Summary

This chapter introduced the concept of aerial robots and discussed their main elements. We also described one of the most famous autopilot boards used to develop custom applications with UAV – the Pixhawk control board running the PX4 autopilot. After we learned how to use real multirotor platforms and integrate them with ROS, we then went on to discuss two simulation modalities. It is very important to simulate the effect of control algorithms before running them on a real UAV. This is in order to prevent damage to the robot and nearby people.

In the next chapter, we will discuss how to interface microcontroller boards and actuators with ROS.

Here are some questions based on what we learned in this chapter.