Control Module Examples¶

Flight examples for every supported drone and transport, from a basic takeoff to an interactive navigation REPL. Run any script with python3 <script>.py [flags] from this directory (these scripts are not installed as ROS 2 executables). They default to start_driver=False, so start the matching driver, bridge, or simulator first.

Pose source vs flight pattern: in basic.py, --env {outdoor,indoor} selects the pose source (outdoor = GPS, indoor = vision — match the sim's ENV=) and --mode selects the flight pattern (velocity/hover/position). In navigation.py / interactive_navigation.py, --mode {indoor,outdoor} selects the pose source. --connection overrides the connection string for the direct-pymavlink drones --drone mavlink (ArduPilot, e.g. tcp:127.0.0.1:5762) and --drone px4_mavlink (PX4, e.g. udp:0.0.0.0:14540); --drone px4 (MAVROS) uses a fcu_url like udp://:14540@127.0.0.1:14580.

Basic Flight¶

basic.py arms, takes off to --height, flies one --mode pattern, and lands. Common invocations:

Expected result: the drone arms, climbs to --height, flies the selected pattern (a square for velocity/position, a timed hold for hover), then lands and disarms.

For PX4 in simulation start the matching sim first: make sim-start FIRMWARE=px4 ENV=outdoor plus make sim-bridge FIRMWARE=px4 ENV=outdoor (add PROTOCOL=mavlink for px4_mavlink, PROTOCOL=dds for px4_dds, which runs MicroXRCEAgent).

Modes¶

Sensor Monitoring¶

python3 sensors.py --source gps
python3 sensors.py --source vision

PID Simulation¶

python3 pid_simulation.py
python3 pid_simulation.py --setpoint 30 --kp 0.8 --ki 0.2
python3 pid_simulation.py --plot

Navigation¶

ArduPilot or PX4 — --drone mavros|mavlink|px4 (default mavros). --mode indoor uses the vision pose source, --mode outdoor (default) uses GPS.

Tests (--test, one or more; default all)¶

body, takeoff-ref, altitude, velocity, gps, figure8, rectangle, cube-xyz, cube, gps-rectangle. GPS tests (gps, gps-rectangle) require --mode outdoor.

Other arguments¶

Interactive Navigation¶

Once running, type waypoints at the nav> prompt:

nav> 2 0           # 2m forward
nav> 0 3 0         # 3m left, hold altitude
nav> -2 -3 0       # back
nav> set ref takeoff
nav> 5 0 0         # 5m forward from takeoff origin
nav> 0 0 0         # return to takeoff
nav> set method pid-ekf
nav> 3 2            # now uses PID_EKF
nav> gps -22.413 -45.449 15
nav> status         # show drone state + settings
nav> land

Navigation Strategies¶

Obstacle Avoidance¶

python3 obstacles.py

Attaches a DepthObstacleDetector (RealSense D435i) with a SequenceStrategy (lateral-pass-and-return) and runs an obstacle-aware move_to. Requires a connected depth camera; see control/obstacles/README.md for detectors and strategies.

Servo / PWM Test¶

Drives MavrosDrone.do_servo (MAV_CMD_DO_SET_SERVO, 183) from a REPL so you can verify the correct AUX OUT channel and the PWM endpoints (e.g. hook hold / release) on the bench. The script never arms the drone and never takes off — keep props off.

Defaults — channel 3 (FCU ch 11 = AUX OUT 3), hold 1000 us, release 2000 us; MAVROS already running:

python3 servo_test.py

Custom channel and presets

python3 servo_test.py --channel 4 --hold 1100 --release 1900

At the servo> prompt:

servo> 1500              # send PWM 1500 to current channel
servo> ch 3              # switch to AUX OUT 3 (FCU ch 11)
servo> hold              # send 'hold' preset
servo> release           # send 'release' preset
servo> sweep 1000 2000 100 0.3
servo> cycle 3 0.8       # toggle hold<->release 3 times, 0.8s apart
servo> set hold 1100     # update presets at runtime
servo> status            # channel, last PWM, FCU state

do_servo(N, pwm) maps to FCU servo number N + 8, so ch 3 drives AUX OUT 3 on a Pixhawk-style FCU (Copter recommends AUX OUT 1-4 for hobby servos at 50 Hz; avoid MAIN OUT 1-8, which run at 400 Hz). If a write returns OK but the servo does not move, check the safety switch and that SERVOx_FUNCTION = 0 in ArduPilot. See common-servo and MAV_CMD_DO_SET_SERVO.