PX4/PX4-Autopilot

Features

• Autonomous Flight Controllers - Provides a professional-grade flight control stack for autonomous unmanned vehicles, managing real-time flight loops and sensor fusion.
• Autonomous Mission Planners - Follows a sequence of predefined waypoints and mission items to perform tasks like takeoff, navigation, and landing without manual intervention.
• Autonomy Middleware - Integrates hardware peripherals, companion computers, and communication protocols for complex autonomous flight operations.
• Microkernel Runtimes - Executes time-critical flight control loops on a dedicated processor with deterministic scheduling.
• Sensor Fusion - Integrates redundant inertial and positioning data into a unified state estimate using Kalman filtering.
• Return-to-Home Automators - Navigates vehicles to safe destinations like home or rally points when triggered, ensuring controlled landings.
• Mid-Air Collision Avoidance Systems - Monitors proximity sensors to automatically stop or redirect the vehicle when obstacles are detected.
• Arming Controllers - Validates vehicle health, sensor calibration, and safety status before allowing motor arming.
• Autonomous Landing Systems - Commands the vehicle to descend and land automatically without requiring manual intervention.
• Failsafe Execution Systems - Monitors system health using a dedicated co-processor and redundant power controllers to maintain stability or trigger recovery during hardware failures.
• Flight Safety Managers - Configures pre-flight checks, failsafe triggers, and emergency behaviors to ensure vehicle operation remains within defined safety parameters during flight.
• Geofence Controllers - Restricts flight within specified boundaries and designates safe return locations for emergency recovery or mission completion.
• Sensor Reliability Systems - Maintains accurate flight data through triple-redundant sensors, active temperature control, and vibration isolation.
• VTOL Geometry Configuration - Maps motor and control surface outputs specifically for vertical takeoff and landing airframe layouts.
• Navigation Frameworks - Provides a modular software architecture for autonomous navigation, sensor fusion, and mission management.
• Sensor Processing - Integrates multi-sensor data to calculate vehicle orientation, altitude, and position.
• Flight Mode Controllers - Manages the transition between multicopter and fixed-wing flight modes through manual or automated control.
• Control Input Mappers - Maps remote control switches to specific flight modes, transition triggers, and safety kill switches for manual vehicle operation.
• Failsafe Recovery Systems - Executes emergency procedures and manual overrides using a dedicated secondary processor and independent power supply to maintain vehicle control during system failures.
• Precision Landing Systems - Uses onboard sensors or external beacons to guide the vehicle to a specific landing target with high accuracy.
• VTOL Geometry Configurators - Supports diverse VTOL vehicle designs including tiltrotor and tailsitter configurations through specialized control logic.
• Waypoint Navigation Automators - Adjusts vehicle velocity dynamically to maintain smooth transitions between mission waypoints.
• Vehicle Failure Detectors - Monitors for motor failures, attitude anomalies, or external trigger signals to initiate emergency termination or parachute deployment.
• Failsafe Configuration Layers - Triggers automated recovery actions like return-to-home when vehicles breach defined safety boundaries.
• System Redundancy Controllers - Maintains operational stability through redundant power supply inputs and a dedicated failsafe co-processor.
• Geofence Boundary Enforcement - Restricts vehicle movement to a predefined geographic area to prevent unauthorized flight or accidental entry into restricted airspace.
• Runtime Parameter Configurators - Enables dynamic tuning of flight dynamics and hardware mapping via structured configuration profiles.
• Hardware Abstraction Layers - Provides a unified interface for diverse sensors and actuators by mapping physical protocols to standardized drivers.
• Message Bus Architectures - Uses a publish-subscribe messaging bus to decouple flight control logic from hardware drivers.
• Flight Telemetry Recorders - Captures detailed aircraft state and sensor data during operation for performance analysis.
• Flight Battery Monitors - Tracks voltage and current levels from dual power sources to provide real-time battery telemetry.
• Telemetry Link Monitors - Triggers a safety action if the telemetry connection to the ground control station is lost for a defined period.
• Position Holding Controllers - Commands the vehicle to stop movement and maintain a stable position and altitude automatically.
• Failsafe Controllers - Monitors position estimate quality and triggers automated recovery or landing procedures if navigation data becomes unreliable.
• External Guidance Interfaces - Follows real-time course, altitude, and speed commands from a ground station or accepts attitude setpoints from external software via communication protocols.
• Guided Flight Path Controllers - Maintains constant ground track, altitude, and airspeed based on remote ground control commands.
• Actuator Output Management - Configures motor and servo control signals for flight surface and propulsion management.
• Actuator Output Mapping - Maps flight control signals to specific output ports to drive motors and actuators based on frame configuration.
• Airspeed and Altitude Regulators - Adjusts throttle and pitch to maintain target cruise speed and altitude using sensor data.
• Position and Altitude Hold Controllers - Collects inertial, optical flow, distance, and barometric sensor data to maintain precise vehicle orientation and position during autonomous flight.
• Arming Safety Constraints - Adjust safety constraints for global position estimates to allow or restrict arming when specific navigation sensors report degraded quality.
• Automated Tuning Controllers - Calculates optimal rate and attitude controller parameters during flight to ensure stable vehicle performance.
• Takeoff and Landing Sequences - Provides automated sequences for both vehicle departure and arrival.
• Collision Avoidance Systems - Prevents impacts by automatically slowing or stopping the vehicle when obstacles are detected.
• Flight Data Loggers - Records telemetry and performance metrics to storage media for post-flight analysis.
• Flight Dynamics Monitors - Provides real-time monitoring of airspeed and distance sensors to ensure safe flight operations and terrain following.
• Flight Simulation Environments - Allows testing of flight logic and mission parameters in a high-fidelity virtual environment before physical deployment.
• Hardware Bypass Controllers - Routes manual control signals through safety coprocessors to maintain vehicle operation during primary system failures.
• Obstacle Avoidance Systems - Provides automated obstacle detection and avoidance to ensure safe navigation during autonomous flight.
• Takeoff Procedures - Commands a multicopter to ascend vertically to a predefined altitude and maintain a stable hover position without requiring manual pilot input.
• Terrain Altitude Maintainers - Adjusts flight altitude dynamically to ensure consistent clearance over uneven or sloped terrain.
• Terrain Following Controllers - Adjusts altitude setpoints dynamically based on distance sensor data to maintain consistent terrain clearance.
• Visual Navigation Systems - Enables precise indoor and outdoor autonomous flight using computer vision and localization sensors.
• Flight Controller Interfaces - Provides standardized connectivity for motors, navigation sensors, communication radios, and debugging tools through dedicated physical ports and communication protocols.
• State Estimation Libraries - Provides probabilistic tools for tracking vehicle position and attitude without relying on GPS.
• Robotics & Drones - Provides integrated software and hardware toolsets for developing, controlling, and operating autonomous drones.
• Motor Output Managers - Controls up to eight motors for multicopter or octocopter configurations using dedicated signal pins and ESC telemetry support.
• Vehicle Control Interfaces - Supports various autonomous platforms through configurable servo and motor output mapping.
• Airframe Configuration Profiles - Automatically loads geometry and control logic for multicopter, plane, or VTOL platforms based on assigned airframe profiles.
• External Control Failsafe Managers - Monitors the health of external control connections and automatically switches to a safe flight mode if the communication stream is interrupted.
• Six-Degree-of-Freedom Controllers - Enables independent thrust in all directions for movement and hovering at arbitrary tilt angles.
• Switch Mapping Interfaces - Assigns physical remote control switches to perform immediate actions like killing motors, disarming, or initiating return-to-home.
• Yaw Rate Controllers - Regulates vehicle rotation speed based on pilot input to maintain stable horizontal flight.
• Navigation Safety Integrations - Connects GNSS modules, compasses, and physical safety switches to provide positioning data and manual arming control.
• Unmanned System Safety Procedures - Implements automated recovery and protection protocols for autonomous hardware during system failures.
• Peripheral Connectivity Interfaces - Connect external sensors, telemetry radios, and positioning modules through dedicated serial, I2C, and CAN bus interfaces to ensure reliable data flow.
• Flight Controller Interfaces - Commands vehicle movement, attitude, and actuator outputs from an external system by streaming setpoints via MAVLink or ROS 2 interfaces.
• Mission Computing Environments - Runs high-level autonomous tasks and video processing on a dedicated multi-core computer with integrated GPU and VPU.
• Vehicle Control Access - Provides physical safety switches and manual overrides to prevent accidental arming and ensure emergency disarming.
• Radio Control Receiver Interfaces - Connects to various remote control protocols including PPM, S.BUS, and Spektrum to receive pilot commands for vehicle operation.
• Manual Control Loss Detectors - Initiates a configurable recovery action if the connection to the remote control source is lost for a specified duration.
• Vehicle Telemetry - Connects ground-based radio hardware to facilitate real-time monitoring, mission management, and data exchange between the vehicle and a ground control station.
• Wireless Telemetry Configuration - Establishes wireless data links between vehicles and ground stations for real-time mission control.
• Navigation Signal Verifiers - Monitors satellite count, positioning accuracy, and jamming indicators to ensure reliable navigation.
• Altitude Stabilization Controllers - Uses distance sensors to maintain a fixed height above ground while stationary, compensating for barometer drift or rotor interference.
• Vehicle Status Indicators - Communicates vehicle state and safety alerts using integrated multicolor LED indicators and a high-power piezo audio buzzer.
• Pulse-Width Modulation Controllers - Drives actuators using pulse-width modulation and high-speed digital protocols like DShot for precise maneuvering.
• Manual Throttle Controllers - Passes throttle input directly to the control allocation system for manual altitude and speed management.
• Mixer Saturation Controllers - Resolves motor command limits by adjusting torque or thrust distribution to ensure attitude control remains effective at low or high throttle.
• Target Position Estimators - Calculates the relative location and orientation of a landing target by fusing camera-based vision data with absolute references.
• Turn Coordination Systems - Applies automatic yaw inputs during banked turns to ensure smooth and efficient flight paths.
• Arming Automation - Configures automatic motor disarming after landing and optional automatic arming upon system boot.
• Dynamics Calibration Routines - Adjust autopilot parameters and control gains to match the specific physical characteristics and performance requirements of a custom vehicle build.
• Fixed-Wing Geometry Configurations - Supports various airframe layouts including standard planes, flying wings, and inverted V-tail configurations.
• Telemetry Overlays - Injects real-time flight status data onto video feeds using character-based overlays.
• Flight Firmware Updaters - Enables the installation of custom autopilot software to modify core flight behavior and vehicle configuration.
• Navigation Sensor Integrations - Connects external positioning modules to provide spatial awareness and safety interlocks.
• Sensor Redundancy Managers - Operates multiple isolated IMU and barometer sensors on separate buses to ensure continuous flight stability if individual hardware components fail.
• Readiness Validators - Validates sensor quality and estimator health before takeoff to ensure safe vehicle operation.
• Remote Control Signal Processors - Supports diverse receiver protocols including SBUS, CRSF, and ELRS through a dedicated input port to enable manual flight control and command overrides.
• Trajectory Smoothing Engines - Calculates symmetric S-curve motion profiles to ensure stable flight for sensitive tasks.
• Sensor Calibration Routines - Executes mandatory orientation and calibration routines for onboard sensors like compasses and accelerometers to ensure accurate vehicle positioning.
• Real-Time Sensor Fusion - Combines multiple asynchronous sensor data streams into a single coherent environmental model for robust navigation.
• Automated PID Tuning Routines - Calculates optimal controller gains by measuring vehicle response during flight maneuvers.
• Autotuning Controllers - Analyzes flight dynamics to automatically optimize control gains for stable performance.
• Manual Maneuver Controllers - Accepts manual pilot input from radio transmitters or joysticks with autopilot-assisted stabilization.
• Python - Simplifies development by providing a high-level Python interface for executing flight commands and mission logic.
• Navigation - Connects GNSS, compass, and optical flow modules to provide precise positioning and velocity data.
• Radio - Integrates external radio receivers to allow manual pilot override of autonomous flight modes.
• Power Redundancy Controllers - Manages multiple power inputs and automatic failover to ensure continuous operation.
• Flight - Adjusts default autopilot settings through automated tuning processes to refine vehicle stability and responsiveness for specific hardware builds.
• Target Position Setting - Calculates the relative position and orientation of a target by fusing vehicle sensor data with external vision measurements using Kalman filters.
• Target Tracking Controllers - Maintains distance and altitude relative to broadcasting devices by processing real-time position and velocity data.
• Monitoring and Status Pages - Tracks system health and provides status updates regarding vehicle operational readiness.
• System Health Monitors - Signals critical hardware states to assist in diagnosing internal system errors.
• Autonomous Loitering Controllers - Maintains a fixed GPS location and altitude by circling or flying figure-eight patterns automatically without requiring manual pilot input.
• Robotics System Integrations - Connects with robotics frameworks and ground control stations using standardized messaging protocols for consistent telemetry and command execution.
• Telemetry Communication Links - Connects to cellular, wireless, and satellite links for remote telemetry and control.
• Target Alignment Controllers - Adjusts the vehicle heading during descent to match the orientation of a detected landing target using external vision data.
• Position Accuracy Validators - Monitors position estimate quality and triggers safety actions if sensor data becomes unreliable.
• Acrobatic Flight Controllers - Enables direct control of angular rotation rates for performing acrobatic figures.
• Airmode Controllers - Maintains vehicle attitude control and rate tracking at low throttle settings for consistent maneuverability.
• Landing Approach Configurators - Defines specific loiter points and landing patterns to optimize descent paths and landing accuracy.
• Landing Detection Sensitivity - Monitors flight dynamics and sensor data to detect vehicle touchdown and transition to a landed state.
• Mission Feasibility Validators - Performs automated sanity checks on flight plans to detect conflicts before mission execution.
• Control Loop Tuners - Modify the time constant of outer control loops to adjust the softness or hardness of pitch and roll responses during flight.
• ESC Calibration and Configuration - Calibrates electronic speed controllers to ensure precise motor response to flight control signals.
• Thrust Curve Calibrators - Map motor control signals to actual thrust output to maintain consistent performance across the full throttle range.
• External Controller Mappings - Maps transmitter inputs and switches to flight control channels to allow manual vehicle operation via joystick.
• Gain Reduction Controllers - Monitors angular-rate controller output and dynamically lowers PID gains to maintain stability during flight anomalies.
• Navigation Tuning Parameters - Adjusts control parameters for vertical and horizontal navigation to ensure stable flight paths and precise altitude maintenance.
• Swiveling Rotor Controllers - Coordinates mechanical rotation of propulsion units to transition between vertical and forward flight.
• Tailsitter Controllers - Manages flight dynamics for aircraft that transition between tail-sitting hover and fixed-wing forward flight.
• Hardware Communication - Interfaces with external sensors and actuators using standard communication protocols like PWM, I2C, SPI, or CAN.
• Hardware Pin Mappings - Enables mapping of serial ports to sensors and adjustment of system parameters for connected hardware.
• Airspeed Sensor Scaling - Calculates the ratio between indicated and calibrated airspeed by comparing GNSS ground speed with wind estimates to ensure accurate velocity data.
• Sensor Vibration Isolation Systems - Applies notch and low-pass filters to gyro data to remove vibration harmonics and high-frequency noise before motor command execution.
• Firmware Management - Provides tools for installing and managing autopilot firmware on embedded hardware.
• Firmware Debuggers - Facilitates low-level system diagnostics and firmware development via standard serial and USB interfaces.
• Vertical Motion Limiters - Applies jerk constraints to vertical axis inputs during manual flight.
• Companion Computer Interfaces - Link external processing units with the flight controller to execute complex tasks such as computer vision, mission-specific automation, and advanced data processing.
• Hardware Authentication - Verifies flight controller identity and integrity using onboard secure elements for secure operations.
• Hardware Debugging Interfaces - Provides access to system consoles and hardware interfaces for low-level diagnostics and firmware development.
• Vehicle State Broadcasters - Emits audible tones and visual light sequences to communicate system status, mission events, and safety warnings to the operator.
• Mission Command Timeout Managers - Advances to the next mission item automatically if a hardware action fails to report completion within a specified time, preventing mission stalls.
• Manual Hardware Control Interfaces - Routes pilot stick inputs directly to control surfaces for full manual operation.
• Flight Log Replayers - Replays flight data through interactive 3D views, maps, and time-series plots to inspect vehicle behavior.
• Device Power Monitors - Tracks battery voltage and system health through dedicated analog inputs and provides regulated power outputs for connected peripherals.
• Supply Voltage Monitors - Interfaces with power modules to supply regulated voltage to the controller while reporting real-time battery current and voltage telemetry.
• Status Monitors - Communicates real-time system alerts and operational state changes to the operator.
• Mission Action Timeouts - Advances to the next mission item automatically if a hardware action fails to provide completion feedback within a specified time limit.
• Hardware Status Indicators - Maps system health and arming status to physical LED indicators for operator awareness.
• GPU Accelerated Computer Vision - Leverages hardware acceleration to process video streams for object recognition and tracking.
• Computer Vision - Supports the development of custom vision algorithms and path planning software on companion computers.
• Time-Series Visualizers - Graphs system logs as synchronized time-series plots to correlate multiple data streams and troubleshoot vehicle behavior.
• Debugging Consoles - Provides a serial console interface for debugging, system configuration, and real-time telemetry monitoring.
• Target Data Integrators - Consume target state information from onboard vision pipelines or external positioning receivers to maintain accurate situational awareness during mission operations.
• Application Module Configuration - Allows enabling or disabling specific software modules during the build process for custom hardware configurations.
• Flight Path Execution Tools - Commands multicopters to fly in a circle around a specific coordinate while maintaining a consistent orientation toward the center point.
• Rate Controller Tuners - Adjusts PID parameters for roll, pitch, and yaw axes to stabilize vehicle body rates.
• Airspeed Compensation Controllers - Adjust control surface sensitivity dynamically based on measured airspeed to maintain consistent flight handling across varying flight speeds.
• Control Loop Bypassers - Directly commands motor and servo outputs by overriding standard flight control logic for specialized maneuvers.
• Controller Orientation Mappings - Adjusts the internal software mapping of the flight controller to compensate for non-standard physical mounting positions.
• Dynamics Tuners - Adjusts autopilot parameters to optimize stability and responsiveness for specific physical frame builds.
• Latency Optimizers - Provides real-time optimization of control loops to minimize latency between sensor input and motor output.
• Manual Launch Detectors - Initiates autonomous flight stabilization immediately after a manual toss.
• Optical Flow Integrations - Connects downward-facing cameras to estimate ground velocity for stable navigation in indoor or GNSS-denied environments.
• Payload Management Interfaces - Regulates battery input to provide stable power for flight systems and external payloads.
• Service Ceiling Limiters - Limits the maximum operational altitude based on the vehicle's ability to maintain a minimum climb rate.
• Vehicle Assembly Tools - Integrates flight controllers with custom airframes and propulsion components to create specialized unmanned aerial platforms.
• Serial Port Interfaces - Routes telemetry, GPS data, and ESC feedback through multiple configurable UART ports to support external modules.
• Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulators - Integrates software modules with physical or simulated hardware control systems for real-time validation.
• Motor Commutation Drivers - Manages motor command slew rates to prevent rapid mechanical stress and ensure smooth propulsion response.
• Airspeed-Independent VTOL Operations - Enables vertical takeoff and landing operations by bypassing the requirement for physical airspeed sensors.
• Hybrid Dynamics Configurators - Manages control surfaces and motor configurations to enable both vertical and horizontal flight within a single platform.
• Transition Dynamics Tuners - Adjusts flight parameters to ensure stable and safe movement between vertical and horizontal flight states.
• Wind Orientation Controllers - Rotates a vertical take-off and landing vehicle during hover flight to face the nose into the relative wind, improving stability and preventing wind-induced flips.
• Obstacle Data Integrators - Processes distance sensor data to maintain a real-time map of surrounding obstacles.
• Telemetry Overlays - Integrates flight telemetry information directly into a video feed for real-time monitoring via an onboard display controller.
• Distance - Connects rangefinders to enable terrain following and improve landing precision.
• Connection Establishment Protocols - Establishes wireless connections between vehicles and ground control stations for real-time data exchange.
• CAN Bus Interfaces - Connects positioning and orientation modules via serial or CAN bus for navigation data.
• Proximity Detection - Integrates rangefinding hardware to detect proximity for precise altitude management and automated landing.
• Hardware Security - Uses integrated hardware security elements to perform encryption and ensure secure deployment.
• Remote ID Status Monitors - Prevents arming or triggers safety actions if the required remote identification module is missing or unhealthy.
• Thermal Stability Controllers - Utilizes temperature-controlled IMU boards to ensure sensors operate within optimal ranges for consistent and accurate motion sensing in varying environmental conditions.

Star history