These are some (hopefully short-lived) intructions on how to get this avoidance example running in dronekit-python. These instructions assume you are running under Linux, but with minimal modification should run on other operating systems.

Please note that these instructions will significantly change your environment. Unless you are quite familiar with how your build environment is put together you may wish to do this in a separate stand-alone environment.

1. Run peterbarker's source-system-filtering branch of dronekit-python

Given that this README file exists within that branch, this should not be too much of a problem.

The branch can be cloned from https://github.com/peterbarker/dronekit-python

DRONEKIT_TOP=$HOME # e.g.
cd $DRONEKIT_TOP/dronekit-python
git remote add peterbarker https://github.com/peterbarker/dronekit-python
git fetch peterbarker
git checkout peterbarker/source-system-filtering
python setup.py build install --user --force

2. Run a version of pymavlink which contains source system filtering:

ARDUPILOT_HOME=$HOME/ardupilot # e.g.
cd $ARDUPILOT_HOME/modules/mavlink/pymavlink
git remote add peterbarker https://github.com/peterbarker/pymavlink
git fetch peterbarker
git checkout peterbarker/mavsource
python setup.py build install --user --force

Note that in the above shell code we are re-using a pymavlink repository present in a buildable ArduPilot repository. You can instead clone the pymavlink tree directly.

3. Run peterbarker's avoidance MAVProxy branch

MAVPROXY_HOME=$HOME/ardupilot # e.g.
cd $MAVPROXY_HOME
git remote add peterbarker https://github.com/peterbarker/MAVProxy
git fetch peterbarker
git checkout avoidance
python setup.py build install --user --force

4. Connect a GCS to port 3456

This varies by GCS. With MAVProxy you might run this:

mavproxy.py --master udpin:localhost:3456
module load avoidance

With GQGroundControl you might try this: - run qgroundcontrol - Hamburger -> Comm Links - Add (near the bottom of the screen) - Type: UDP - Listening port 3456

5. Run the avoidance sample program:

DRONEKIT_TOP=$HOME # e.g.
ARDUPILOT_HOME=$HOME/ardupilot
export PYTHONPATH=$DRONEKIT_TOP/dronekit-python
cd $DRONEKIT_TOP/dronekit-python/examples/avoidance
# this assumes you are compiling your own ArduPilot binary:
python avoidance.py --binary $ARDUPILOT_HOME/build/sitl-debug/bin/arducopter-quad --resolution=PERPENDICULAR --defaults=$ARDUPILOT_HOME/Tools/autotest/copter_params.parm --extra-connection=udpout:localhost:3456

6. What you should see:

• two quadcopters should both enter guided mode
• both should rise to 5m
• one of the copters will start to head north
• a second quadcopter will start to head north-north-west
• the second quadcopter will approach too closely to the first quadcopter and take a perpendicular course to the first quadcopter