flix/docs/build.md

Building and running

To build the firmware or the simulator, you need to clone the repository using git:

git clone https://github.com/okalachev/flix.git
cd flix

Simulation

Ubuntu 20.04

The latest version of Ubuntu supported by Gazebo 11 simulator is 20.04. If you have a newer version, consider using a virtual machine.

1. Install Arduino CLI:

   curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arduino/arduino-cli/master/install.sh | BINDIR=~/.local/bin sh
   

2. Install Gazebo 11:

   curl -sSL http://get.gazebosim.org | sh
   

   Set up your Gazebo environment variables:

   echo "source /usr/share/gazebo/setup.sh" >> ~/.bashrc
   source ~/.bashrc
   

3. Install SDL2 and other dependencies:

   sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install build-essential libsdl2-dev
   

4. Add your user to the input group to enable joystick support (you need to re-login after this command):

   sudo usermod -a -G input $USER
   

5. Run the simulation:

   make simulator
   

macOS

1. Install Homebrew package manager, if you don't have it installed:

   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
   

2. Install Arduino CLI, Gazebo 11 and SDL2:

   brew tap osrf/simulation
   brew install arduino-cli
   brew install gazebo11
   brew install sdl2
   

   Set up your Gazebo environment variables:

   echo "source /opt/homebrew/share/gazebo/setup.sh" >> ~/.zshrc
   source ~/.zshrc
   

3. Run the simulation:

   make simulator
   

Setup and flight

Control with smartphone

1. Install QGroundControl mobile app on your smartphone.
2. Connect your smartphone to the same Wi-Fi network as the machine running the simulator.
3. If you're using a virtual machine, make sure that its network is set to the bridged mode with Wi-Fi adapter selected.
4. Run the simulation.
5. Open QGroundControl app. It should connect and begin showing the virtual drone's telemetry automatically.
6. Go to the settings and enable Virtual Joystick. Auto-Center Throttle setting should be disabled.
7. Use the virtual joystick to fly the drone!

Control with USB remote control

1. Connect your USB remote control to the machine running the simulator.
2. Run the simulation.
3. Calibrate the RC using cr command in the command line interface and stop the simulation.
4. Copy the calibration results to the source code (gazebo/joystick.h).
5. Run the simulation again.
6. Use the USB remote control to fly the drone!

Firmware

Arduino IDE (Windows, Linux, macOS)

1. Install Arduino IDE (version 2 is recommended).
2. Install ESP32 core, version 3.0.7 (version 2.x is not supported). See the official Espressif's instructions on installing ESP32 Core in Arduino IDE.
3. Install the following libraries using Library Manager:
   • FlixPeriph, the latest version.
   • MAVLink, version 2.0.12.
4. Clone the project using git or download the source code as a ZIP archive.
5. Open the downloaded Arduino sketch flix/flix.ino in Arduino IDE.
6. Build and upload the firmware using Arduino IDE.

Command line (Windows, Linux, macOS)

1. Install Arduino CLI.

2. Windows users might need to install USB to UART bridge driver from Silicon Labs.

3. Compile the firmware using make. Arduino dependencies will be installed automatically:

   make
   

   You can flash the firmware to the board using command:

   make upload
   

   You can also compile the firmware, upload it and start serial port monitoring using command:

   make upload monitor
   

See other available Make commands in the Makefile.

Setup and flight

Before flight you need to calibrate the accelerometer:

1. Open Serial Monitor in Arduino IDE (use use make monitor command in the command line).
2. Type ca command there.
3. Copy calibration results to the source code (flix/imu.ino).

Control with smartphone

1. Install QGroundControl mobile app on your smartphone.
2. Power the drone using the battery.
3. Connect your smartphone to the appeared flix Wi-Fi network.
4. Open QGroundControl app. It should connect and begin showing the drone's telemetry automatically.
5. Go to the settings and enable Virtual Joystick. Auto-Center Throttle setting should be disabled.
6. Use the virtual joystick to fly the drone!

Control with remote control

Before flight using remote control, you need to calibrate it:

1. Open Serial Monitor in Arduino IDE (use use make monitor command in the command line).
2. Type cr command there.
3. Copy calibration results to the source code (flix/rc.ino).

Then you can use your remote control to fly the drone!

Note

If something goes wrong, go to the Troubleshooting article.

Firmware code structure

See firmware overview for more details.