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A Survey of Open-Source UAV Flight Controllers and Flight Simulators

Article  in  Microprocessors and Microsystems · May 2018

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 A Survey of Open-Source UAV Flight Controllers and Flight Simulators

Emad Ebeid∗, Martin Skriver, Kristian Husum Terkildsen, Kjeld Jensen, Ulrik Pagh Schultz
SDU UAS Center, University of Southern Denmark,
Campusvej 55, Odense, Denmark

Abstract
The current disruptive innovation in civilian drone (UAV) applications has led to an increased need for research and development
in UAV technology. The key challenges currently being addressed are related to UAV platform properties such as functionality,
reliability, fault tolerance, and endurance, which all are tightly linked to the UAV flight controller hardware and software. The
lack of standardization of flight controller architectures and the use of proprietary closed-source flight controllers on many UAV
platforms however complicates this work: solutions developed for one flight controller may be difficult to port to another without
substantial extra development and testing. Using open-source flight controllers mitigates some of these challenges and enables
other researchers to validate and build upon existing research.
This paper presents a survey of the publicly available open-source drone platform elements that can be used for research and
development. The survey covers open-source hardware, software, and simulation drone platforms and compares their main features.
Keywords: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Drones, Flight Controllers, Drone Simulators, Open Platforms, Survey.

1. Introduction In this work we present a survey on open-source flight con-

trollers designed for UAVs. The survey is based on 20+ flight
The current disruptive innovation in civilian drone 30 controllers public available on the web. We relate flight con-
(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, UAV) applications and the troller hardware (Section 2) to flight controller software (Sec-
associated growth in the drone industry has led to an increased tion 3) and compare features, specifications, license types etc.
5 need for research and development in UAV technology. While of each controller and software. Simulation is often used for
applications such as aerial filming, mapping and inspection software functionality experiments tests before performing ac-
can be accomplished within the current legal framework and 35 tual flight tests, especially in flight controller research and de-
using technology already available on the market, the industry velopment which can minimize the risk of loss of control dur-
is pushing to break down the barriers which will enable ing test flights and save time. We include a survey of open-
10 entirely new markets in logistics, e-commerce, surveillance source simulation systems (Section 4), some of which support
etc. Examples of these barriers are Beyond Visual Line hardware-in-the-loop or software-in-the-loop simulation. Cur-
of Sight (BVLOS) flights, which by many stakeholders is 40 rently UAVs are under constant and rapid technological devel-
considered to be the next game-changer in the UAV business, opment, and the reader should note that the information de-
autonomous operations not supervised by a pilot, and long scribed in this paper is as of February 2018.
15 range flights using small UAVs. Industry and academia are
collaborating on solving the associated challenges, which 1.1. Related work
are related to UAV platform properties such as functionality, In 2010 Cao et al. presented a survey of autopilot systems
reliability, fault tolerance, and endurance, which all are tightly 45 for small or micro UAVs systems with the objective of provid-
linked to the UAV flight controller hardware and software. ing a summary of the available commercial, open-source and re-
20 The lack of standardization of flight controller architectures search autopilot systems in the market at that moment for poten-
and the use of proprietary closed-source flight controllers tial users of small UAV [1]. In 2011 Mészarós surveyed open-
on many UAV platforms however complicates this work, as source hardware and software for fixed-wing UAV platforms,
solutions developed for one flight controller may be difficult 50 including a design of a small fixed-wing UAV based on one of
to port to another without substantial extra development and the presented systems with its first field test [2]. In 2012 Lim et
25 testing if at all legally possible. Using open-source flight al. surveyed public available open-source projects for quadrotor
controllers mitigates some of these challenges and enables UAV systems, presenting eight quadrotors with descriptions of
other researchers to validate and build upon existing research. their avionics, sensor composition, analysis of attitude estima-
55 tion and control algorithms, and comparison of their additional
∗ Corresponding features [3]. In 2016 Sabikan and Nawawi presented a general
author.
Email address: [email protected] (Emad Ebeid) view of the implementation of an open-source quadcopter plat-
form to develop a quadcopter research testbed [4], with the aim
Preprint submitted to Journal of Microprocessors and Microsystems: Embedded Hardware Design February 20, 2018
 of making the proposed platform expendable and usable in any
Table 1: Comparison of MCUs, sensors and licenses for OSH flight controller
60 application area; they briefly mention a couple of open-source platforms. Sensors: all platforms have IMUs. Interfaces: all platforms support
flight controller platforms, of which one of them has been used UART, PWM and I2C.
in their work Platform MCU Sensors License Interfaces
Pixhawk [10] STM32F427 b, m BSD c, s, a, pp, sb, ds
Pixhawk 2 [11] STM32F427 b, m CC-BYSA-3.0 c, s, a, pp, sb, ds
1.2. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles PixRacer [12] STM32F427 b, m CC-BY 4.0 c, pp, sb, ds
Pixhawk 3 Pro [13] STM32F427 b, m CC BY 4.0 c, s, pp, sb, ds
For an introduction to the basics of UAV systems we refer PX4 FMUv5 and v6 [14] STM32F427 b, m CC BY 4.0 c, s, a, pp, sb, ds
Sparky2 [15] STM32F405 b, m CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 c, pp, sb, ds, da
65 the interested reader to the textbook by Fahlstrom and Glea- Chimera [16] STM32F767 b, m, p GPLv2 c, s, a, da, pp, sb, ds, x, au
son [5]. We however note that compared to control systems CC3D [17] STM32F103 None GPLv3 pp, ds, sb
Atom [17] STM32F103 None GPLv3 pp, ds, sb
for other advanced autonomous systems such as robotics, the APM 2.8 [18] ATmega2560 b GPLv3 pp, a
FlyMaple [19] STM32F103 b, m GPLv3 None
control of UAVs presents two unique challenges. First, UAVs Erle-Brain 3 [20] Raspberry Pi b, m CC BY-NC-SA a
PXFmini [20] Raspberry Pi b, m CC BY-NC-SA a
have severe constraints in terms of Size, Weight, and Power AeroQuad[d] STM32F407 b, m GPLv2 -
70 (SWaP) [6] not found to the same extent in robotics in gen- Mikrokopter[d] ATmega644 b - s, pp
MatrixPilot[d] dsPIC33FJ256 None GPLv3 None
eral. Second, UAV control systems are in practice almost al-
ways safety-critical systems due to the primary purpose of the b: barometer, m: magnetometer, p: pitot tube sensor, c: CAN, s: SPI, a: ADC, pp: PPM,
UAV being operation in open-ended environments where hu- sb: S.BUS, ds: DSM, da: DAC, x: XBEE, au: AUX, [d]: discontinued.
mans may be present [7].
75 In addition, each UAV platform comes with a license for
governing the use or redistribution. We refer to the reader to Table 2: Comparison between OSH flight controller platforms.
the article by Christopher Vendome [8] for its coverage of the Platform Dimensions (mm) Weight (g) Fault tolerance features
software license (e.g., Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), Pixhawk [10] 81.5x50x15.5 38 c, IMU
The GNU General Public License (GPL), Massachusetts Insti- Pixhawk 2 [11] 38.5x38.5x23 39 trp
PixRacer [12] 36x36* 10.9 c, trp, tri
80 tute of Technology (MIT), etc.). Pixhawk 3 Pro [13] 71x49x23 45 i
PX4 FMUv5 and v6 [14] 71x49x23 45 -
Sparky2 [15] 36x36* 13.5 None
1.3. Methodology Chimera [16] 89x60* ? tsp
The information presented in this paper is to a large extent CC3D [17] 36x36* 8 None
Atom [17] 15x7* 4 None
based on public available information from the web pages of the APM 2.8 [18] 70.5x45x13.5 31 None
corresponding open-source projects developing the software. FlyMaple [19] 50x50x12 15 None
Erle-Brain 3 [20] 95x70x23.8 100 None
85 This includes manual inspection of schematics and source code PXFmini [20] 31x73* 15 None
by the authors in many cases. This approach however implies AeroQuad [d] - - None
Mikrokopter [d] - - None
that missing information about the presence of a specific fea- MatrixPilot [d] - - None
ture in a specific artifact is a threat to our validity. Manually
experimenting with all of the documented projects was how- *: Board without enclosure. Height is the height of the PCB components.
90 ever deemed untractable. c: co-processor, trp: triple-redundant power supply, tri: triple-redundant IMU, i: IMU,
tsp: twin switching power supply, [d]: discontinued.

2. Open-Source Hardware Platforms

This section explores different Open-Source Hardware 2.2. Pixhawk series
(OSH) platforms and summarizes their features. For OSH The Pixhawk flight controller started at the Computer
platforms, the hardware design such as mechanical drawings, Vision and Geometry Lab of ETH Zurich, before becoming an
95 schematics, bills of materials, Printed Circuit Board (PCB) independent OSH platform project [21]. Pixhawk collaborates
layouts, Hardware Description Language (HDL) source115 with several partners, including the Linux Foundation
code and integrated circuit layout data are all released under DroneCode project [22]. It is based on the PX4-Flight
free/libre terms [9]. Management Unit (FMU) and multiple versions have been
developed.
2.1. Overview
100 Table 1 shows a comparison of the OSH flight controller 2.2.1. Pixhawk Autopilot
platforms in terms of the MCU, built-in sensors, license, and
120 The original Pixhawk combines the PX4 FMUv2 with the
interfaces; Table 2 compares the platforms in terms of dimen-
PX4 IOv2 IO board. It runs on an STM32F427 processor with
sions, weight, power consumption, and fault tolerance features.
an STM32F103 failsafe co-processor and has 256 KB RAM. A
With the exception of APM, all platforms use 32-bit MCUs
binary-compatible derivative called Pixfalcon has also been de-
105 based on the ARM architecture (ignoring discontinued plat-
veloped. It is a more lightweight, FPV optimized version with
forms). All platforms have IMUs and support UART, PWM,
125 less IOs. Figure 1a shows the Pixhawk along with its derivative
and I2C interfaces. There is significant variation in the inter-
shown in Figure 1b.
faces supported and the physical dimensions. Only a few plat-
forms from the Pixhawk series of platforms support fault toler-
110 ance features.
2
 155 processor is updated to STM32F7 with double-precision float-
ing point unit (FPU) and higher accuracy attitude calculations
based on the Bosch BMI055 IMU. In addition, Dronecode has
announced that the PX4 FMUv6 will be released in 2018 with
an upgrade of the main processor to the STM32H7.

160 2.3. Sparky2

The Sparky2 is an OSH platform from TauLabs [23]. It
is based on the STM32F405 Microcontroller Unit (MCU) and
published under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. Figure 2 shows
the Sparky2 flight controller.

(a) PIXHAWK (b) Pixfalcon (c) Pixhawk 2

(d) PIXHAWK mini (e) PixRacer (f) PIXHAWK 3 Pro

Figure 1: Autopilot flight controllers

Figure 2: The Sparky2 flight controller from TauLabs.

2.2.2. Pixhawk 2 Autopilot

The Pixhawk 2 was originally designed for the quadcopter165 2.4. Paparazzi
3DR Solo, while a standalone version was later released. It is Paparazzi is an OSH UAV platform which was founded in
130 built on the PX4 FMUv3 and designed by the Pixhawk com- 2003. Paparazzi is developed at Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation
munity in colaboration with 3D Robotics. The form factor has Civil (ENAC) UAV Lab [24]. It encompasses autopilot systems
changed into a cube, which features triple redundant IMUs, two and ground station software for multi-rotors, fixed-wing, heli-
barometers and the ability to connect up to three GNSS mod-170 copters and hybrid aircraft [25]. In March 2017, ENAC Lab
ules. The cube connects to a carrier board through a single released a new autopilot named Chimera which is based on the
135 DF17 connector. The standard carrier board provides several latest STM32F7 MCU. Figure 3 shows the Paparazzi Chimera
IOs, similar to the original Pixhawk mentioned above. In addi- circuit board.
tion, a version of the carrier board is available which has an in-
terface for the Intel Edison, which is meant to run as a compan-
ion computer. Other companion computers can be connected
140 through the IOs. A derivative of the Pixhawk 2, called Pixhawk
Mini has been made, which is an evolution of the Pixfalcon.
Figure 1c shows the Pixhawk 2 and the Pixhawk Mini is seen
on Figure 1d.

2.2.3. PixRacer Autopilot and Pixhawk 3 Pro

145 The PixRacer is built on the PX4 FMUv4 and is designed
for racing UAVs. It has built-in wifi, which enables wireless
firmware updating, system setup and telemetry. The PixRacer
was evolved into the Pixhawk 3 Pro, which has received an up- Figure 3: The STM-based Paparazzi Chimera flight controller
grade of processors and sensors for better performance. Fig-
150 ure 1e shows the PixRacer and the Pixhawk 3 Pro is shown on
Figure 1f. 2.5. CC3D & Atom
175 The CC3D and Atom flight controllers have the same func-
2.2.4. PX4 FMUv5 and v6 tionality, but differ in form factor. They are developed by Li-
With more than 390 contributors, the PX4 hardware has brePilot, previously known as OpenPilot. They run the LibrePi-
evolved to FMUv5 at the end of 2017. For PX4 FMUv5, the lot firmware, which is further discussed in Section 3.3.1. The
3
 flight controllers supports multiple airframes, and their hard- Raspberry Pi. The Erle-Brain builds on the DroneCode
180 ware is available under the GPLv3 license. Figure 4 shows the foundation (see Section 3.5). Figure 7 shows the Erle-Brain 3
CC3D and Atom flight controllers. 200 autopilot and its accessory parts.

(a) (b)
(a) (b)
Figure 7: Erle-Brain autopilot: (a) Erle-Brain 3 (b) PXFmini on top of a Rasp-
Figure 4: Flight controller boards: (a) CC3D (b) Atom. berry Pi.

2.6. ArduPilot Mega (APM) 2.9. Inactive OSH projects

The APM is an Arduino Mega-based autopilot, which has AeroQuad was an Arduino-based platform, which was dis-
been developed by the DIY Drones community. APM runs the continued in 2015. However, the software is still available [26].
185 ArduPilot software, which is described in Section 3.4 and sup- Mikrokopter v2.5 is based on the ATmega1284P-AU MCU.
ports multiple vehicles. Figure 5 shows the ArduPilot Mega205 The schematics are availabe at [27]. The v3.0 is focusing on re-
(APM) v2.8. dundant systems. However, at the time of writing, the schemat-
ics are not open-source. MatrixPilot was designed for fixed-
wing UAV and controlled by the UAV Development Board v3
from Sparkfun. The board has since been discontinued.

210 3. Open-Source Software Platforms

(a)
This section explores selected Open-Source Soft-
Figure 5: ArduPilot Mega (APM) 2.8 autopilot. ware (OSS) flight controllers. We observe that a significant
number of projects have been discontinued (detailed in
Section 3.7), but that in general the codebase of discontinued
2.7. FlyMaple 215 projects has been forked and is used in active projects.
FlyMaple is a flightcontroller which is based on the Maple
190 project. FlyMaple is based on an Arduino style APM processor. 3.1. Overview
Figure 6 shows Flymaple flight controller board. Tables 3 and 4 show a comparison of OSS flight controller
platforms in terms of key properties such as the kind of air-
frames supported, support for autonomous flight, availability
220 of links for C2 and telemetry, fault detection and handling, li-
censing, source lines of code (SLOC), programming language,
and operating system. (Projects no longer in active develop-
ment are not included.) All active platforms support multirotor
airframes, similarly fixed-wing airframes are supported by all
225 but one (Hack flight). Autonomous flight is supported by most
platforms, as are C2 and telemetry links. Fault detection and
handling features are present in most platforms, with PX4 as a
Figure 6: FlyMaple flight controller board notable exception. There is a strong preference for GPL-based
licenses, with PX4 as a notable exception. The PX4 use of the
230 BSD 3-Clause license is a significant advantage for its use in
2.8. Erle-Brain 3 commercial systems.
The Erle-Brain is a Linux-based flight controller developed
by Erle Robotics located in Spain. Erle-Brain combines an
195 embedded Linux board (a Raspberry Pi), with a PXFmini
board, which contains sensors, IO and power electronics.
The PXFmini is an open hardware shield designed for the
4
 Table 3: Collection of but not limited to, supported features for OSS flight controller platforms.
Autonomous Fault detection
Platform Airframes Communication Features
Flight and handling
Hack flight mr(4) - pm,sb,ds,msp - -
Cleanflight mr(1-8)/fw sph,swp sb,ib,sd,sh,pm,pw,cf,jeb,ds,xbu,fs,sp,ht,lt,ml,sl,msp c2k,bvw g,bm,dl,rth,hf,ts,at
Betaflight mr(1-8)/fw sph,swp sb,ib,sd,sh,pm,pw,cf,jeb,ds,xbu,fs,sp,ht,lt,ml,sl,msp c2l,c2k,bvw g,bm,dl,rth,hf,ts,at
INAV mr(1-8)/fw fm,swp,sph sb,ib,sd,sh,pm,pw,cf,jeb,ds,xbu,fs,sp,ht,lt,ml,msp c2l,c2k,bvw,c2rl g,at,bm,dl,rth,at
LibrePilot**** mr(3-8)/fw sph, swp, atl sb,ib,sd,sh,pm,pw,xbu,fs,ht,ml,sl,msp c2k g,rth,bac,bm
dRonin**** mr(*)/fw sph sb,fs,ht,ml,ut,msp pa bm,dl,at,rth
ArduPilot mr(1-8)/fw svnf,sph,swp sb,pm,ds,fs,ml ar,sw,apr,sc,c2rl,c2l,c2k,bll,gf g,rlg,loa,bm,rth, ***
PX4 mr(1-8)/fw sph,swp,fm sb,sd,ds,fs,sp,ht,ml,ir gf ,c2k,c2l,c2rl,sc,apr g,rth,bm,dl,rlg,loa,**
Paparazzi mr(+)/fw sph,swp,atl,fw,svnf pm,sb,xbe,ml ar,sw,apr,sc,c2rl,c2l,c2k,bll,gf g,pa,rth,bm,dl,hf,ts,at,rlg,loa,bac

*: Not found in documentation; **: See parameters for more features [28]; ***: See parameters for more [29]; ****: Low source reliability; +: Limited by hardware;
Airframes mr: multirotor (number of propellers); fw: fixed wings
Autonomous Flight sph: Satelite position hold; swp: Satelite way point navigation; atl: automatic take off and landing; fm:: Follow me; svnf: Stereo vision navigation functions;
Communication sb: SBus; ib: iBus; sd: SumD; sh: SumH; pm: PPM; pw: PWM; cf: CRSF; jeb: JetiExBus; ds: DSM; xbu: XBUS; xbe: XBee; fs: FrSky; sp: SmartPort (s.port); ht:
HoTT; lt: LTM; ml: MavLink; sl: SRXL; ut: UAVTalk; msp: Multiwii serial protocol; ir: Iridium SBD;
Fault detection and handling ar: ADS-B receiver support; c2l: Landing when missing C2 link; c2rl: Return to launch or home after missing C2 link; c2k: Kill supply for motors after
missing C2 link; bvw: Battery voltage warning; ada: Auto disarm after timeout; apr: Automatic parachute release; sw: Safety switch to en-/disable output to motors; bll: Land or return to
launch if battery low; gf: Geofence; sc: Pre-Arm Safety Check for sensor error;
Features g: gimbal compatible; pa: Prevent arming when battery low; rth: Return to home; bm: Battery monitoring; dl: Data logging to flash; hf: Head free moving (yaw fixed); ts:
Transponder support; at: PID autotune; rlg: Supports retractable landing gear; loa: Lidar obstacle avoidance; bac: Battery mAh count;

Table 4: Comparison of source code and availability for OSS flight controller
platforms.
License
Platform SLOC+ Language OS
FC/doc/conf. tool
Hack flight g/-/lg 3.3k *C++ None
Cleanflight g/-/g 96.3k C Scheduler
Betaflight g/-/g 107k C Scheduler
INAV g/-/g 93.1k C Scheduler
LibrePilot g/cbs/g **87.6k C FreeRTOS [30]
dRonin g/tbd[31]/ **97.6k C ***PiOS
ArduPilot g/cbs/g ****242.1k C/C++ ChibiOS [32]/NuttX [33]/Linux
PX4 b/CC BY 4.0/g ****211.8 C/C++ NuttX [33]
Paparazzi g/gf/g 2106k(C) C/Python ChibiOS [32]/Scheduler

*: C++ header only code, **:flight dir without PiOS; ***:PiOS Pilot Operating System;
****:ArduPilot repository(cpp only) without Ardusub and APMrover; +:Source Lines Of Figure 8: Development history originating from the original Multiwii flight
Code controller software.
License b: BSD; lg: GPLv3; lg: Lesser GPLv3; cbs: CC-BY-SA 3.0; tbd: To be
determined; gf: GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL);

Ladybug flight controller and it has a wiki [41] that contains in-
formation about how to setup the controller with receivers and
3.2. Multiwii series motors. In addition to the flight code, the repository consists
The first flight control software [34] of the Multiwii se- of a Python-based Ground Control Station (GCS) for reading
ries (Figure 8) was developed by Alexandre Dupus for low-255 sensor values and an Android application for showing altitude.
235 cost hardware. The initial goal was to control a tricopter with Based on statements on the README file, this platform seems
an Arduino Pro Mini using Nintendo Wii motion sensors [35]. suitable for smaller projects where people want hands-on de-
The original implementation language was Arduino C but later velopment without too much complexity.
changed to C++; comparing its 12.5k Source Lines Of Code
(SLOC) with the platform in Table 4, we observe that it is a rel- 3.2.2. Cleanflight
240 atively small software package. The development has stopped260 The first version of the Cleanflight [42] source code [43]
but the source code is still available along with a Java-based was forked from Baseflight, but since then functionality has
configuration tool [34]. Baseflight [36] changed the Multiwii been inherited from INAV and Betaflight or developed in
implementation language to C, evolved to processor support Cleanflight. Cleanflight has documented setup guides for
from 8-bit to 32-bit, and made an internet-browser-based con- elements such as sensors, flight setup, and for 15 different
245 figuration tool [37, 38]. Raceflight [39] also has its roots in265 flight controller boards, all with ARM-based STM32 F1, F3,
the Multiwii flight controller and have been optimized for UAV F4 or F7 MCUs, although the F1 series will not be supported
racing and acrobatics, but development has also stopped. in future releases. The software contains a browser-based
configuration tool [44] from where the UAV can be configured,
3.2.1. Hack flight sensors can be read, and parameter tuning performed.
Hack flight is derived from Baseflight, but the source [40]270 Cleanflight has its origin in Baseflight and the configuration
250 seems completely rewritten. It supports the STM32L4 based tool can be added to Google Chrome [45].

5
 315 Sparky2 (Section 2.3) and CC3D (Section 2.5). There is
online documentation [60] for setting up the software for the
supported boards, UAV configuration, and using sensors and
the GCS.

3.3.2. dRonin
320 dRonin [61] forked their source code [62] from the Tau Labs
Figure 9: Development history from the original OpenPilot flight controller repository. dRonin has online documentation [31], an online fo-
software.
rum [63], a wiki [64], and additional documentation as repos-
itory files. The code can be used with several flight controller
3.2.3. Betaflight boards, including Sparky2 (Section 2.3), AeroQuad, and Rasp-
Betaflight source code [46] and documentation is related325 berry Pi with FlyingPIO sensor extension [65]. dRonin can be
to INAV (Section 3.2.4) and Cleanflight (Section 3.2.2) [47]. linked to an Android application [66] for sensor readings and
275 This is visible if comparing software and source repository, parameter tuning.
but Betaflight differs according to the readme file, by devel-
oping with focus on creating high performance, leading-edge 3.4. ArduPilot
feature additions, and wide target support [46]. Cleanflight is ArduPilot [67] is capable of controlling a wide range
suggesting this platform for people who want to work with ex-330 of vehicle including fixed-wing airplanes, multirotors,
280 perimental new features [43]. The documentation section de- helicopters, boats, and submarines [68]. The software was
scribes 17 flight controller boards among those the CC3D (Sec- originally developed for 8-bit ARM-based MCUs running
tion 2.5). The configuration tool is like for Cleanflight, avail- on its own board ArduPilot. This board was however
able for Google Chrome add [48] and the source code is avail- replaced by ArduPilot Mega (APM) (Section 2.6) and the
able [49]. 335 software has evolved to be optimized for use with 32-bit
ARM-based MCUs. Nevertheless the controller can run
285 3.2.4. INAV under Linux, enabling it to be used on a large class of
INAV [50] is forked from an earlier version of electronics from single-board computers all the way up to a
Cleanflight (Section 3.2.2). INAV has improved navigation full PC system. ArduPilot has a desktop GCS for mission
functionalities [51] compared to Betaflight and Cleanflight340 planning [69][70], calibration, and vehicle setup for Windows,
with “follow me” functionality and support for GCS with Linux and Mac OSX. Different setups of the AutoPilot system
290 mission planner running on Windows, Linux, IOS and and installation manuals are available from the ArduPilot web
Android. The documentation directory describes setup for page [71].
25 flight controller boards. The source repository [52] has a
Google Chrome browser add-on configuration tool [53] similar 3.5. PX4
to Betaflight and Cleanflight. 345 The PX4 flight stack and autopilot [72], are a part of the
DroneCode collaborative project [22] which covers both GCS,
295 3.3. OpenPilot series hardware platforms and simulation [73]. PX4 works with many
OpenPilot is a flight controller software package that has different airframes for using multirotor, fixed-wing, gliders,
been developed through many projects and by different devel- copters and VTOL technology. PX4 is compatible with the
opers, as illustrated in Figure 9. OpenPilot was the original350 QGroundControl GCSs [74], from where parameters are set,
flight controller software in this series, but development was sensors read, and autonomous flight configured. Performance
300 stopped in 2015. Parts of its wiki [54] is still functional and of the flight stack is presented by Meier et al. [75]. The use
the source code [55] is still available. The flight control soft- of the BSD license and the high level of completeness makes
ware supports among others the CC3D (Section 2.5) board and this flight stack attractive for commercial companies [76]. The
it can control fixed-wing and multirotor UAVs. Similarly Tau355 documentation is online [77] for developers and users and
Labs [56] is an inactive flight controller platform from this se- covers both flight controller and GCS setup.
305 ries where the source code remains available [57]. The individ-
ual projects that still are in active development are described in 3.6. Paparazzi software
this section. The Paparazzi project works on a complete UAV system
including electronics (Section 2.4), flight controller soft-
3.3.1. LibrePilot 360 ware [78], autopilot, GCS and simulation (Section 4.6) [16].
The LibrePilot [58] project started in July 2015 with The Paparazzi flight controller can be configured to control
310 focus on research and development of software and hardware fixed-wing, flapping-wing, hybrid and multirotor airframes in
to be used in a variety of applications, including vehicle different configurations, as well as multiUAV systems [79].
control and stabilization of unmanned autonomous vehicles From the Paparazzi GCS it is possible to setup parameters,
and robotics [58]. The source code [59] builds on the365 flight type and configuration, read sensor, data setup a
OpenPilot project and it runs on various platforms such as flight plan including custom guidance, navigation and
6
 cohntrol algorithms [80]. Paparazzi has a source code The simulator follows modular design architecture with an em-
documentation [81] for developers as well as a wiki-based phasis on extensibility. The only supported UAVs are Iris in a
guide [82] for setting up the flight controller. 420 MultiRotor model and in an X-configuration for PX4 quadrotor.
Figure 10a shows a screenshot of AirSim.
370 3.7. Inactive OSS projects
AutoQuad [83] is a product series that includes UAV 4.3. Gazebo
components like Electronic Speed Controller (ESC)s, which Gazebo [96] was originally developed at the University
are based on open-source hardware and flight controllers based of Southern California, USA in 2002 and later at Open
on open-source software [84]. The flight controller has been 425 Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF). Gazebo is the default
375 developed through product generations for more than 6 years. simulator included with ROS, making it one of the most
The firmware is written for the STM32F4 series MCUs and popular 3D dynamics multi-robot simulator with a very active
supports up to 14 Brushless DC motor (BLDC)s, and it is community [97]. Gazebo allows the use of different physics
compatible with QGroundControl. The source code is still engines and sensor models, and supports easy creation of 3D
available but future development seems to be on hold or 430 worlds, enabling testing of robot designs and algorithms,
380 stopped. regression testing, and training of AI systems using realistic
JAviator [85] was a research project of the Computational scenarios. Gazebo uses a distributed architecture with
Systems Group at the Department of Computer Sciences of the separate libraries for physics simulation, rendering, user
University of Salzburg, Austria [86, 87]. The project was run- interface, communication, and sensor generation. In order
ning from 2006 to 2013 and the project delivered three lay- 435 to simulate UAVss in Gazebo, J. Meyer et al. presented a
385 ers of software; JAviator Plant (JAP), Flight Control System framework to simulate a quadrotor using Robot Operating
(FCS), and GCS. The FCS software is written in C, runs on System (ROS). The framework provides a Gazebo ROS
a Robostix-Gumstix stack, and implements the flight control package named Hector Quadrotor [98] that aims at simulating
algorithms. This project however does not seem to be active diverse quadrotor UAV aspects such as flight dynamics,
anymore. 440 onboard sensors like IMUs, external imaging sensors and
390 The AeroQuad [26] flight controller software is written in complex environments. Supported UAVss include Quad (Iris
Arduino/C [26] and supports Atmel powered boards, among and Solo), Hex (Typhoon H480), Generic quad delta VTOL,
those their own developed AeroQuad (Section 2.9). The flight Tailsitter, Plane, and Rover. Figure 10b shows a snapshot of
controller has a desktop configuration tool for setting up param- a quadrotor UAV outdoor simulation in Gazebo. Although
eters. AeroQuad supports multirotors UAVs, but there have not 445 Gazebo is a feature-rich platform, the rendering techniques are
395 been updates to the source code since 2013. not as advanced as, e.g., Unreal Engine [99] or Unity [100].
As described earlier, the MultiWii, Baseflight, RaceFlight, In addition, the Hector package lacks support for protocols
OpenPilot and TauLabs are also among the OSS projects where such as MavLink and Hardware platforms such as Pixhawk
development has stopped. (Section 2.2).

450 4.4. Morse

4. Open-Source Simulation Platforms Modular Open Robots Simulation Engine (MORSE) is a
generic simulator for research in robotics that is developed
400 This section explores selected OSSIM platforms and sum-
jointly at Laboratory for Analysis and Architecture of Systems
marizes their features.
(LAAS) and Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches
455 Arospatiales (ONERA) [101] since 2011. MORSE relies
4.1. Overview
on Blender [102] for physics simulation and for a realistic
Table 5 shows a comparison of selected OSSIM UAV plat- display of the simulated environment. MORSE is designed
forms, including the implementation language, supported op- as a general purpose, modular system simulation of multiple
405 erating system, and licensing terms. C and C++ are the most moving robots in many different kinds of environments [101].
popular implementation languages, with Python and Java as no-460 MORSE relies on a component-based architecture. Each
table exceptions for Morse and jMAVSim. All projects support MORSE component consists of a Blender and a Python file.
Linux, some additionally support MacOS and/or Windows. The Blender file expresses the physical and visual properties
of the object in the simulated world. The Python file defines
4.2. AirSim an object class for the component type [101]. The MORSE
410 Aerial Informatics and Robotics Platform (AirSim) was de-465 component library provides quadrotor dynamic which is
veloped by Microsoft in 2017 [94]. AirSim aims to support the a simple definition of a quadrotor with a rigid body. Figure 10c
development and testing of algorithms for autonomous vehicle shows a screenshot of a quadrotor UAV simulated in MORSE.
applications, such as deep learning, computer vision, and re- MORSE lacks graphical user interface since it only provides
inforcement learning algorithms. The AirSim physics engine a command line one. MORSE does not embed any advanced
415 is based on Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) [95] and can operate at a470 algorithms (e.g., path planning) since it expects to run such
high frequency for real-time Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) sim- algorithms in the simulated software stack of the desired
ulations with support for popular protocols (e.g. MavLink). object.
7
 Table 5: Comparison between Open-Source Simulator (OSSIM) drone platforms.
Platform Implementation Language Supported Operating System License
AirSim [88] C++ Windows, Linux MIT
Gazebo [89] C++ Linux, MacOS Apache V2.0
Morse [90] Python Linux BSD
jMAVSim [91] Java Linux, MacOS, Windows BSD 3
New Paparazzi Simulator [92] C Linux, MacOS GPLv2
HackflightSim [93] C++ Windows, Linux GPL

4.5. jMAVSim 5. Conclusions and Future Work

Java Micro Air Vehicle Simulator (jMAVSim) is a
475 simple and lightweight multirotor simulator developed by This paper has presented UAV basics and reviewed more
the PIXHAWK engineering team (Section 2.2) [103, 75]. than 20 different open-source hardware, software, and simula-
jMAVSim supports the MAVLink protocol, uses the Java3D tion UAV platforms appropriate for use in a wide range of set-
library for visualization, and connects directly to the HIL via a520 tings, ranging from basic academic research to serving as the
serial connection or to Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) via User foundation for a commercial product. Overall we observe that
480 Datagram Protocol (UDP) communication to the autopilot. open-source flight controller hardware is generally based on
Figure 10d shows a screenshot of a quadrotor UAV application 32-bit ARM MCUs but otherwise varies significantly in terms
in jMAVSim. The implementation of jMAVSim is as a single of interfaces supported and physical dimensions. Support for
component based on a relatively simple object-oriented design525 fault tolerance features is in general limited, and there is lit-
with no explicitly documented architecture [104]. tle documentation regarding power consumption. For open-
source flight controller software most projects use a GPL li-
485 4.6. New Paparazzi Simulator cense, and although some projects have been discontinued, their
New Paparazzi Simulator (NPS) is an advanced simulator codebase is generally still being used in other active projects.
with sensor models developed at Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation530 We however note that similarly to the case for field robots [106],
Civil (ENAC) UAV Lab (Section 2.4). The default flight model there is a lack of use of relevant industrial standards for safety-
in NPS is JSBSim which supports a range of relatively complex critical software in the development of open-source flight con-
490 airframes. NPS however allows the use of different Flight Dy- troller software, which is an issue for use in real-world scenar-
namic Model (FDM) backends, enabling developers to choose ios. Open-source flight simulator software is generally imple-
their own FDM model, for example connecting the simulator to535 mented in C or C++ and in general supports Linux, with some
an FDM expressed in MATLAB Simulink. Different visualiza- use of languages such as Python and Java, and some support for
tion options are available, including FlightGear and the Morse MacOS and Windows.
495 (Section 4.4) simulator. Figure 10e shows a screenshot of the Future work will be focusing on a deep analysis of the
simulator running using the Paparazzi GCS. Supported UAVs power consumption of a combined software and hardware
include rotorcraft and fixed-wing airframes. 540 platforms along with relative costs calculations of the hardware
ones.
4.7. HackflightSim
HackflightSim is a simple cross-platform quadcopter Acknowledgment
500 simulator developed by Simon D. Levy, Washington and
Lee University Lexington, USA in 2017. HackflightSim is This work is supported and partly funded by the Innova-
implemented in C++, uses Unreal Engine 4, and is based on the tionfund Denmark (IFD) Free the Drones (FreeD) project and
Hackflight firmware which is a Simple C++ quadcopter flight545 from the European Union’s Horizon2020 research and inno-
control firmware for Arduino. The project is similar to AirSim vation programme under grand agreement No. 779882 (Team-
505 (Section 4.2) however, it focuses only on quadcopter firmware. Play).
Figure 10f shows a screenshot of a quadrotor UAV application
in HackflightSim. The implementation of HackflightSim References
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 (a) AirSim (b) Gazebo

(c) Morse (d) jMAVSim

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Figure 10: Simulator screenshots

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750 uav flying in wind flows, in: 2017 IEEE International Conference
on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2017, pp. 5740–5745. doi: Emad Ebeid is an Assistant Profes-
10.1109/ICRA.2017.7989674. sor at the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller In-
[81] Paparazzi development team, Paparazzi source code documentation. 820 stitute, University of Southern Denmark,
URL http://docs.paparazziuav.org/latest/
755 [82] Paparazzi development team, Paparazzi wiki. Denmark. Ebeid received his Ph.D. in
URL https://wiki.paparazziuav.org/wiki/Main_ Computer Science from the University of
Page/ Verona, Italy, in 2014. His research in-
[83] AutoQuad web page.
URL http://autoquad.org/
terests are in the areas of networked em-
760 [84] AutoQuad, AutoQuad source code. 825 bedded systems, hardware/software co-
URL www.github.com/mpaperno/aq_flight_control/ design of drone technologies and smart
[85] University of Salzburg, JAviator Project. grid applications. He is or was involved in several EU projects
URL https://github.com/cksystemsgroup/JAviator/
[86] University of Salzburg, JAviator web.
in embedded systems and smart grid applications. Currently, he
765 URL http://javiator.cs.uni-salzburg.at/ is special session chair of System Design for Collaborating In-
[87] S. Craciunas, C. Kirsch, H. Röck, R. Trummer, The JAviator: A high-830 telligent Systems session at EUROMICRO Conference on Dig-
payload quadrotor UAV with high-level programming capabilities, in: ital System Design and a guest editor of a special issue of MDPI
Proc. of the AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference
(GNC), Honolulu, HI, USA, 2008. Energies journal. He is a senior IEEE member.
770 [88] Microsoft, AirSim web page.
URL https://github.com/Microsoft/AirSim

11
 Martin Skriver is a research assis-
tant at the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller In-
835 stitute, University of Southern Denmark
where he has been a part of the SDU
UAS Center since August 2015. He has
a M.Sc. degree in Engineering - Robotic
System from the University of Southern
840 Denmark. His main research areas have
been with embedded electronics within battery management
systems, GSM/GNSS based drone tracking and FPGA based
systems.
Kristian Husum Terkildsen is a re-
845 search assistant at the Mrsk Mc-Kinney
Mller Institute, University of Southern
Denmark. Terkildsen has a Master’s de-
gree in Robot Systems Engineering with
specialization in Unmanned Aerial Sys-
850 tems. He has been a part of the SDU
UAS Center since June 2017. His main
focus areas are within system integration
and navigation in GPS denied environments.
Kjeld Jensen is an Associate Profes-
855 sor since 2007 at the SDU UAS Cen-
ter, University of Southern Denmark.
His research interest covers experimental
development of embedded systems and
software to support a wide range of ap-
860 plications in unmanned systems. He has
designed and developed a number of mo-
bile robots for outdoor tasks and he is
the architect and principal programmer behind the open source-
software platform FroboMind. His recent work focus on novel
865 applications requiring unobserved autonomous operation of
UAS and mobile robots.
Ulrik Pagh Schultz is an Associate
Professor since 2005 at the SDU UAS
Center, MMMI, University of Southern
870 Denmark. Schultz received his B.Sc. and
M.Sc. degrees in Computer Science from
the University of Aarhus, in 1995 and
1997, respectively, and a Ph.D. degree
in Computer Science from University of
875 Rennes, in 2000. From 2000 until 2005, he was a faculty mem-
ber at University of Aarhus. His research interest covers soft-
ware engineering for robotics of all kinds (aerial or not) and
domain-specific languages. Currently he is Chair of the IFIP
Working Group 2.11 on Program Generation (since 2013). He
880 is a member of ACM and IEEE.

12

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