qgroundcontrol VS ardupilot

For Disco you're in luck, there are some really decent ardupilot-based projects out there[1]. Plus, unlike the Bebop camera which is inaccessible via the shell (you can only use the Parrot SDK), the Disco camera can be commanded to stream/record with a few simple commands, and even bound to controller inputs.

A caveat with the controller: it needs to have custom firmware[2] to get it communicating with ardupilot, and to get the firmware onto the controller you need telnet/adb into it via SkyController→usb→ethernet→usb→Laptop adaptor(s).

For a ground control system (GCS), there's three to choose from: Mission Planner, APM Planner, and QGroundControl[3] (ignore the rest, use this one).

For configuring the drone, mission planner is pretty good... but you can also just use MavProxy[4] which is a fantastic commandline program that all the GCSes use in some way, and can even be installed in Termux/Android.

1: https://github.com/uavpal/disco4g/

2: https://github.com/ArduPilot/dema-rc/

3: https://github.com/mavlink/qgroundcontrol

4: https://github.com/ArduPilot/MAVProxy

I expect you’re running into this issue, although it’s also possible you’re using a QGroundControl version that’s poorly set up to work with ArduSub (or your particular ArduSub version). If you’re not already it’s likely best to use the software version(s) recommended by Blue Robotics.

> Are UML diagrams used effectively in the dev industry?

Are they effective? I say they are when correctly used. For example last year I used plant UML to draw a sequence diagram to demonstrate some threading/mutex problems. [1]

I've also used draw.io to draw similar problems. [2]

I would say that tbqh using UML (or maybe just plant UML) is the "better" solution because it can be embedded in code and re-rendered as needed. But draw.io is _much_ easier to use!

I will also say that UML diagrams aren't well taught nor do most devs even know to reach for the tool.

[1]: https://github.com/mavlink/qgroundcontrol/pull/9595

[2]: https://github.com/airmap/qgroundcontrol/pull/6

They are widely used in narrow circles :)

Two of (arguably the best) open source RC aircraft flight controllers (ArduPilot and PX4) are using extended Kalman filters in their state estimators (essentially sensor fusion that provides attitude/position estimate):

https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/tree/master/libraries...

https://github.com/PX4/PX4-Autopilot/blob/main/src/modules/e...

I'm not that familiar with cleanflight/betaflight/inav scene to know what the FPV racer flight controllers use.

2. https://ardupilot.org/

Trimble also has some nice stuff, I think the BD940 is interesting. I do not know if it's recommended or not, but Ardupilot has a driver for the Septentrio GPS (https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/blob/master/libraries/AP_GPS/AP_GPS_SBF.cpp), as well for Trimble GPS (https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/blob/master/libraries/AP_GPS/AP_GPS_GSOF.cpp). So people have used these brands for drones.

For programmable open source autopilot: Arduino > Ardupilot (https://ardupilot.org).

You might also want to look at something like Ardupilot

I'd like to emphasize the reference to Ardupilot bc there is a lot of material already developed there: a lot about navigation and guidance from UAVs, and the low-level stuff. Check this out