, and that is as a prototyping
> cost with a small batch order.
>
> Since discovering NuttX and how capable it is, I knew that it would be a
> great candidate for use on this board. It's
> open source and well maintained, with a nice ability to customize its
> features. Unlike a lot of commercial alternatives,
> I have designed this flight computer to be "hackable" so that hobbyists
> can modify the NuttX image on it, write their
> own applications or even put MicroPython on it. NuttX is really conducive
> to the goal of being hackable and powerful.
>
> I have successfully been able to bring up the board just recently,
> communicate with all my sensors, use the existing
> UORB driver for the MS5607 and test the GPS with the wonderful `gps`
> example in the apps collection. I have a few
> sensors to write drivers for and I have yet to test the SPI micro SD card,
> but it's looking like NuttX was a great
> choice for getting this going. I'm very excited to get some software
> written for it, and I will be launching it in the
> spring for my Tripoli L1 certification flight if all goes to plan.
>
> I want to say thank you to the community here again for being so welcoming
> and for dedicating so much time to creating
> an incredibly powerful and easy to use RTOS. I would not have believed it
> was possible for me to create my own flight
> computer from scratch and bring it up so quickly based on my experience
> with other RTOSes.
>
> Hopefully this is of some interest to you all! I don't know how many
> boards have been built with the intent to run
> NuttX specifically, but here is another that will hopefully gain some
> popularity in the rocketry community.
>
> --
> Matteo Golin
>
Re: L1 Flight Computer for NuttX
Posted by Tomek CEDRO <to...@cedro.info>.
On Fri, Jan 24, 2025 at 4:18 AM Matteo Golin <ma...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks Tomek!
> Also it appears I posted the wrong link to the design files and instead put
> the Telemetrum page. Here they are: https://github.com/linguini1/pygmy
Yup :D Nice stuff congratz!! :-)
I was playing with some space tech at university.. there are some
folks at rocket society.. maybe I will come back one day if some free
time shows up :-) :-)
--
CeDeROM, SQ7MHZ, http://www.tomek.cedro.info
Re: L1 Flight Computer for NuttX
Posted by Matteo Golin <ma...@gmail.com>.
Thanks Tomek!
Also it appears I posted the wrong link to the design files and instead put
the Telemetrum page. Here they are: https://github.com/linguini1/pygmy
On Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 10:04 PM Tomek CEDRO <to...@cedro.info> wrote:
> On Fri, Jan 24, 2025 at 4:00 AM Matteo Golin <ma...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Hello everyone,
> > I just wanted to share that I have finished developing a flight computer
> for my L1 rocket, which I have designed from scratch with the intent of
> running NuttX (right down to the LED status indicators).
>
> Thank You Matteo for sharing your success story and being part of the
> NuttX community!! All the best!! :-)
>
> --
> CeDeROM, SQ7MHZ, http://www.tomek.cedro.info
>
Re: L1 Flight Computer for NuttX
Posted by Tomek CEDRO <to...@cedro.info>.
On Fri, Jan 24, 2025 at 4:00 AM Matteo Golin <ma...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello everyone,
> I just wanted to share that I have finished developing a flight computer for my L1 rocket, which I have designed from scratch with the intent of running NuttX (right down to the LED status indicators).
Thank You Matteo for sharing your success story and being part of the
NuttX community!! All the best!! :-)
--
CeDeROM, SQ7MHZ, http://www.tomek.cedro.info