ArduPilot Backend Support

README.md

@@ -2,12 +2,13 @@
 
 ![IsaacSim 4.1.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/IsaacSim-4.1.0-brightgreen.svg)
 ![PX4-Autopilot 1.14.3](https://img.shields.io/badge/PX4--Autopilot-1.14.3-brightgreen.svg)
+![ArduPilot-Copter 4.4](https://img.shields.io/badge/ArduPilot--Copter-4.4.0-brightgreen.svg)
 ![Ubuntu 22.04](https://img.shields.io/badge/Ubuntu-22.04LTS-brightgreen.svg)
 [![](https://dcbadge.limes.pink/api/server/[INVITE](https://discord.gg/AjCxw2QUmt?style=flat))](https://discord.gg/AjCxw2QUmt)
 
 **Pegasus Simulator** is a framework built on top of [NVIDIA
 Omniverse](https://docs.omniverse.nvidia.com/) and [Isaac
-Sim](https://docs.omniverse.nvidia.com/app_isaacsim/app_isaacsim/overview.html). It is designed to provide an easy yet powerful way of simulating the dynamics of vehicles. It provides a simulation interface for [PX4](https://px4.io/) integration as well as a custom python control interface. At the moment, only multirotor vehicles are supported, with support for other vehicle topologies planned for future versions.
+Sim](https://docs.omniverse.nvidia.com/app_isaacsim/app_isaacsim/overview.html). It is designed to provide an easy yet powerful way of simulating the dynamics of vehicles. It provides a simulation interface for [PX4](https://px4.io/) and [ArduPilot](https://ardupilot.org/) integration, as well as a custom python control interface. At the moment, only multirotor vehicles are supported, with support for other vehicle topologies planned for future versions.
 
 <p align = "center">
 <a href="https://youtu.be/_11OCFwf_GE" target="_blank"><img src="docs/_static/pegasus_cover.png" alt="Pegasus Simulator image" height="300"/></a>

docs/index.rst

@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ This simulation framework is an open-source effort, started by me, Marcelo Jacin
    source/features/environments
    source/features/vehicles
    source/features/px4_integration
+   source/features/ardupilot
 
 .. toctree::
    :maxdepth: 2

docs/requirements.txt

@@ -5,4 +5,4 @@ sphinx-rtd-theme==1.2.0
 sphinx_mdinclude==0.5.3
 myst-parser==0.18.1
 sphinxcontrib-bibtex==2.5.0
-sphinxcontrib-youtube==1.2.0
+sphinxcontrib-youtube==1.2.0

docs/source/api/backends.mavlink_backend.rst

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 Mavlink Backend
 ===============
 
-.. automodule:: pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.mavlink_backend
+.. automodule:: pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.px4_mavlink_backend
    :members:
    :undoc-members:
    :show-inheritance:

docs/source/api/index.rst

@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ Control Backends
    :maxdepth: 2
 
    backends.backend
-   backends.mavlink_backend
+   backends.px4_mavlink_backend
    backends.ros2_backend
 
 Vehicle

docs/source/features/ardupilot.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+.. _ardupilot:
+
+ArduPilot
+=====================
+
+.. image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/IsaacSim-4.1.0-brightgreen.svg
+   :alt: IsaacSim 4.1.0
+
+.. image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/ArduPilot--Copter-4.4.0-brightgreen.svg
+   :alt: ArduPilot-Copter 4.4
+
+.. image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/Ubuntu-22.04LTS-brightgreen.svg
+   :alt: Ubuntu 22.04
+
+This project bridges between the ArduPilot project and IsaacSim, allowing the ArduPilot community to leverage IsaacSim's physics simulation and photorealistic rendering capabilities!
+
+**Notice** `PegasusArduPilot <https://github.com/TomerTip/PegasusArduPilot>`_ by `TomerTip <https://github.com/TomerTip>`_ is a fork of PegasusSimulator, containing the ArduPilot integration feature, before merging into the main project.
+
+Backend selection:
+
+.. figure:: /_static/ardupilot/pegasus_backend_ui.gif
+   :alt: Backend Selection
+   :align: center
+
+Drone spawn:
+
+.. figure:: /_static/ardupilot/ardupilot_spawn.gif
+   :alt: ArduPilot drone spawn
+   :align: center
+
+Drone takeoff:
+
+.. figure:: /_static/ardupilot/drone_takeoff.gif
+   :alt: ArduPilot drone takeoff
+   :align: center
+
+Camera demo:
+
+.. figure:: /_static/ardupilot/ardupilot_camera.gif
+   :alt: ArduPilot Camera Demo
+   :align: center
+
+Setup
+-----
+
+1. Follow PegasusSimulator installation steps: `PegasusSimulator Installation <https://pegasussimulator.github.io/PegasusSimulator/source/setup/installation.html>`_
+2. Follow ArduPilot SITL installation steps:
+   - `ArduPilot SITL Installation <https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/building-setup-linux.html#building-setup-linux>`_
+   - `Setting up SITL on Linux <https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/setting-up-sitl-on-linux.html#setting-up-sitl-on-linux>`_
+
+   You may install ArduPilot at ``~/ardupilot``, or change the path in the UI inside Pegasus backend selection menu.
+
+`PyArduPilotPlugin <https://github.com/TomerTip/PyArduPilotPlugin>`_
+-------------------------
+
+To get PegasusSimulator and ArduPilot SITL talking, I created a Python implementation of the custom protocol used between ArduPilot SITL and the simulator - called `PyArduPilotPlugin <https://github.com/TomerTip/PyArduPilotPlugin>`_.
+This project allows developers to create a custom simulator and integrate it with ArduPilot SITL control using Python!
+
+Changes to main Project
+-----------------------
+
+Since the code of PegasusSimulator is currently tightly coupled with `PX4`, I had to change the backend class hierarchy to become more generic and extendable. 
+
+.. image:: /_static/ardupilot/pegasus_backends.png
+   :alt: Pegasus Backends
+   :align: center

docs/source/features/px4_integration.rst

@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@ PX4 Integration
 ===============
 
 The ``PX4-Autopilot`` support is provided by making use of the ``Control Backends API`` , and implementing a custom 
-``MavlinkBackend`` which contains a built-in tool to launch and kill PX4 in SITL mode automatically.
+``PX4MavlinkBackend`` which contains a built-in tool to launch and kill PX4 in SITL mode automatically.
 
-To instantiate a ``MavlinkBackend`` via Python scripting, consider the following example:
+To instantiate a ``PX4MavlinkBackend`` via Python scripting, consider the following example:
 
 .. code:: Python
 
     # Import the Mavlink backend module
-    from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.mavlink_backend import MavlinkBackend, MavlinkBackendConfig
+    from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.px4_mavlink_backend import PX4MavlinkBackend, PX4MavlinkBackendConfig
 
     # Create the multirotor configuration
     # In this example we are showing the default parameters that are used if you do not specify them
-    mavlink_config = MavlinkBackendConfig({"vehicle_id": 0,
+    mavlink_config = PX4MavlinkBackendConfig({"vehicle_id": 0,
         "connection_type": "tcpin",
         "connection_ip": "localhost",
         # The actual port that gets used = "connection_baseport" + "vehicle_id"
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ To instantiate a ``MavlinkBackend`` via Python scripting, consider the following
         "px4_dir": "PegasusInterface().px4_path",
         "px4_vehicle_model": "iris",
         })
-    config_multirotor.backends = [MavlinkBackend(mavlink_config)]
+    config_multirotor.backends = [PX4MavlinkBackend(mavlink_config)]
 
 .. note::
 

docs/source/features/vehicles.rst

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ To create a Multirotor object from scratch, consider the following example code:
     # for logging purposes) but only the first backend in the list will be used 
     # to send commands to the vehicles. The others will just be used to receive the
     # current state of the vehicle and the data produced by the sensors
-    multirotor_config.backends = [MavlinkBackend()]
+    multirotor_config.backends = [PX4MavlinkBackend()]
 
     # Create and spawn the multirotor object in the scene
     Multirotor(

docs/source/tutorials/create_custom_backend.rst

@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ use that to feedback into our control law.
 
 .. note::
 
-   You can take a look on how the ``MavlinkBackend`` is implemented to check on how to parse sensor data produced by IMU, GPS, etc. 
+   You can take a look on how the ``PX4MavlinkBackend`` is implemented to check on how to parse sensor data produced by IMU, GPS, etc. 
    A simple strategy is to use an if-statement to check for which sensor we are receive the data from and parse it accordingly, for example:
 
    .. code:: Python

examples/10_graphs.py

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 
 # Import the Pegasus API for simulating drones
 from pegasus.simulator.params import ROBOTS, SIMULATION_ENVIRONMENTS
-from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.mavlink_backend import MavlinkBackend, MavlinkBackendConfig
+from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.px4_mavlink_backend import PX4MavlinkBackend, PX4MavlinkBackendConfig
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.vehicles.multirotor import Multirotor, MultirotorConfig
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.interface.pegasus_interface import PegasusInterface
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.graphs import ROS2CameraGraph
@@ -73,12 +73,12 @@ def __init__(self):
         # Try to spawn the selected robot in the world to the specified namespace
         config_multirotor = MultirotorConfig()
         # Create the multirotor configuration
-        mavlink_config = MavlinkBackendConfig({
+        mavlink_config = PX4MavlinkBackendConfig({
             "vehicle_id": 0,
             "px4_autolaunch": True,
             "px4_dir": "/home/marcelo/PX4-Autopilot"
         })
-        config_multirotor.backends = [MavlinkBackend(mavlink_config)]
+        config_multirotor.backends = [PX4MavlinkBackend(mavlink_config)]
 
         # Create camera graph for the existing Camera prim on the Iris model, which can be found 
         # at the prim path `/World/quadrotor/body/Camera`. The camera prim path is the local path from the vehicle's prim path

examples/1_px4_single_vehicle.py

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 # Import the Pegasus API for simulating drones
 from pegasus.simulator.params import ROBOTS, SIMULATION_ENVIRONMENTS
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.state import State
-from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.mavlink_backend import MavlinkBackend, MavlinkBackendConfig
+from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.px4_mavlink_backend import PX4MavlinkBackend, PX4MavlinkBackendConfig
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.vehicles.multirotor import Multirotor, MultirotorConfig
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.interface.pegasus_interface import PegasusInterface
 # Auxiliary scipy and numpy modules
@@ -59,13 +59,13 @@ def __init__(self):
         # Try to spawn the selected robot in the world to the specified namespace
         config_multirotor = MultirotorConfig()
         # Create the multirotor configuration
-        mavlink_config = MavlinkBackendConfig({
+        mavlink_config = PX4MavlinkBackendConfig({
             "vehicle_id": 0,
             "px4_autolaunch": True,
             "px4_dir": self.pg.px4_path,
             "px4_vehicle_model": self.pg.px4_default_airframe # CHANGE this line to 'iris' if using PX4 version bellow v1.14
         })
-        config_multirotor.backends = [MavlinkBackend(mavlink_config)]
+        config_multirotor.backends = [PX4MavlinkBackend(mavlink_config)]
 
         Multirotor(
             "/World/quadrotor",

examples/2_px4_multi_vehicle.py

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 # Import the Pegasus API for simulating drones
 from pegasus.simulator.params import ROBOTS, SIMULATION_ENVIRONMENTS
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.state import State
-from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.mavlink_backend import MavlinkBackend, MavlinkBackendConfig
+from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.px4_mavlink_backend import PX4MavlinkBackend, PX4MavlinkBackendConfig
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.vehicles.multirotor import Multirotor, MultirotorConfig
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.interface.pegasus_interface import PegasusInterface
 # Auxiliary scipy and numpy modules
@@ -78,13 +78,13 @@ def vehicle_factory(self, vehicle_id: int, gap_x_axis: float):
         config_multirotor = MultirotorConfig()
 
         # Create the multirotor configuration
-        mavlink_config = MavlinkBackendConfig({
+        mavlink_config = PX4MavlinkBackendConfig({
             "vehicle_id": vehicle_id,
             "px4_autolaunch": True,
             "px4_dir": self.pg.px4_path,
             "px4_vehicle_model": self.pg.px4_default_airframe # CHANGE this line to 'iris' if using PX4 version bellow v1.14
         })
-        config_multirotor.backends = [MavlinkBackend(mavlink_config)]
+        config_multirotor.backends = [PX4MavlinkBackend(mavlink_config)]
 
         Multirotor(
             "/World/quadrotor",

examples/8_camera_vehicle.py

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 from pegasus.simulator.params import ROBOTS, SIMULATION_ENVIRONMENTS
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.graphical_sensors.monocular_camera import MonocularCamera
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.graphical_sensors.lidar import Lidar
-from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.mavlink_backend import MavlinkBackend, MavlinkBackendConfig
+from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.px4_mavlink_backend import PX4MavlinkBackend, PX4MavlinkBackendConfig
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.ros2_backend import ROS2Backend
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.vehicles.multirotor import Multirotor, MultirotorConfig
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.interface.pegasus_interface import PegasusInterface
@@ -75,13 +75,13 @@ def __init__(self):
         # Try to spawn the selected robot in the world to the specified namespace
         config_multirotor = MultirotorConfig()
         # Create the multirotor configuration
-        mavlink_config = MavlinkBackendConfig({
+        mavlink_config = PX4MavlinkBackendConfig({
             "vehicle_id": 0,
             "px4_autolaunch": True,
             "px4_dir": "/home/marcelo/PX4-Autopilot"
         })
         config_multirotor.backends = [
-            MavlinkBackend(mavlink_config), 
+            PX4MavlinkBackend(mavlink_config), 
             ROS2Backend(vehicle_id=1, 
                         config={
                             "namespace": 'drone', 

examples/9_people.py

@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.people.person import Person
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.people.person_controller import PersonController
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.graphical_sensors.monocular_camera import MonocularCamera
-from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.mavlink_backend import MavlinkBackend, MavlinkBackendConfig
+from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.px4_mavlink_backend import PX4MavlinkBackend, PX4MavlinkBackendConfig
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.backends.ros2_backend import ROS2Backend
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.vehicles.multirotor import Multirotor, MultirotorConfig
 from pegasus.simulator.logic.interface.pegasus_interface import PegasusInterface
@@ -138,13 +138,13 @@ def __init__(self):
         # Try to spawn the selected robot in the world to the specified namespace
         config_multirotor = MultirotorConfig()
         # # Create the multirotor configuration
-        mavlink_config = MavlinkBackendConfig({
+        mavlink_config = PX4MavlinkBackendConfig({
             "vehicle_id": 0,
             "px4_autolaunch": True,
             "px4_dir": "/home/marcelo/PX4-Autopilot"
         })
         config_multirotor.backends = [
-            MavlinkBackend(mavlink_config),
+            PX4MavlinkBackend(mavlink_config),
             ROS2Backend(vehicle_id=1, 
                 config={
                     "namespace": 'drone', 

extensions/pegasus.simulator/config/configs.yaml

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
+ardupilot_default_airframe: gazebo-iris
+ardupilot_dir: /home/sim/ardupilot
 global_coordinates:
   altitude: 90.0
   latitude: 38.736832
   longitude: -9.137977
-px4_dir: ~/PX4-Autopilot
-px4_default_airframe: gazebo-classic_iris # Change to 'iris' if using PX4 version lower than v1.14
+px4_default_airframe: gazebo-classic_iris
+px4_dir: /home/sim/PX4-Autopilot

extensions/pegasus.simulator/pegasus/simulator/logic/backends/__init__.py

@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@
 | License: BSD-3-Clause. Copyright (c) 2023, Marcelo Jacinto. All rights reserved.
 """
 
-from .backend import Backend
-from .mavlink_backend import MavlinkBackend, MavlinkBackendConfig
+from .backend import Backend, BackendConfig
+from .px4_mavlink_backend import PX4MavlinkBackend, PX4MavlinkBackendConfig
+from .ardupilot_mavlink_backend import ArduPilotMavlinkBackend, ArduPilotMavlinkBackendConfig
 
 # Check if the ROS2 package is installed
 try: