Drone Programming

Name: Drone Programming
Rating: 3.9 (291 reviews)

Software Development for Ardupilot Powered Unmanned Systems

Created byMustafa Gökçe

Last updated 5/2024

English

What you'll learn

Understand and gain experience the capabilities and features of the ArduPilot autopilot software system
Develop custom mission software that communicates with autopilot
Ability to setup and run ArduPilot autopilot simulation environment
Ability to read telemetry data and give commands to autopilot by communicating with ArduPilot using Python programming language
Creating Python scripts with Dronekit library that communicates with ArduPilot
Ability to develop custom Python scripts with PyMAVLink and understanding the MAVLink protocol
Learn how to use the MAVProxy Command Line Ground Control Station and what it does
Autopilot onboard software development using LUA programming language

Course content

6 sections • 106 lectures • 25h 25m total length

Introduction1:13
Quickstart2:18
Quickstart (Windows)43:07
Setting up the build environment3:04
Setting up the simulation software8:17
Starting the simulation software individually4:55
Creating simulation environment starter shell script7:15

Introduction3:30
Installing instructions2:20
Quickstart8:41
Startup options10:13
Telemetry forwarding4:40
Creating MAVProxy shell scripts for automated proxy and forwarding services7:54
Arming and disarming the vehicle4:18
Mission editing8:57
Geofencing10:56
Rally point operations13:13
Changing the flight mode of the vehicle7:49
"command_int" command6:31
System commands7:05
Log management3:45
Graphing live data from the vehicle11:31
Horizon module19:01
Link management8:31
"long" command3:25
Map module7:40
"position" command5:26
Polygon fences12:08
Set servo10:27
Set relay14:51
Sensor reporting3:18
Text-to-speech module2:34
Time sync3:43
Terrain data handling4:07

MAVLink messaging protocol basics11:01
Introduction6:26
Installing instructions1:39
Connecting to the vehicle12:04
Receiving messages from vehicle12:44
Sending messages to vehicle12:29
Sending message stream requests to vehicle17:27
Getting and setting vehicle parameters18:47
Sending message requests to vehicle14:35
Arming and disarming the vehicle43:15
Changing the flight mode of the vehicle23:59
Taking off and landing the vehicle20:35
Flying the vehicle to a location31:43
Change current mission in auto flight mode17:20
Set servo14:14
Set relay17:09
Request and receive auto mode flight plan from vehicle25:59
Create and send auto mode flight plan to vehicle34:51
Sending partial mission item list to vehicle13:01
Clear mission item list on vehicle6:16
Request and receive fence from vehicle23:40
Create and send fence to vehicle42:39
Enable and disable fence13:18
Request and receive rally points from vehicle21:31
Create and send rally points to vehicle12:32
RC Overrides35:50
Request default message streams9:33
Home distance15:44
Set flight speed12:01
Set yaw16:55
Pause/resume an autonomous flight6:37
Reading RC inputs and servo outputs21:45
Terrain checking13:13
Getting and setting the home location of the vehicle18:13
Send message from companion computer to GCS20:20
Logging data to on-board data flash logs20:13
Interprocess communication with MAVLink30:28

Introduction8:09
Sample script11:10
Arming and disarming the vehicle12:55
Reading attitude of the vehicle10:51
Reading location of the vehicle13:45
Getting and setting vehicle flight mode11:00
Take off and land the vehicle34:42
Flying to a location12:05
Location object examples35:42
Multi location mission1:26:42
Getting and setting vehicle parameters20:50
Create and use a parameter14:46
File read and write operations29:04
Logging system17:33
Read auxiliary channel switch16:53
Multi location mission continued25:35
Reading RC inputs11:46
Set servo and relay26:43
Protected function calls9:24
Get and set home location15:38
Read battery level10:06
Get time27:49
Get firmware version24:45

Disclaimer0:34
Disclaimer
Unmanned systems of any size have the potential to endanger the safety and violate national laws.
All kinds of security and safety measures should be taken while developing unmanned systems.
All lectures in this course are for informational purposes only.
It is the user's sole responsibility to use the information described in the course in real-life unmanned systems and take safety and security measures.
The lessons in the course are for educational purposes only and the instructor of the course cannot be held responsible for the information and its usage in real-world applications.
By taking and continuing this course, it is committed that the course instructor will not be held responsible in any undesired situation and the person who took the course will be held responsible for all the negativities and undesired circumstances that may arise.

Requirements

Having an average knowledge with unmanned autonomous systems
Entry level or above Python programming language skills
Some basic experiences with the Linux operating system
Hands-on experience with unmanned vehicles running ArduPilot

Description

Fully autonomous unmanned systems are important technological and engineering wonders of today's world. All autonomous unmanned systems need an autopilot that controls the behaviors and working mechanism of the unmanned platform and controls the platform by semi-autonomous or fully autonomous.

The ArduPilot project provides an advanced, full-featured, and reliable open source autopilot software system. The Ardupilot software system is capable of controlling almost any vehicle system imaginable: conventional and VTOL airplanes, gliders, multi-rotors, helicopters, sailboats, powered boats, submarines, ground vehicles, and even balance robots. The supported vehicle types frequently expand as use cases emerge for new and novel platforms.

This course covers some of the most important aspects of software development for controlling and monitoring Ardupilot autopilot software system-powered unmanned autonomous systems.

In this course, you are going to learn the following:

Ability to setup and run Ardupilot autopilot simulation environment.
Developing Python programming language scripts that communicate with Ardupilot software system using Dronekit library.
Understanding MAVLink messages and creating custom scripts using Python programming language and PyMAVLink library.
Learn how to use the MAVProxy Command Line Ground Control Station and what it does.
Autopilot onboard software development using LUA programming language.
Custom embedded software development with Ardupilot autopilot software system.

In this course, there are also supplementary sample projects, assignments, and resources to gain hands-on experience to work with the Ardupilot autopilot software system.

Who this course is for:

Software developers and engineers work on unmanned autonomous systems
Companies those work on unmanned autonomous system (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and drone industries
Enthusiasts and hobbyists with an idea to expand the capabilities of remote controlled vehicles
Students or teams that compete in competitions related to unmanned autonomous systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and drones
Drone and UAV hobbyists wants to monitor and control ArduPilot powered unmanned vehicles

Drone Programming

What you'll learn

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Course content

Setting up the build and simulation environment7 lectures • 1hr 10min

MAVProxy command line ground control station27 lectures • 3hr 27min

Software development with Python using Dronekit library11 lectures • 1hr 10min

Software development with Python using PyMAVLink library37 lectures • 11hr 30min

On-board software development with LUA programing language23 lectures • 8hr 8min

Course documents1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: