MAVCore

Set Up Environment

In uavf2027, MAVCore is a sibling submodule of autonomy_stack and gcs. The installer links this same checkout in editable mode into both venv-autonomy and venv-gcs when those environments are selected. To link MAVCore into both existing environments manually, run from the uavf2027 root:

./venv-autonomy/bin/python -m pip install -e ./mavcore
./venv-gcs/bin/python -m pip install -e ./mavcore

Then import it normally with from mavcore import MAVDevice. Source edits are available on the next run without reinstalling; reinstall after changing package metadata or dependencies.

For standalone MAVCore development, run from the mavcore directory:

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -e .

How to Use

1. Create a MAVDevice object to connect to the drone

from mavcore import MAVDevice

udp_device = MAVDevice("udp:127.0.0.1:14550")
serial_device = MAVDevice("/dev/ttyACM0")

2. Add listeners to monitor telemetry

from mavcore.messages import Heartbeat, LocalPositionNED

# Monitors heartbeat and local position
heartbeat = device.add_listener(Heartbeat())
local_pos = device.add_listener(LocalPositionNED())

while True:
    print(heartbeat)
    print(local_pos.vx)

3. Run protocols

from mavcore.protocols import HeartbeatProtocol, SetModeProtocol
from mavcore.mavtypes import FlightMode

# Sends periodic heartbeats from device and sets mode
hb_protocol = device.run_protocol(HeartbeatProtocol())  # will auto send at 1 hz
set_guided = device.run_protocol(SetModeProtocol(FlightMode.GUIDED))

How to Develop

Create a MAVMessage:

1. Create a class for your message in the messages folder
2. Inherit from the MAVMessage class
3. In the super().__init__ make sure to pass in the name of the message that is the same it appears in the mavlink documentation all caps seperated by _
4. If you want this message to be able to be recieved from the flight controller, override the decode function
5. If you want this message to be able to be sent to the flight controller, override the encode function
6. (Optional) Override the __repr__ function to assist in debugging

Create a MAVProtocol:

Not necessary if you are only receiving a particular message, but neccessary if you want to send something

1. Create a class for your protocol in the protocols folder. For convention append "Protocol" to the end of the name.
2. Override the run function using sender.send_msg and receiver.wait_for_msg with MAVMessage to build your protocol

How to Test

After you have installed the SITL

1. In one terminal launch the SITL. The coords below launch at the ARC main field west. Give this 2 minutes to load, it should begin listening on UDP Port 14550.

 cd simcore
 ./sitl_setup.sh 33.64293210548397 -117.82628818855002

2. In order to connect your script, instantiate your MAVDevice as follows

device = MAVDevice("udp:127.0.0.1:14550")

3. If you want to perform commands on the drone thats not in your script go back to the terminal you started up the sitl in. It is interactive and you can issue mavproxy commands to it. Just press enter a couple times on the terminal to see the mavproxy vehicle mode prefix.

NOTE: When running on the SITL, mavproxy automatically sends message interval requests for several messages. This means you may see messages published during your script in the SITL that don't appear when testing in person on a real flight controller. Remember to double check your message requests.