Simple UAV Path Tool

Contents

• Most of the function generated with python
• Pure pursuit & LoS path follower implemented
• Multi uav SITL launch file auto-generation shell script based on the path text file (look at this file)
  • GPS based
  • External pose estimation based
• SITL launch file can generate two type of airframe
  • Oridunary iris
  • External pose estimation source based iris
• Convertion code for groundtruth from GAZEBO simulator and optitrack motion tracker (not tested yet) to mavros vision topic (mavros/vision_pose/pose)
• Spiral path generator included
• Finite State Machine based controller adopted.

Prerquisition

• Python3
• ROS
• GAZEBO
• MAVROS Package
• PX4 firmware setup with ROS package registration
• Custom airframe has to be located in the proper directory($HOME/.ros/etc/init.d-posix/airframes)
  • After the file located in the proper directory, you need to make PX4 firmware again. Please refer to this web.

Path text file rule(example file)

• First Line: write down type of control (0: pure pursuit, 1: LoS, 2: translation position)

  control	1
  

• Second Line: write down type of yaw rotation (0: angle position control, 1: angle trapezoidal rate control)

  yaw_angle	0
  

• Third Line: notation for data

  pose_x	pose_y	pose_z	heading
  

• Rest of the Lines: 4 DoF coordinate (x, y, z, yaw) with "\t" spliter

  0.300000	0.300000	0.000000	0.000000
  

Example

• Simple example

  roslaunch path_generator in_path1_gps_sitl.launch

  roslaunch path_generator test_gps_sitl.launch file_dir:="$(rospack find path_generator)/path/indoor/path1"

• External pose estimation source usage(in this example, GT pose data from gazebo has been used for the external pose estimation)

  roslauch path_generator in_path1_vision_sitl.launch

  roslaunch path_generator test_vision_sitl.launch file_dir:="$(rospack find path_generator)/path/indoor/path1"

  Due to the difference between GPS based flight and external pose estimation source based flight, I've made two types of simulation.

Caution

For vision based multi sitl, it won't work due to large amount of computation on simulator.

Therefore, you need to use only one vision based controller per simulation task.

Trouble shooting

• Import error while using the command rosrun or roslaunch

  • Build this package with catkin build command
  • USE chmod +x import_error_solver.sh && ./import_error_solver.sh)

• If you are not available to make drone fly, please check the PX4 firmware. Stable version of the firmware can be installed by the below command.(Stable version has been tested by EungChang-Mason-Lee)

  $ cd PX4-Autopilot
  $ git reset --hard 96c7fe4978bab2af970a097f4898e024c2d33440
  $ git submodule update --init --recursive

• If error "/usr/bin/env: ‘python’: No such file or directory" occurs, youhave to link the command python.

  • If you are using UBUNTU 18.04,

  ln -s /usr/bin/python2 /usr/bin/python

  • If you are using UBUNTU 20.04,

  ln -s /usr/bin/python3 /usr/bin/python