Ardupilot Releases TCP/IP over Ethernet

Dec 9, 2023

3 min read

Author

Josh Elijah

CEO and Head of Hardware

Integration & Ecosystem

ArduPilot now supports TCP/IP communication over Ethernet, enabling high-bandwidth data transfer between flight controllers and onboard systems. Here is what this means for BotBlox-equipped platforms.

The long-awaited addition of TCP/IP over Ethernet for ArduPilot has now been released. This represents a step improvement in the ArduPilot project and allows the integration of more complex sensors, actuators and processors to ArduPilot driven platforms. Essentially it means you can finally achieve scalable network architectures with ArduPilot.

At BotBlox, we’ve been collaborating with Andrew Tridgell on the ArduPilot project since May 2023 to release an affordable, easy to use ArduPilot compatible Ethernet switch. This complements ArduPilot’s new Ethernet ability and allows users to build Ethernet based drones and robots without extra hassle or work.

By leveraging our SwitchBlox design, a well-tested and mature product, we created the SwitchBlox for ArduPilot variant, which reuses a lot of the same circuitry but replaces the connectors with ArduPilot compatible JST connectors.

3D render of the SwitchBlox for ArduPilot board with five Picoblade Ethernet ports

Currently, not all ArduPilot compatible hardware uses the JST connector however, and there exists quite a bit of controversy around which connector to use for Ethernet in ArduPilot. To try and bridge this gap, we have also created the SwitchBlox for ArduPilot Cable Adapter.

SwitchBlox cable adapter board with RJ45 jack and labelled Picoblade connectors for CubePilot, NextVision TRIP and H16 Air Unit

This adapter houses all the connectors and pinouts found on the existing ArduPilot platforms, vastly simplifying hardware connectivity and meaning users don’t need to construct custom cables by hand. This adapter is compatible and tested with the following ArduPilot platforms.

NextVision Trip 2, Trip 5 and Trip 6: Uses JST-GH 1.25mm 5 pin (Pinout 1)

Pinout diagram of the NextVision TRIP 5-pin JST-GH connector: RX−, RX+, TX− and TX+

Skydroid H16 AirUnit Radio: Uses JST-GH 1.25mm 5 pin (Pinout 2)

Pinout diagram of the Skydroid H16 Air Unit 5-pin JST-GH connector: RX+, RX−, TX+ and TX−

Pixhawk6X and 5X: Uses JST-GH 1.25mm 4 pin (with the same pinout as SwitchBlox ArduPilot)

Pinout diagram of the 4-pin ArduPilot Ethernet connector: RX−, RX+, TX− and TX+

ViewPro: Uses JST-GH 1.25mm 4pin

Pinout diagram of the 4-pin SwitchBlox Ethernet connector: TX+, TX−, RX+ and RX−

Siyi Cameras: Uses JST-GH 1.25mm 8 pin

Pinout diagram of the SIYI 8-pin Ethernet connector: TX+, TX−, RX+ and RX− with unused pins

CubePilot: JST-GH 1.25mm 5 pin (Pinout 3)

Pinout diagram of a 5-pin Picoblade Ethernet connector: TX+, TX−, RX+ and RX−

CubeRed Carrier Board: Uses Industrial Mini I/O - D1

Pinout diagram of the Pixhawk Mini IO 6-pin connector: TX+, TX−, RX+ and RX−

Any other generic hardware can use either the Molex PicoBlade (compatible with BotBlox hardware) or the RJ-45 socket.

SwitchBlox for ArduPilot and the cable adapter now allows users to easily build Ethernet enabled ArduPilot systems without extra work. We are excited about this development and will be actively working on improving our Ethernet switch platforms to bring more sophisticated management and network routing abilities in the future.