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Documentation: RPi Drone Workshop Code

Table of Contents

System Overview

This project provides a modular codebase for controlling a drone using a Raspberry Pi and Pixhawk flight controller. It supports both simulation (SITL) and real hardware, and enables communication with a Ground Control Station (GCS) via serial, UDP, or TCP. The system is extensible for custom missions and includes failsafe features.

Architecture

+-------------------+      +-------------------+      +-------------------+
|   Ground Control  |<---->|   Communication   |<---->|    Flight         |
|   Station (GCS)   |      |   Controller      |      |    Controller     |
+-------------------+      +-------------------+      +-------------------+
        ^                        |                          |
        |                        v                          v
+-------------------+      +-------------------+      +-------------------+
|   Image Handler   |<-----|   Camera Module   |      |   Failsafe        |
+-------------------+      +-------------------+      +-------------------+

Module Descriptions

main.py

  • Entry point. Loads configuration, initializes controllers, and starts the system.

comms/

  • serial_comm.py: Handles serial communication with GCS.
  • udp_client.py: Handles UDP communication.
  • tcp_client.py: Handles TCP communication.

controllers/

  • flight_controller.py: Manages Pixhawk connection, arming, takeoff, landing, and waypoint navigation.
  • comm_controller.py: Manages communication with GCS and relays commands to the flight controller.

search/

  • image_rx.py: Receives and processes images from the camera.

failsafe/

  • battery_drop.py, disconnect.py, motor_loss.py, unstable_imu.py: Failsafe modules for various emergency scenarios.

participant_codes/

  • format.py: Template for participant missions.
  • mission_planner.py: Loads and executes participant missions.

utils/

  • helpers.py: Utility functions for config loading and coordinate calculations.
  • logging.py: Logger setup.
  • message_parser.py: Message encoding/decoding.

config/

  • connections.yaml: Communication and camera settings.
  • pixhawk_config.yaml: Pixhawk and flight parameters.

Configuration

  • See src/config/connections.yaml and src/config/pixhawk_config.yaml for all configurable options.

Participant Mission Guide

  • Copy src/participant_codes/format.py to a new file named after your team.
  • Implement the mission_plan function to return a list of waypoints.
  • Do not modify other files.

Failsafe Mechanisms

  • The system includes modules to handle battery drops, disconnects, motor loss, and IMU instability. These modules can be extended as needed.

Troubleshooting

  • Ensure all dependencies are installed (pip install -r requirements.txt).
  • Check configuration files for correct connection strings and parameters.
  • Use the logger output for debugging system state and errors.

For further details, see the code comments and docstrings in each module.