DCS2.Pilot_PX
Release notes
rev.2
Added FRAM to onboard FMU
Added side platting for the board
Board dimension expanded 1mm in width and 1mm in height
Added TPM module
Added additional RTC circuit + rail for possibility to charge battery externally
Added EMI shield on the TOP side of the board.
Onboard FMU signals (4xPWM, 1xUART) routed to board-to-board connector in parallel
Jetson configuration USB routed to board-to-board connector
1V8_Adapter rail removed from board-to-board connector
Jetson standoffs mechanically reinforced
Changed MPN for SSD oscillator
Changed MPN for CAN transceivers
rev.1
HDMI connector changed to ZIF\
rev.0 (preproduction series)
Description
The DCS2.Pilot Board serves as the central control unit of the DroneCore Suite, integrating both primary processing and flight-control functionality. It is responsible for managing the drone’s systems and coordinating communication between all onboard components. Additionally, the board provides the main hardware interfaces for connecting expansion boards and other auxiliary modules within the DroneCore ecosystem.
This version of the board utilises a Pixhawk (in v5X/v6X standard) as its primary flight controller. It also features an onboard flight control unit based on an STM32 H7 microcontroller, which can operate as a backup Flight Management Unit (FMU) or even as the primary one. The design further allows for the extension of the onboard FMU with an additional sensor board.
Mechanical / environmental specifications
Weight
163g
Dimensions L×W×H (mm)
12 × 5 × 53.5
(Board + Cube Orange + Jetson Orin NX)
Temperature rating
-40°C / +85°C
Conformal coating
Yes
EMC performance
The board is always measured with the corresponding expansion board, so measurements for the single board are not available
Dimensions
3D model
Power supply
Power consumption: 16W
Overall consumption of the board strongly depends on the usage of the main computing unit. The given value corresponds to the DCS2 in the default setup with a freshly flashed Orin NX, without any additional peripherals connected.
Note:
Power to the .Pilot board is drawn from the expansion board. If you are designing your own board, please refer to the example project for more information.
Peripherals
Note:
Some of the peripherals are prepared for future use (dotted lines). 100Mbit Eth line, Serial 8 and CAN3 are related to different assembly variants of the board and usage of different Cube autopilot versions (Cube Red)
Connectors, controls and indicators
Top side
Connectors
FAN
Matching with Molex 51021-0400 cable header
Ccompatible with Orin NX original cooler
5V supply limited to 200mA by internal current limiter
1
GND
2
5V_PERIPH
3
FAN_TACH
4
FAN_PWM
ETH_EXP
505110-1692 connector type
possible to use aepilot1_ethernet_expansion_board, to expand to RJ45
5V supply limited to 1A by internal current limiter
1
GBE_B3_P
2
GBE_B3_N
3
GND
4
GBE_M2_P
5
GBE_M2_N
6
GND
7
GBE_M1_P
8
GBE_M1_N
9
GND
10
GBE_M0_P
11
GBE_M0_N
12
GND
13
GBE_LED_LINK
14
GBE_LED_ACT
15
5V_PERIPH
16
5V_PERIPH
FMU SEC.
Matching connector JST GHR-12V-S
5V supply limited to 1A by internal current limiter
Connector related to onboard FMU
Position remains the same as in version v1.x, only pin 1 marking was fixed in v2.0
1
5V_SAFETY
2
5V_SAFETY
3
SERIAL 2 TX
4
SERIAL 2 RX
5
SERIAL 1 TX
6
SERIAL 1 RX
7
GPIO/PWM OUT 1
8
GPIO/PWM OUT 2
9
GPIO/PWM OUT 3
10
GPIO/PWM OUT 4
11
GND
12
GND
USB_DEV
USB type micro B connector
Possible to use only as Jetson USB-device
When a micro USB cable is connected between the board and the host PC, Jetson acts like a USB device.
USB D. EX
JST SM04B-SURS-TF(LF)(SN) connector type
Possibility to route USB_DEV signals to drone case
If expansion cables are long, be aware of using a suitable cable with proper shielding
1
GND
2
D_P
3
D_N
4
VBUS
HDMI_OUT
503566-2102 connector type
5V supply limited to 0.2A by internal current limiter
1
GND
2
HDMI_DATA2_P
3
NC
4
HDMI_DATA2_N
5
GND
6
GND
7
HDMI_DATA1_N
8
HDMI_DATA0_P
9
HDMI_DATA1_P
10
HDMI_DATA0_N
11
GND
12
GND
13
HDMI_CLK_N
14
HDMI_CEC
15
HDMI_CLK_P
16
HDMI_DDC_CLK
17
NC
18
GND
19
HDMI_DDC_DATA
20
HDMI_DETECT
21
5V
Wi-Fi module
The onboard Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module contains two MHF4 micro-coax pigtail connectors for antennas. Suitable cable + antenna combination:
Connector + cable: C213GST-025MC137B-MHF4L
Antenna: 2JW1102--C943B
Do not run the Wi-Fi module without antennas connected!
Bottom side
Connectors
PPM
Matching connector JST GHR-03V-S
5V supply limited to 1A by internal current limiter
Position remains the same as in version v1.x, only pin 1 marking was fixed in v2.0
1
PPM_SBUS_PROT
2
5V_CRUCIAL
3
GND
NVME
M2 key M standard connector
Connector includes PCIE x4 and I2C bus
Ready to mount NVME SSD in M2 2242 size
B2B POWER CONNECTOR (PDB/Power board)
1
5V_PERIPH
2
5V_CRUCIAL
3
3V3_SOM
4
VDD_JETSON (v2.0) / 18V_SOM (v1.x)
5
N.C. (v2.0) / ?V_PAYLOAD (v1.x)
6
5V_SAFETY
7
GND
8
GND
B2B SIGNAL CONNECTOR (PDB/Power board)
1
CAN1_N
2
CAN1_P
3
GND
4
CAN2_N
5
CAN2_P
6
JETSON_ID (v2.0) / GND (v1.x)
7
I2C_SCL
8
I2C_SDA
9
SERIAL 1 TX (v2.0) / RESERVED (v1.x)
10
SERIAL 1 RX (v2.0) / RESERVED (v1.x)
11
GPIO/PWM OUT 4 (v2.0) / RESERVED (v1.x)
12
GPIO/PWM OUT 3 (v2.0) / RESERVED (v1.x)
13
GPIO/PWM OUT 2 (v2.0) / RESERVED (v1.x)
14
GPIO/PWM OUT 1 (v2.0) / RESERVED (v1.x)
15
RESERVED
16
BAT_V_SENSE
17
BAT_I_SENSE
18
RTC_BATTERY (v2.0) / RESERVED (v1.x)
19
MOD_SLEEP
20
SYS_RST_HS
B2B ADAPTER CONNECTORS
Pinouts and reference design will be provided as an example Altium Designer project.
Indicators
Controls
Example project (Altium)
We provide an example project in Altium Designer as a starting point to help you quickly begin developing your own custom expansion for the Pilot board. The project illustrates connector placement, pin assignments, and includes useful signal-related information, giving you a clear reference for interfacing and ensuring compatibility with our design.
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