An AuterionOS service for higher level interactivity with onboard and flight controller components, using MAVSDK and ROS 2.
Note: The host system is considered to run Ubuntu 20.04 Focal. Other OS's might be supported, but the provided instructions only cover this OS.
- ROS 2 Foxy
- MAVSDK (C++ libs)
mavlink-router- Micro XRCE-DDS Agent
- Auterion's
configuration-manager - DBUS and Glib
- MAVSDK-Python (optional, to run the available examples)
- Auterion library packages:
image_downsamplerlanding_mapperlanding_plannerpx4_msgstiming_tools
- Eigen v3.3.9
- If using ROS2 Foxy:
- Auterion
ros2bagger rosbag2atfoxy-future
- Auterion
# Set locale
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y locales
sudo locale-gen en_US en_US.UTF-8
sudo update-locale LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
# Setup ROS 2 sources
sudo apt install -y curl \
gnupg2 \
lsb-release \
python3-pip \
curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ros/rosdistro/master/ros.asc | sudo apt-key add
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture)] http://packages.ros.org/ros2/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ros2-latest.list'
# Install ROS 2 Foxy packages
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y python3-colcon-common-extensions \
ros-foxy-ros-base \
ros-foxy-sensor-msgs \
ros-foxy-visualization-msgs\
ros-foxy-image-pipelineNote: please request to Auterion the deb files of MAVSDK with the supported features, or request the access to the Auterion/MAVSDK repository
dpkg -i libmavsdk*.deb
sudo ldconfiggit clone --recursive https://github.com/Auterion/MAVSDK.git -b main
cd MAVSDK
cmake -Bbuild/default -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -H.
cmake --build build/default -j$(nproc --all)
# install system-wide
sudo cmake --build build/default --target install
sudo ldconfigPlease request to Auterion a deb file to install it directly, or follow the instructions in https://github.com/mavlink-router/mavlink-router to build it and install it from source.
Micro XRCE-DDS is used to communicate between PX4 and ROS2. For this, the Micro XRCE-DDS Agent from eProsima is required. Install the agent using the official instructions.
Please request to Auterion a deb file to install it directly, or follow the instructions in bellow to build it and install it from source.
git clone git@github.com:Auterion/configuration-manager.git
cd configuration-manager
cmake -Bbuild -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -H.
cmake --build build -j$(nproc --all)After that, make sure to copy com.auterion.configuration_manager.conf to /usr/share/dbus-1/system.d/
and edit it in order to add your system user:
<!DOCTYPE busconfig PUBLIC
"-//freedesktop//DTD D-BUS Bus Configuration 1.0//EN"
"http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/dbus/1.0/busconfig.dtd">
<busconfig>
<policy user="root">
<allow own="com.auterion.configuration_manager"/>
<allow send_destination="com.auterion.configuration_manager"
send_interface="com.auterion.configuration_manager.interface"/>
</policy>
<!-- Add your user here -->
<!-- example user -->
<policy user="user1"> <!-- replace "user1" with your system username -->
<allow own="com.auterion.configuration_manager"/>
<allow send_destination="com.auterion.configuration_manager"
send_interface="com.auterion.configuration_manager.interface"/>
</policy>
<!--**************-->
</busconfig>sudo apt install -y libdbus-glib-1-devpip3 install --user --upgrade mavsdksource /opt/ros/foxy/setup.bash
# Create colcon workspace
mkdir -p colcon_ws/src
cd colcon_ws
# Clone the autopilot-manager package
git clone git@github.com:Auterion/autopilot_manager.git src/autopilot_manager
# Clone the required dependencies
git clone https://gitlab.com/libeigen/eigen.git -b 3.3.9 src/eigen
git clone git@github.com:Auterion/image_downsampler.git src/image_downsampler
git clone git@github.com:Auterion/landing_mapper.git src/landing_mapper
git clone git@github.com:Auterion/landing_planner.git src/landing_planner
git clone git@github.com:Auterion/px4_msgs.git src/px4_msgs
git clone git@github.com:Auterion/timing_tools.git src/timing_tools
# Only on ROS2 Foxy: clone data recording tools
git clone git@github.com:Auterion/ros2bagger.git src/ros2bagger
git clone git@github.com:ros2/rosbag2.git -b foxy-future src/rosbag2
# Build with Release optimizations
colcon build --cmake-force-configure --cmake-args -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=ReleaseSome of the repositories listed above are private but they are required components to enable the safe landing feature in the Autopilot Manager. If you are trying to build this repository to use this capability, please contact Auterion either to request access to the necessary repositories or to a deb package to install the libraries system-wide.
Warning: if one installs mavlink-router system-wide, one needs to take into account that it is going to route MAVLink data on the system.
This might influence the behavior of some of some MAVLink-related applications that the user might have
installed on their system. Use it cautiously, making sure that 1. one enables or disables the systemd service,
i.e., for testing/using this application locally, enable the service with systemctl enable mavlink-router,
and after that, disable it if not using it with systemctl disable mavlink-router, or 2. make sure that the
main.conf config file has the correct configuration for all MAVLink endpoints.
To configure the needed endpoints to use with this application, use the following and save it under
/etc/mavlink-router/main.conf (or replace/extend the content of the file if it already exists on the system).
Note that this one has an endpoint configured for PX4 SITL, which should be replaced with a UART connection in
the case one is installing this on a Mission Computer connect to an autopilot through a serial port.
[General]
TCPServerPort = 4
ReportStats = False
DebugLogLevel= info
MavlinkDialect = common
Log = /data/log/flight-stack
LogMode = while-armed
MinFreeSpace = 0
MaxLogFiles=50
[UdpEndpoint px4-sitl]
Mode = Eavesdropping
Address = 0.0.0.0
Port = 14540
[UdpEndpoint configuration-manager]
Mode = Normal
Address = 127.0.0.1
Port = 14542
[UdpEndpoint groundcontrol]
Mode = Normal
Address = 127.0.0.1
Port = 14550
[UdpEndpoint autopilot-manager]
Mode = Normal
Address = 127.0.0.1
Port = 14590
# autopilot-manager example scripts
[UdpEndpoint autopilot-manager-example-scripts]
Mode = Normal
Address = 127.0.0.1
Port = 14591
After saving the file, restart the mavlink-router service with:
systemctl restart mavlink-routerCopy the com.auterion.autopilot_manager.conf on the root of the repo to /usr/share/dbus-1/system.d/:
sudo cp com.auterion.autopilot_manager.conf /usr/share/dbus-1/system.d/Then, make sure you configure com.auterion.autopilot_manager.conf with your user. For that, you need to edit
the file you just copied. Example bellow:
<!DOCTYPE busconfig PUBLIC
"-//freedesktop//DTD D-BUS Bus Configuration 1.0//EN"
"http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/dbus/1.0/busconfig.dtd">
<busconfig>
<policy user="root">
<allow own="com.auterion.autopilot_manager"/>
<allow send_destination="com.auterion.autopilot_manager"
send_interface="com.auterion.autopilot_manager.interface"/>
</policy>
<!-- Add your user here -->
<!-- example user -->
<policy user="user1"> <!-- replace "user1" with your system username -->
<allow own="com.auterion.autopilot_manager"/>
<allow send_destination="com.auterion.autopilot_manager"
send_interface="com.auterion.autopilot_manager.interface"/>
</policy>
<!--**************-->
<policy context="default">
<deny own="com.auterion.autopilot_manager"/>
<deny send_destination="com.auterion.autopilot_manager"/>
<!-- Basic D-Bus API stuff -->
<allow send_destination="com.auterion.autopilot_manager"
send_interface="org.freedesktop.DBus.Introspectable"/>
<allow send_destination="com.auterion.autopilot_manager"
send_interface="org.freedesktop.DBus.Properties"/>
<allow send_destination="com.auterion.autopilot_manager"
send_interface="org.freedesktop.DBus.ObjectManager"/>
</policy>
</busconfig>echo "source colcon_ws/install/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrcAnd then source ~/.bashrc or open a new terminal window.
$ ros2 run autopilot-manager autopilot-manager [OPTIONS...]
-a --file-custom-action-config Absolute path to configuration file of the custom actions.
Default: /shared_container_dir/autopilot-manager/data/custom_action/custom_action.json
-c --file-autopilot-manager-config Absolute path to configuration file of the overall autopilot manager service.
Default: /shared_container_dir/autopilot-manager/data/config/autopilot_manager.conf
-m --mavlink-port MAVLink port to connect the Autopilot Manager MAVSDK instance
through UDP. Default: 14590
-h --help Print this messageOr use the provided ROS launch files:
$ ros2 launch autopilot-manager autopilot_manager.launchThe autopilot-manager will be looking for autopilot HEARTBEATs, which will result and timeout and exit if they are not received.
So mavlink-router should be running and properly configured with the endpoint where the autopilot is connected.
The configuration-manager should also be running (being it through a systemd service or started manually locally), since it is
the service that allows the configuration of the Autopilot Mnager parameters through AMC/QGC. To start it manually, use:
configuration-managerIf built from source and not installed system-wide:
cd configuration-manager/build/src
./configuration-managerA ROS bool parameter named sim can be set when one is using a simulation environment. For that, a ROS param file can be used
or rather be passed as an argument on ros2 run.
Note: Before running the autopilot-manager, make sure that the PX4 SITL daemon, mavlink-router and the configuration-manager are running.
source colcon_ws/install/setup.bash
ros2 launch autopilot-manager static_tf.launchsource colcon_ws/install/setup.bash
cd colcon_ws
# ROS2 run it
ros2 run autopilot-manager autopilot-manager \
-a install/autopilot-manager/share/autopilot-manager/data/example/custom_action/custom_action_sitl.json \
-c install/autopilot-manager/share/autopilot-manager/data/config/autopilot_manager.conf \
--ros-args -p sim:=true,use_sim_time:=truesource colcon_ws/install/setup.bash
# Start the Micro XRCE-DDS Agent
MicroXRCEAgent udp4 localhost -p 15555Replaces the usage of the commands on terminal 1 and 2 above.
ros2 launch autopilot-manager autopilot_manager_sim.launchKeep in mind that when cross-compiling, the correct toolchain should be installed. Also, MAVSDK should be also installed for that same target.
sudo apt install -y \
git \
qemu-user-static
sudo pip3 install ros_cross_compileros_cross_compile can be used to compile the package for other architectures, like arm64. For that, it uses qemu to
start an emulation in a container of the environment we want to use to build the package. It requires also that MAVSDK
gets built for that same architecture or installed during the ros_cross_compile process. The --custom-setup-script
--custom-data-dir options can be used. scripts/cross_compile_dependencies.sh gets loaded to the container so to
and install the required dependencies to the build process. The following commands can be used to build the package for
the arm64 (aarch64) arch and ROS 2 Foxy (we will be building MAVSDK and installing it from source):
# Clone MAVSDK to be built from source
git clone --recursive https://github.com/Auterion/MAVSDK.git -b main /tmp/MAVSDK
# Add COLCON_IGNORE to the MAVSDK dir so colcon doesn't build it
touch /tmp/MAVSDK/COLCON_IGNORE
# Run cross-compilation
ros_cross_compile colcon_ws/src \
--arch aarch64 \
--os ubuntu \
--rosdistro foxy \
--custom-setup-script colcon_ws/src/autopilot_manager/scripts/cross_compile_dependencies.sh \
--custom-data-dir /tmp/MAVSDK \
--skip-rosdep-keys Eigen3 image_downsampler landing_mapper landing_planner px4_msgs timing_tools ros2bagger rosbag2 \
--colcon-defaults ~/colcon_ws/src/autopilot_manager/scripts/packaging/defaults.yamlThe resulting package installation files can be found in colcon_ws/install_aarch64 and can be copied to the target device,
like the Skynode. To use it, just source the setup.bash file inside the install_aarch64 directory:
echo "source <prefix_path>/install_aarch64/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrcPlease follow the contribution guidelines in CONTRIBUTING.
One requires clang-format-10 to format the code. Use the following command to format it:
sh tools/fix_style.sh .