HoverGames Gets a New Platform

Nov. 30, 2022

HoverGames 3 is off and running with two platforms: a car and a drone.

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HoverGames 3 now has two platforms to choose from. This year's challenge is Sustainable Food Ecosystems, so it made sense to add the Buggy3 to the mix, which included the original drone platform (see figure). NXP's Iain Galloway talks about the two platforms in the video (above).

The PX4 controller (top left) can now be combined with the NavQ+ (lower left) that's built around NXP's i.MX 8M Plus SoC. These can control the new Buggy3 (center) or the HoverGames drone (top right).

The Buggy3 uses the same RDDRONE-FMUK66 PX4-based nav system found on the drone. The PX4 system has found its way onto countless platforms, including car platforms like the Buggy3. The open-source PX4 autopilot software is often controlled by a host processor.

The Buggy3 has plenty of room for the new NavQ+ that's based on NXP's i.MX 8M Plus system-on-chip. The i.MX 8M Plus features multiple Arm cores as well as an AI accelerator that's able to handle video streams in real-time.

Developers also can take advantage of Bosch Sensortec's new BME688 gas sensor. The sensor actually incorporates its own machine-learning support and thus could be trained to recognize different gases.

hackster.io is the website that manages the latest HoverGames 3 challenge. Prior competition entries are online, too.

Stay tuned for more upcoming videos on HoverGames 3.

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