What is this?
ArduPilot is an open source autopilot, in development since 2010, that can control almost any unmanned vehicle: planes, multicopters and helicopters, rovers, boats, balance bots and even submarines.
ArduPilot is an open source autopilot, in development since 2010, that can control almost any unmanned vehicle: planes, multicopters and helicopters, rovers, boats, balance bots and even submarines.What kinds of vehicles can it control?One repo, several vehicle-specific firmware sources: ArduCopter, ArduPlane, Rover and ArduSub, plus an Antenna Tracker. Each is built from this code and flashed onto the vehicle's flight controller.
One repo, several vehicle-specific firmware sources: ArduCopter, ArduPlane, Rover and ArduSub, plus an Antenna Tracker. Each is built from this code and flashed onto the vehicle's flight controller.How do I get it onto my drone — is there an installer?No installer — this is the source code. You pick the vehicle code you need, build it for your board following the developer wiki, and flash the result; a Docker environment simplifies the toolchain.
No installer — this is the source code. You pick the vehicle code you need, build it for your board following the developer wiki, and flash the result; a Docker environment simplifies the toolchain.What do I need on my computer to build it?A C++ toolchain and Python — the build is script-driven and uses Make. Windows builds go through Cygwin, ESP32 is a CI build target, and a Docker setup lets you skip manual toolchain configuration.
A C++ toolchain and Python — the build is script-driven and uses Make. Windows builds go through Cygwin, ESP32 is a CI build target, and a Docker setup lets you skip manual toolchain configuration.Will it run on my flight controller?Odds are good: the maintainer list covers Pixhawk, Pixhawk2, PixRacer, Cube, Bebop, Navigator, BBBmini, BeagleBone Blue, PocketPilot, NavIO, VRBrain and ESP32 boards.
Odds are good: the maintainer list covers Pixhawk, Pixhawk2, PixRacer, Cube, Bebop, Navigator, BBBmini, BeagleBone Blue, PocketPilot, NavIO, VRBrain and ESP32 boards.Is this a serious engineering project or a hobby codebase?Serious engineering: developed since 2010 by professional engineers and computer scientists, with named maintainers for each vehicle and subsystem and an active group of beta testers.
Serious engineering: developed since 2010 by professional engineers and computer scientists, with named maintainers for each vehicle and subsystem and an active group of beta testers.Any catch if I want to use it in my own product?It's GPLv3, a strong copyleft license: a product built on ArduPilot must ship its source under the same license. Fine for hobby, research and open projects.
It's GPLv3, a strong copyleft license: a product built on ArduPilot must ship its source under the same license. Fine for hobby, research and open projects.Why pick ArduPilot over another open autopilot?The README positions it as the most advanced, full-featured and reliable open source autopilot, and few stacks cover this many vehicle types — quad planes to submarines — under a single codebase.
The README positions it as the most advanced, full-featured and reliable open source autopilot, and few stacks cover this many vehicle types — quad planes to submarines — under a single codebase.Can I use it with ROS for robotics research?Yes. ROS is one of the repo topics, and the CI pipeline builds the code with colcon, the ROS 2 build tool, so ROS integration is part of the project's regular workflow.
Yes. ROS is one of the repo topics, and the CI pipeline builds the code with colcon, the ROS 2 build tool, so ROS integration is part of the project's regular workflow.What is MAVLink, which shows up in the topics?It's the telemetry and control protocol ArduPilot vehicles use to talk to ground stations and companion computers — how you monitor and command the craft in flight.
It's the telemetry and control protocol ArduPilot vehicles use to talk to ground stations and companion computers — how you monitor and command the craft in flight.What are similar projects?PX4-Autopilot, oomwoo, autoware, INSLIB, coyopedal, smartknob, PLFM_RADAR, Marlin
PX4-Autopilot, oomwoo, autoware, INSLIB, coyopedal, smartknob, PLFM_RADAR, MarlinWhich topics is it in?ros2, ros, autonomous-vehicles, sensors, navigation, esp32, foss, robotics, firmware, embedded, github-actions, hardware
ros2, ros, autonomous-vehicles, sensors, navigation, esp32, foss, robotics, firmware, embedded, github-actions, hardware