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ArduPilot 5 Month Roadmap

The 5-Month ArduPilot Development Roadmap outlines a structured plan for developers to set up their environment, simulate flight, integrate sensors, customize control systems, and deploy on hardware. Each month focuses on specific goals, tools, and tasks, including mastering Git, using SITL and MAVLink, exploring EKF and navigation, integrating with ROS, and contributing to the open-source community. Final deliverables include a custom flight mode or sensor module and contributions to ArduPilot's GitHub or documentation.

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31 views3 pages

ArduPilot 5 Month Roadmap

The 5-Month ArduPilot Development Roadmap outlines a structured plan for developers to set up their environment, simulate flight, integrate sensors, customize control systems, and deploy on hardware. Each month focuses on specific goals, tools, and tasks, including mastering Git, using SITL and MAVLink, exploring EKF and navigation, integrating with ROS, and contributing to the open-source community. Final deliverables include a custom flight mode or sensor module and contributions to ArduPilot's GitHub or documentation.

Uploaded by

dgu.india
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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5-Month ArduPilot Development Roadmap

Month 1: Developer Environment, Git & Build System

Goal:
Fully set up your environment (native + Docker), master Git, understand the build system, and compile ArduPilot for
SITL and hardware.

Tools & Technologies:


- OS: Ubuntu 20.04 / 22.04 or WSL2
- Build: waf, cmake, make, arm-none-eabi-gcc
- Containers: Docker
- Editors: VS Code + C/C++ Extensions
- Version Control: Git, GitHub CLI
- Debuggers: GDB, VS Code debugger

Detailed Tasks:
- Install dev environment, clone ArduPilot repo, run install scripts.
- Docker for ArduPilot: docker pull ardupilot/ardupilot-dev
- Build SITL using waf configure --board sitl and waf copter.

Books:
- "The C Programming Language" - Kernighan & Ritchie
- "Git Pro" - Scott Chacon
- "Modern Embedded Systems Programming" - Peter Marwedel

Month 2: Simulation, MAVLink & GCS

Goal:
Use SITL, GCS, and MAVLink-based scripting. Understand and manipulate telemetry.

Tools:
- Simulator: SITL, JSBSim, Gazebo
- GCS: Mission Planner, QGroundControl, MAVProxy
- Telemetry: MAVLink, pymavlink, DroneKit
- Visual Logs: Flight Review, DataFlash viewer

Tasks:
- Run SITL with MAVProxy and QGroundControl.
- Use MAVLink Inspector and DroneKit to send custom messages.
- Launch Gazebo with ArduPilot plugins.

Books:
- "Exploring BeagleBone" - Derek Molloy
- "MAVLink: Micro Air Vehicle Communication Protocol" - Lorenz Meier (official doc)

Month 3: EKF, Sensor Integration & Navigation Stack

Goal:
5-Month ArduPilot Development Roadmap

Explore navigation stack, state estimation (EKF), and sensor integration.

Tools:
- Estimation: EKF3 (AP_NavEKF3)
- Sensors: GPS, IMU, Compass, Barometer
- Debugging: Mission Planner, MAVExplorer, matplotlib

Tasks:
- Study AP_NavEKF3, AP_GPS, AP_Compass.
- Analyze NKF logs, tune EKF3 parameters.
- Integrate simulated or real rangefinder.

Books:
- "Kalman Filter for Beginners" - Phil Kim
- "State Estimation for Robotics" - Timothy Barfoot

Month 4: Control Systems, Custom Modes & ROS Integration

Goal:
Customize flight behavior, understand control libraries, and integrate with ROS.

Tools:
- Control: AP_Control, AP_Motors
- Flight Modes: mode_loiter.cpp, mode_auto.cpp
- ROS: ROS Noetic/ROS 2, MAVROS, rqt, rosbag

Tasks:
- Create new flight modes, modify PID.
- Integrate with MAVROS and test in ROS tools.
- Analyze with rqt_graph, rosbag.

Books:
- "Feedback Control of Dynamic Systems" - Franklin, Powell
- "Programming Robots with ROS" - Quigley, Gerkey, Smart

Month 5: Hardware Deployment, Testing, Contribution

Goal:
Deploy on real hardware, debug, and contribute to the open-source community.

Hardware:
- Pixhawk, Cube Orange/Black
- Companion Computers: Raspberry Pi, Jetson Nano

Tasks:
- Build & upload firmware, test with telemetry.
- Debug using serial console, watch logs.
- Make GitHub PR, follow ArduPilot guidelines.
5-Month ArduPilot Development Roadmap

Final Deliverables:
- Custom flight mode or sensor module.
- SITL+Gazebo + MAVROS integration.
- Contribution to ArduPilot GitHub or documentation.

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