🛩️ ArduPilot CLI Controller

This project is a command-line interface (CLI) tool built in Python to interact with a containerized ArduPilot drone simulator via the MAVLink protocol using pymavlink.

It allows users to read and modify live parameters from the drone simulator in real-time — a powerful tool for customizing and validating autonomous drone behavior.

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🚀 Features

• 🐳 Dockerized ArduPilot SITL (Software In The Loop) environment
• 🔌 MAVLink communication via pymavlink
• 🛠️ CLI interface to:
  • Read parameter values (get <PARAM>)
  • Modify parameter values (set <PARAM> <VALUE>)
• 🔁 Smart runtime logic:
  • Automatically builds and runs Docker container if needed
  • Skips re-building if already available
• 🧪 Fully self-contained and testable via run.sh

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🧰 Prerequisites

• Docker
• Python 3.8+
• Linux/macOS shell (or WSL on Windows)

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🧱 Setup

# Create and activate a virtual environment
python3 -m venv env
source env/bin/activate

# Install required Python packages
pip install -r requirements.txt

▶️ Usage

Run the controller interactively:

./run.sh

Then enter commands:

get SYSID_THISMAV
set ARMING_CHECK 0
exit

Or run one-off commands:

./run.sh get SYSID_THISMAV
./run.sh set ARMING_CHECK 0

📂 Project Structure

.
├── Dockerfile           # ArduPilot SITL simulator setup
├── mavctl.py            # Python CLI tool
├── run.sh               # Launcher script
├── requirements.txt     # Python dependencies
└── README.md            # Project documentation

📌 Example Parameters

• SYSID_THISMAV: System ID of the drone
• ARMING_CHECK: Enable/disable pre-arm safety checks
• FS_THR_ENABLE: Throttle failsafe mode

Full parameter list: https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/parameters.html

🧠 Design Decisions

• Separation of Concerns: The simulator runs in a Docker container; the CLI runs on the host.
• Error Handling: Graceful failure messages and parameter validation.
• Extendability: Easily extendable to support more MAVLink operations.