DEXI MAVSDK Examples

Simple MAVSDK examples for controlling DEXI drone via MAVLink.

Setup

pip3 install --break-system-packages mavsdk

Directory Structure

dexi-mavsdk/
├── missions/      # Autonomous flight scripts
├── control/       # Manual/interactive control
└── config/        # Parameter configuration

Missions

Autonomous flight scripts that takeoff, execute a task, and land.

# Basic takeoff to 2.5m and land
python3 missions/takeoff_and_land.py

# Velocity-based takeoff/land (bypasses position hold issues)
python3 missions/velocity_takeoff_land.py

# Takeoff, fly forward 2m, and land
python3 missions/takeoff_fly_forward_land.py

# Fly a 1m box pattern
python3 missions/box_mission.py

Control

Interactive and manual control scripts.

# Keyboard control (WASD-style)
python3 control/keyboard_control.py

# Simple movement test
python3 control/move_left.py

Config

Parameter configuration scripts for EKF2 sensor fusion modes.

GPS Mode (Default)

Standard mode using GPS for position. Use this for outdoor flight or to reset after testing vision mode.

python3 config/enable_gps.py

Sets: EKF2_GPS_CTRL=7, EKF2_EV_CTRL=0, EKF2_HGT_REF=1 (GPS height)

Vision Mode (No GPS)

Disables GPS and enables visual odometry fusion. Use with apriltag_odometry for indoor flight or GPS-denied environments.

python3 config/disable_gps.py

Sets: EKF2_GPS_CTRL=0, EKF2_EV_CTRL=1 (horizontal position only), EKF2_HGT_REF=0 (barometer)

Warning: In vision mode, the drone will drift if it loses sight of the AprilTag.

Debug

# Monitor visual odometry messages being received by PX4
python3 config/debug_vision_odom.py

Network Configuration

• PX4 SITL runs in px4-sitl container at 172.20.0.4
• MAVLink is sent to code-server container at 172.20.0.8:14540
• ROS2 uses uXRCE-DDS on port 8888 (separate from MAVLink)

Notes

• MAVSDK and ROS2 can run simultaneously - they use different protocols
• MAVLink: Direct drone control via MAVSDK (code-server container)
• uXRCE-DDS: PX4 ROS2 topics via micro-ros-agent (ros2-dev container)