An open source application designed for motion capture, choreographing and visualizing drones accurately in space using the OptiTrack system.
This project leverages precise real-time motion capture to control and preview drones, both in simulation and live flight.
User control interface is built with React, while the backend is written in C++ and communicates with drones using ESP32 modules connected over ESP-NOW WiFi, ensuring secure and seamless information flow between the control system and the drones.
To ensure consistent runtime environment, main project modules run inside individual docker containers.
- Choreograph and visualize drone movements in a 3D space via an intuitive web interface.
- Blender animation export integration to control and execute pre-programmed drone flight patterns.
- Live control and preview of drone positions and movements in real-time.
- Communication between C++ backend and drones using ESP32 devices.
- Utilizes the OptiTrack motion capture system for precise drone tracking.
- A tool to monitor and fine-tune 3D data, enabling adjustments to PID controllers and debugging directly within the system.
An example of the 3D data tuning tool for PID and debugging.
Below is a graphical representation of the system architecture, illustrating how the project is split into different components and how data flows between them:
The system is divided into modules, showcasing communication between the React frontend, C++ backend, and ESP32 drones.
- Docker with Docker Compose
- Forward USB to UART serial port to WSL (if running on MS Windows):
usbipd list usbipd bind --busid <device BUSID> usbipd attach --wsl --busid <device BUSID>
- C++: Core logic and communication handling.
- ESP32: Wireless communication between backend and drones (sending and receiving commands/data).
- Python Natnet Server: Serve the OptiTrack 3d data to the backend.
- React.js: Web app for visualizing and controlling the drones.
- Three.js: 3D visualization for live drone choreography preview.
- Blender: Integration for exporting drone choreography as animations.
- OptiTrack: Motion capture system to track drone positions in real-time.
