PiDrone: PX4 + MAVROS + Gazebo Drone Simulation

Developed a simulation-based autonomous drone control system using PX4, ROS 2 Humble, MAVROS, and Gazebo, focusing on building a complete software pipeline for drone communication, control, and real-time data interaction. The project aimed to enable programmatic control of a drone in OFFBOARD mode while understanding system-level communication between flight controllers and robotics middleware.

Key Contributions & Technologies:

● Built and deployed a PX4 SITL (Software-In-The-Loop) simulation integrated with Gazebo (gz_x500 quadrotor model) for realistic drone testing.
● Established communication between PX4 and ROS 2 using MAVROS and MAVLink protocol, enabling real-time telemetry and command exchange.
● Developed a control pipeline using ROS 2 topics and services to interact with drone states, including IMU, GPS, battery, and local position data.
● Implemented and tested OFFBOARD control logic, allowing programmatic interaction with the drone through external commands.
● Performed system-level debugging using PX4 logs to analyze issues such as EKF state estimation failures and preflight checks.

Research & Development Approach:

● Focused on understanding embedded flight control systems and middleware communication in robotics environments.
● Investigated real-world constraints such as sensor reliability and state estimation in autonomous systems.
● Iteratively debugged and validated system integration across simulation layers (PX4, MAVROS, ROS 2, Gazebo).

Tools & Technologies:

● ROS 2 Humble, PX4 SITL, Gazebo
● MAVROS, MAVLink Protocol
● Python, Linux (Ubuntu 22.04)
● Robotics Simulation & Autonomous Systems

Outcome & Future Plans:

Successfully developed a functional drone simulation pipeline with real-time communication and control capabilities. Future work includes achieving stable OFFBOARD flight control, integrating real drone hardware, and extending the system for autonomous navigation and mission planning.