Hey guys, so I am pretty new to using Blue Robotics products and was wondering how I would connect 6 T200 thrusters to a raspberry pi 4 for my ROV project. I want some confirmation that I can do this and some guidance on how to do it before I buy the materials. Can anyone offer some guidance?
Hi @kingcoolance -
Welcome to the forums!
The best way to connect those thrusters is with a Navigator, attached to your Pi. This will let you run BlueOS, and be off and running with your ROV in no time! If you’re trying to save a few bucks, an older pixhawk model may also work but you’ll lose the ability to run LUA scripts…
There is a vastly more complex approach where you would connect the 6 T200’s motor controller ESCs directly to GPIO output pins, but this doesn’t provide you with a motion sensor in the vehicle, and would not be supported by any of the software / firmware necessary… Not a recommended approach by any means!
Thank you very much Tony, for responding. I will check in with my team about using a Navigator, and I will reach out if I need any assistance!
I was wondering if we could also connect servos (standard 270 or 180) to the navigator board. I see a lot of pins on the navigator, but I was wondering if we could build code supporting the servos. Additionally, If we are not using the blue robotics HD camera, what type of cameras can we use that fit with the navigator ports?
Hi @kingcoolance -
Yes, by default the Navigator GPIO pins are intended to output servo-style PWM signals - read more here.
As for cameras, BlueOS supports any USB camera with H264 compression, or any IP camera with RTSP / Onvif / H264 support (on the same network as the Raspberry Pi of course.)