The DJI Matrice 100 is a quadcopter for developers. The drone allows developers to customize the flight platform using the DJI SDK. In a previous article, we unboxed the Matrice itself. Today we unbox the Manifold computer and work on assembling the Guidance subsystem. Looky here:
Background
The DJI Manifold is an embedded computer specifically designed for the DJI Onboard SDK. This enables developers to transform aerial platforms into flying robots that can perform complex computing tasks and advanced image processing (oh dear) literally on the fly.
The Manifold uses a NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor which uses four A15 cores and 192 CUDA capable cores. The Manifold is built to be mounted to an expansion bay of the Matrice 100, and measures 11 cm x 11 cm a 2.6 cm and weighs less than 200 grams.
Manifold Connectivity
The Manifold is equipped with a large variety of connectors, including USB, Ethernet, Mini-PCIe, HDMI, UART, SPI and I2C ports. These connectors allow the developer to attach a wide array of sensors and peripheral devices to the Manifold, as well as connect to the Matrice Flight Controller.
SDK
The Manifold runs L4T, an Ubuntu derived operating system and supports CUDA, OpenCV and ROS. The Manifold can natively run the DJI Onboard SDK, access flight data and perform intelligent control and data analysis.
Guidance Install Update
As shown in the video, the Guidance sensor subsystem has been assembled for installation on to the Matrice 100. the process is straightforward, here is the DJI created video that provided assembly information:
8 Responses
Hi, i’m Roberta.
I have some questions about these platforms… With Guidance DJI on board Matrice100 and Guidance SDK, is possible to implement an automatic collision avoidance system.
Now, if I want to make my flight completely automatic priogramming a mission on a Manifold and usign Guidance DJI too, is it possible ( and or necessary??)to connect together Manifold and Guidance on the platform DJI?
Thanks in advance
Hi Roberta,
On several of the current drones, such as DJI Phantom 4 and 3DR Solos, you can have mission programming without a Guidance or Manifold. The mission programming is done on a base station (usually a phone or table connected to the remote controller of the aircraft).
The Guidance is designed to work with the DJI Matrice. The Manifold is designed to work with the DJI Matrice. If you are planning on using an onboard camera for vision processing on the Manifold, the DJI Matrice has all the proper connectors needed built in. It is simply a matter of wiring, the Manifold and Matrice take care of passing through the video back to the ground station.
While it is conceivable that you could use Manifold and Guidance on a different platform, all of the code written for the Manifold and Guidance assume that it is working with a DJI drone.
Thanks for reading!
Hello there,
I am currently using the Zed stereo camera with the Jetson TX1 for sense and avoid purposes. However, I am planning to implement DJI guidance to work with the zed and the jetson for 360 stereo vision. At this point, I wanted to check with you if you have configured the DJI guidance sensors to the Jetson directly using MAVROS protocol
Hi Saeid,
I don’t have any experience with the MAVROS interface. The Manifold (which is a Tegra TK1 variant) handles all of that in a slightly different manner. Thanks for reading!
Hello,
I am assembling a M100 and wondering if you have an upwards looking sensor? I only have 4 and one looking downwards. Another question is, is it possible to replace the guidance with NVidia Jetson TX1 instead because I don’t have the manifold. Thanks!
This Matrice did not have an upward looking sensor. I don’t have any experience other than the Manifold to share. I would assume that you could put a TX1 on there with some custom mounts, or a smaller carrier board. It will probably be a little more difficult to integrate the Matrice onboard camera. Thanks for reading!
hiii guys
I know this might be irrelevant to ask here in am actually trying to control dii zenmuse a7 with Jetson nano. I am stuck at this point in my project. suggestion are appreciated
thank you
I don’t know anything about the DJI Zenmuse A7. I suggest you ask your question on the official NVIDIA Jetson forum, where a large group of developers and NVIDIA engineers share their experience: https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/c/agx-autonomous-machines/jetson-embedded-systems/70
Good luck on your project!