STM32F407VGT6 — ARM Cortex-M4F MCU for Pixhawk / PX4 / ArduPilot Drone Autopilots by STMicroelectronics

The STM32F407VGT6 is STMicroelectronics' connectivity-enhanced 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4F microcontroller running at 168 MHz with 1 MB Flash and 192 KB (128 KB + 64 KB CCM) in a LQFP-100 (14×14 mm, 0.5 mm pitch).  Adding an Ethernet 10/100 MAC for IP-connected ground control and a DCMI parallel camera interface for onboard optical flow and visual odometry, it builds on the legendary Pixhawk-grade F405 platform with key peripherals for advanced drone applications. With hardware FPU, ART Accelerator, dual CAN 2.0B, SDIO, and industrial temperature range (−40°C to +85°C), it enables IP-connected ground stations, camera-based navigation, and distributed UAV network architectures — all validated on the PX4 and ArduPilot open-source stacks.

Part Number Decoded — Field by Field

Quick Specifications

Product Overview

The STM32F407VGT6 belongs to ST's STM32F407 series — the connectivity-enhanced variant of the legendary F405 family.  The on-chip Ethernet 10/100 MAC with dedicated DMA enables direct IP connectivity for MAVLink-over-UDP ground control links — eliminating external SPI-to-Ethernet bridge ICs. The DCMI (Digital Camera Interface) supports 8–14 bit parallel camera sensors for onboard optical flow, visual odometry, and AI-assisted landing target detection. With the same Cortex-M4F core at 168 MHz and hardware FPU, it delivers the same deterministic flight control performance as the Pixhawk-class F405 while adding key peripherals for advanced drone applications: IP-connected ground stations, camera-based navigation, and distributed UAV network architectures.

STM32F407 — the connectivity-focused sibling of the F405, adding Ethernet 10/100 MAC and DCMI camera interface for advanced drone applications including IP-based ground control links and onboard computer vision.

Key Features & Benefits

168 MHz Cortex-M4F + Hardware FPU — ArduPilot EKF & PX4 Native

The Cortex-M4F core with single-precision hardware floating-point unit executes PID controllers, EKF2/EKF3 Kalman filters, and quaternion attitude estimation in native float with zero software emulation overhead. At 168 MHz with the ART Accelerator delivering zero-wait-state Flash execution, the F407 sustains IMU update rates up to 8 kHz on dual-redundant IMU configurations — the gold standard for professional drone autopilots.

1 MB Flash + 192 KB (128 KB + 64 KB CCM) SRAM — Full ArduPilot/PX4 Stack

With 1 MB of embedded Flash and 192 KB (128 KB + 64 KB CCM) of SRAM, the STM32F407VGT6 comfortably runs the complete ArduPilot feature set — EKF3 state estimation, L1 navigation controller, terrain following, geofencing, MAVLink telemetry routing, onboard microSD logging, and Lua scripting. The 64 KB CCM (Core-Coupled Memory) provides deterministic zero-wait-state access for the real-time flight control loop.

Ethernet 10/100 MAC + DMA — IP-Connected Ground Control

The integrated Ethernet MAC with dedicated DMA and MII/RMII interface provides a 100 Mbit/s IP connection to companion computers (Raspberry Pi, Jetson) and ground control stations. Enables MAVLink-over-UDP for high-bandwidth telemetry streaming, RTK correction data relay (NTRIP), and remote firmware updates — eliminating the bandwidth bottleneck of serial telemetry radios.

DCMI Camera Interface — Onboard Optical Flow & Visual Odometry

The 8–14 bit parallel Digital Camera Interface (DCMI) connects directly to CMOS image sensors for onboard vision tasks: optical flow for GPS-denied position hold (using PX4-OpticalFlow or ArduPilot EKF3 with visual odometry), AprilTag landing target detection, and simple object tracking — all processed on-chip without an external image co-processor.

Dual CAN 2.0B — UAVCAN/DroneCAN Peripheral Ecosystem

Two independent CAN 2.0B interfaces enable the UAVCAN/DroneCAN peripheral ecosystem: redundant GPS+compass (Here3/Here4), airspeed sensors, ESC telemetry nodes, and power modules — all on a single shared bus with hardware-level priority arbitration.

SDIO Interface — High-Speed Blackbox Logging

The native SDIO 4-bit interface connects directly to a microSD card slot without SPI bit-banging, enabling high-bandwidth blackbox logging at sensor-native rates — critical for post-flight PID tuning, vibration analysis via FFT, and incident forensics.

3× 12-bit ADC + 2× DAC — Analog Sensor & Actuator Pipeline

Three simultaneous-sampling 12-bit ADCs read battery voltage/current, analog RSSI, differential pressure airspeed sensors, and ultrasonic/sonar altimeters. Two 12-bit DACs provide analog control outputs for gimbal stabilization and OSD overlay circuits.

Advanced Timers — Multi-Rotor to Fixed-Wing PWM

Two 32-bit and twelve 16-bit timers with complementary outputs and programmable dead-time drive up to 8+ independent PWM channels for multirotor motors and fixed-wing servos. Supports Oneshot125, Oneshot42, Multishot, and DShot150/300/600 via hardware timer DMA bursts.

Target Applications

Ethernet-Connected PX4/ArduPilot Autopilots

The STM32F407VGT6 is ideal for Pixhawk-class designs requiring direct Ethernet connectivity. The on-chip MAC enables MAVLink-over-UDP for companion computer communication (avoiding serial UART bottlenecks), NTRIP RTK correction relay from LTE modules, and remote debugging/provisioning over IP.

Camera-Equipped Navigation Drones

The DCMI interface connects a parallel camera sensor for optical flow-based position hold in GPS-denied environments (indoor warehouses, under-bridge inspection, tunnels). Combined with ArduPilot's EKF3 visual odometry, this enables precision hovering without external optical flow modules.

Advanced Fixed-Wing & VTOL Autopilots

For professional fixed-wing and hybrid VTOL platforms, the F407's additional Flash/RAM variants (1 MB) combined with Ethernet provide the connectivity backbone for long-range BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) operations with IP-based C2 (Command and Control) links.

Onboard Computer Vision Nodes

The DCMI + Ethernet combination makes the F407 a capable front-end processor for vision pipelines: capture frames from a global-shutter camera, perform basic feature detection (corner/edge) on-chip, and forward compressed data over Ethernet to a companion processor (Jetson Nano, Raspberry Pi CM4) for deep learning inference.

Distributed UAV Network Architectures

In multi-UAV swarm applications, the Ethernet interface enables real-time inter-drone communication (position sharing, collision avoidance) over Wi-Fi bridges or long-range mesh radios — with the F407 serving as both the flight controller and the network node processor.

F407 Series Variant Comparison

STM32F407VGT6 vs Competing Drone Autopilot MCUs

Frequently Asked Questions

Why choose STM32F407 over F405 for a drone autopilot?

The F407 adds an Ethernet 10/100 MAC for direct IP connectivity (MAVLink-over-UDP, NTRIP RTK relay, remote firmware updates) and a DCMI camera interface for parallel image sensors (optical flow, visual odometry, landing targets). If your design needs either of these without external bridge ICs, the F407 is the right choice. Otherwise, the F405 is functionally identical and more cost-effective.

Can the DCMI interface be used for optical flow in PX4?

Yes. PX4 supports optical flow sensors via the DCMI interface using PX4Flow-compatible image sensors. Combined with a downward-facing sonar/lidar rangefinder, this enables GPS-denied position hold for indoor navigation — useful for warehouse inspection, bridge underside surveys, and tunnel mapping.

Does the Ethernet MAC require an external PHY?

Yes. The Ethernet MAC uses an MII or RMII interface and requires an external Ethernet PHY transceiver (e.g., LAN8720A, DP83848, KSZ8081). This is a low-cost addition to the BOM ($0.50–1.50) and provides a standard RJ45 magnetics connection. The MAC itself handles all DMA, checksum offloading, and IEEE 1588 PTP timestamping on-chip.

What's the difference between STM32F407VET6 and VGT6?

The VET6 has 512 KB Flash; the VGT6 has 1 MB Flash. Both share the same LQFP-100 package and peripherals. If your PX4 or ArduPilot build fits in 512 KB (stripped-down copter or fixed-wing without Lua), the VET6 saves cost. For full-featured builds with scripting and logging, choose the VGT6.

Is the STM32F407 compatible with Pixhawk FMU reference designs?

The F407 is pin-compatible with F405 in the same package (LQFP-64/100/144/176) and can be used on PX4 FMUv2/v3 designs that route the additional Ethernet pins. Most Pixhawk 2.4.x PCB layouts already break out the relevant pins. Check your board's schematic — if MII/RMII pins are accessible, you can drop in an F407 for Ethernet connectivity.

Ordering Information

Design Resources

• Datasheet (DS8626): STM32F405xx/STM32F407xx — Complete datasheet with pin definitions and electrical characteristics.

• Reference Manual (RM0090): STM32F405/415, STM32F407/417, STM32F427/437 — Full register-level documentation.

• AN3966: Ethernet PHY selection: ST application note — selecting and interfacing Ethernet PHY transceivers with STM32F4xx.

• PX4 Optical Flow Driver: PX4 source — optical flow sensor integration via DCMI for STM32F407-based boards.

• STM32CubeMX: Free ST pinout/clock configurator with automatic Ethernet and DCMI peripheral initialization code.

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