UAV Toolbox Support Package for PX4 Autopilots

Access PX4 autopilot peripherals with UAV Toolbox and automatically build and deploy flight control algorithms with Embedded Coder

Using the UAV Toolbox Support Package for PX4® Autopilots, you can access autopilot peripherals from MATLAB® and Simulink®. With Embedded Coder®, you can also automatically generate C++ code and use the PX4 toolchain to build and deploy algorithms tailored specifically for Pixhawk® and CubePilot flight management units (FMU), all while incorporating onboard sensor data and other PX4-specific services. You can use the support package to work with CubePilot boards such as Cube Blue, Cube Orange + and Cube Orange and Holybro manufactured Pixhawk boards such as Pixhawk 6x, Pixhawk 6c, Pixhawk 4 etc. PX4 is a trademark of Lorenz Meier.

What is new in R2024a ?

• PX4 Firmware v1.14 support
• Out of the box support added to Cube Orange+, Cube Blue and Pixhawk 6C
• PX4 Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) Simulation with VTOL Tilt-Rotor Plant in Simulink
• CAN Transmit and Receive blocks support is extended to Cube Orange, Cube Orange+, Pixhawk 6X, Pixhawk 6C.

Features

• Out of the box support for Cube Orange, Cube Orange+, Cube Blue, Pixhawk 6x, Pixhawk 6C, Pixhawk 1, Pixhawk 2.1 (Cube), Pixracer and Pixhawk 4. For boards not listed here, see this documentation on how to use your board with the support package.
• Automated C++ Code - generation, Integration of code generated from Simulink with the general PX4 architecture Deployment, and Execution on the Pixhawk boards.
• Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) Simulation support with the PX4 Autopilot.
• Example in Simulink that shows the UAV Dynamics including the sensor simulation communicated to PX4 Autopilot in Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) Simulation.Supports Quadcopter, Fixed-wing and VTOL airframes.
• Deployment support for PX4 on host computer as PX4 Host Target which the PX4 community refers to as PX4 Software-In-The-Loop (PX4 SITL).
• Support for Code verification and validation using the Processor-In-Loop simulation.
• Simulink library to access the Pixhawk peripherals such as ADC, PWM, Serial CAN and I2C.
• Simulink library for the uORB middleware.
• Simulink library to get data from the PX4 sensor and estimator module such as Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Battery, Vehicle Attitude and GPS.
• Data logging support from Simulink on the SD card while flying.
• Communicate with the Pixhawk hardware and PX4 Host Target using Connected I/O mode.
• Real-Time parameter tuning and signal acquisition using Monitor & Tune.

Supported PX4 Autopilots

The following Autopilots are supported out-of-the box in the support package

• Cube Orange
• Cube Orange+
• Cube Blue
• Holybro Pixhawk 6X
• Holybro Pixhawk 6C
• Holybro Pixhawk 4
• mRo Pixhawk 1
• ProfiCNC Pixhawk 2.1 (Cube)
• mRo Pixracer

Apart from the above boards, other FMU based boards can be used with the support package by selecting the Hardware board as PX4 Pixhawk Series. More details on this can be found here.

Documentation

• Main Page
• Setup and Configuration
• Deploy algorithms on PX4 Autopilot
• Hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation with PX4 Autopilot
• Host Target simulation with PX4
• Examples
• Blocks
• Release Notes

Getting Started

• Deployment on Cube Orange Autopilot from Simulink
• Deployment on Cube Blue Autopilot from Simulink
• Getting started with uORB blocks in Simulink
• Run Connected I/O Simulation on Pixhawk boards
• Send and Receive Serial data from Pixhawk boads in Simulink
• Getting started with PWM Block in Simulink to send actuator data to Pixhawk hardware
• Read PX4 System parameters in Simulink
• Read Accelerometer values in Simulink from I2C based sensor connected to Pixhawk 4
• Log data on SD Card connected to Pixhawk boards
• Run Processor-in-Loop Simulation on Pixhawk boards

Hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) with PX4 Autopilot Examples

• PX4 Autopilot in Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) Simulation with UAV Dynamics in Simulink
• Scenario Simulation and Flight Visualization with PX4 Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) and UAV Dynamics in Simulink
• PX4 Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) Simulation with Fixed-Wing Plant in Simulink
• Obstacle Avoidance in NVIDIA Jetson with PX4 Autopilot in Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) Simulation with UAV Dynamics Modeled in Simulink
• PX4 Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) Simulation with VTOL Tilt-Rotor Plant in Simulink

Host Target Simulation with PX4 Examples

• Position Tracking for X-Configuration Quadcopter Using Rate Controller
• Maneuvre drone on jMAVSim with Joystick or RC Transmitter while Attitude Controller is running on PX4 Host Target

Support

If you have any support package download or installation problems, obtain the installation file log by following the instructions mentioned here and contact - Technical Support with the installation log.