3 Micro air vehicle / autopilot classes. This identifies the individual model. Generic autopilot, full support for everything PIXHAWK autopilot, http://pixhawk.ethz.ch SLUGS autopilot, http://slugsuav.soe.ucsc.edu ArduPilotMega / ArduCopter, http://diydrones.com OpenPilot, http://openpilot.org Generic autopilot only supporting simple waypoints Generic autopilot supporting waypoints and other simple navigation commands Generic autopilot supporting the full mission command set No valid autopilot, e.g. a GCS or other MAVLink component PPZ UAV - http://nongnu.org/paparazzi UAV Dev Board FlexiPilot Generic micro air vehicle. Fixed wing aircraft. Quadrotor Coaxial helicopter Normal helicopter with tail rotor. Ground installation Operator control unit / ground control station Airship, controlled Free balloon, uncontrolled Rocket Ground rover Surface vessel, boat, ship Submarine Hexarotor Octorotor Octorotor Flapping wing Flapping wing These flags encode the MAV mode. 0b10000000 MAV safety set to armed. Motors are enabled / running / can start. Ready to fly. 0b01000000 remote control input is enabled. 0b00100000 hardware in the loop simulation. All motors / actuators are blocked, but internal software is full operational. 0b00010000 system stabilizes electronically its attitude (and optionally position). It needs however further control inputs to move around. 0b00001000 guided mode enabled, system flies MISSIONs / mission items. 0b00000100 autonomous mode enabled, system finds its own goal positions. Guided flag can be set or not, depends on the actual implementation. 0b00000010 system has a test mode enabled. This flag is intended for temporary system tests and should not be used for stable implementations. 0b00000001 Reserved for future use. These values encode the bit positions of the decode position. These values can be used to read the value of a flag bit by combining the base_mode variable with AND with the flag position value. The result will be either 0 or 1, depending on if the flag is set or not. First bit: 10000000 Second bit: 01000000 Third bit: 00100000 Fourth bit: 00010000 Fifth bit: 00001000 Sixt bit: 00000100 Seventh bit: 00000010 Eighth bit: 00000001 Override command, pauses current mission execution and moves immediately to a position Hold at the current position. Continue with the next item in mission execution. Hold at the current position of the system Hold at the position specified in the parameters of the DO_HOLD action These defines are predefined OR-combined mode flags. There is no need to use values from this enum, but it simplifies the use of the mode flags. Note that manual input is enabled in all modes as a safety override. System is not ready to fly, booting, calibrating, etc. No flag is set. System is allowed to be active, under assisted RC control. System is allowed to be active, under assisted RC control. System is allowed to be active, under manual (RC) control, no stabilization System is allowed to be active, under manual (RC) control, no stabilization System is allowed to be active, under autonomous control, manual setpoint System is allowed to be active, under autonomous control, manual setpoint System is allowed to be active, under autonomous control and navigation (the trajectory is decided onboard and not pre-programmed by MISSIONs) System is allowed to be active, under autonomous control and navigation (the trajectory is decided onboard and not pre-programmed by MISSIONs) UNDEFINED mode. This solely depends on the autopilot - use with caution, intended for developers only. UNDEFINED mode. This solely depends on the autopilot - use with caution, intended for developers only. Uninitialized system, state is unknown. System is booting up. System is calibrating and not flight-ready. System is grounded and on standby. It can be launched any time. System is active and might be already airborne. Motors are engaged. System is in a non-normal flight mode. It can however still navigate. System is in a non-normal flight mode. It lost control over parts or over the whole airframe. It is in mayday and going down. System just initialized its power-down sequence, will shut down now. Global coordinate frame, WGS84 coordinate system. First value / x: latitude, second value / y: longitude, third value / z: positive altitude over mean sea level (MSL) Local coordinate frame, Z-up (x: north, y: east, z: down). NOT a coordinate frame, indicates a mission command. Global coordinate frame, WGS84 coordinate system, relative altitude over ground with respect to the home position. First value / x: latitude, second value / y: longitude, third value / z: positive altitude with 0 being at the altitude of the home location. Local coordinate frame, Z-down (x: east, y: north, z: up) Commands to be executed by the MAV. They can be executed on user request, or as part of a mission script. If the action is used in a mission, the parameter mapping to the waypoint/mission message is as follows: Param 1, Param 2, Param 3, Param 4, X: Param 5, Y:Param 6, Z:Param 7. This command list is similar what ARINC 424 is for commercial aircraft: A data format how to interpret waypoint/mission data. Navigate to MISSION. Hold time in decimal seconds. (ignored by fixed wing, time to stay at MISSION for rotary wing) Acceptance radius in meters (if the sphere with this radius is hit, the MISSION counts as reached) 0 to pass through the WP, if > 0 radius in meters to pass by WP. Positive value for clockwise orbit, negative value for counter-clockwise orbit. Allows trajectory control. Desired yaw angle at MISSION (rotary wing) Latitude Longitude Altitude Loiter around this MISSION an unlimited amount of time Empty Empty Radius around MISSION, in meters. If positive loiter clockwise, else counter-clockwise Desired yaw angle. Latitude Longitude Altitude Loiter around this MISSION for X turns Turns Empty Radius around MISSION, in meters. If positive loiter clockwise, else counter-clockwise Desired yaw angle. Latitude Longitude Altitude Loiter around this MISSION for X seconds Seconds (decimal) Empty Radius around MISSION, in meters. If positive loiter clockwise, else counter-clockwise Desired yaw angle. Latitude Longitude Altitude Return to launch location Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Land at location Empty Empty Empty Desired yaw angle. Latitude Longitude Altitude Takeoff from ground / hand Minimum pitch (if airspeed sensor present), desired pitch without sensor Empty Empty Yaw angle (if magnetometer present), ignored without magnetometer Latitude Longitude Altitude Sets the region of interest (ROI) for a sensor set or the vehicle itself. This can then be used by the vehicles control system to control the vehicle attitude and the attitude of various sensors such as cameras. Region of intereset mode. (see MAV_ROI enum) MISSION index/ target ID. (see MAV_ROI enum) ROI index (allows a vehicle to manage multiple ROI's) Empty x the location of the fixed ROI (see MAV_FRAME) y z Control autonomous path planning on the MAV. 0: Disable local obstacle avoidance / local path planning (without resetting map), 1: Enable local path planning, 2: Enable and reset local path planning 0: Disable full path planning (without resetting map), 1: Enable, 2: Enable and reset map/occupancy grid, 3: Enable and reset planned route, but not occupancy grid Empty Yaw angle at goal, in compass degrees, [0..360] Latitude/X of goal Longitude/Y of goal Altitude/Z of goal NOP - This command is only used to mark the upper limit of the NAV/ACTION commands in the enumeration Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Delay mission state machine. Delay in seconds (decimal) Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Ascend/descend at rate. Delay mission state machine until desired altitude reached. Descent / Ascend rate (m/s) Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Finish Altitude Delay mission state machine until within desired distance of next NAV point. Distance (meters) Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Reach a certain target angle. target angle: [0-360], 0 is north speed during yaw change:[deg per second] direction: negative: counter clockwise, positive: clockwise [-1,1] relative offset or absolute angle: [ 1,0] Empty Empty Empty NOP - This command is only used to mark the upper limit of the CONDITION commands in the enumeration Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Set system mode. Mode, as defined by ENUM MAV_MODE Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Jump to the desired command in the mission list. Repeat this action only the specified number of times Sequence number Repeat count Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Change speed and/or throttle set points. Speed type (0=Airspeed, 1=Ground Speed) Speed (m/s, -1 indicates no change) Throttle ( Percent, -1 indicates no change) Empty Empty Empty Empty Changes the home location either to the current location or a specified location. Use current (1=use current location, 0=use specified location) Empty Empty Empty Latitude Longitude Altitude Set a system parameter. Caution! Use of this command requires knowledge of the numeric enumeration value of the parameter. Parameter number Parameter value Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Set a relay to a condition. Relay number Setting (1=on, 0=off, others possible depending on system hardware) Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Cycle a relay on and off for a desired number of cyles with a desired period. Relay number Cycle count Cycle time (seconds, decimal) Empty Empty Empty Empty Set a servo to a desired PWM value. Servo number PWM (microseconds, 1000 to 2000 typical) Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Cycle a between its nominal setting and a desired PWM for a desired number of cycles with a desired period. Servo number PWM (microseconds, 1000 to 2000 typical) Cycle count Cycle time (seconds) Empty Empty Empty Control onboard camera system. Camera ID (-1 for all) Transmission: 0: disabled, 1: enabled compressed, 2: enabled raw Transmission mode: 0: video stream, >0: single images every n seconds (decimal) Recording: 0: disabled, 1: enabled compressed, 2: enabled raw Empty Empty Empty NOP - This command is only used to mark the upper limit of the DO commands in the enumeration Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Trigger calibration. This command will be only accepted if in pre-flight mode. Gyro calibration: 0: no, 1: yes Magnetometer calibration: 0: no, 1: yes Ground pressure: 0: no, 1: yes Radio calibration: 0: no, 1: yes Empty Empty Empty Set sensor offsets. This command will be only accepted if in pre-flight mode. Sensor to adjust the offsets for: 0: gyros, 1: accelerometer, 2: magnetometer, 3: barometer, 4: optical flow X axis offset (or generic dimension 1), in the sensor's raw units Y axis offset (or generic dimension 2), in the sensor's raw units Z axis offset (or generic dimension 3), in the sensor's raw units Generic dimension 4, in the sensor's raw units Generic dimension 5, in the sensor's raw units Generic dimension 6, in the sensor's raw units Request storage of different parameter values and logs. This command will be only accepted if in pre-flight mode. Parameter storage: 0: READ FROM FLASH/EEPROM, 1: WRITE CURRENT TO FLASH/EEPROM Mission storage: 0: READ FROM FLASH/EEPROM, 1: WRITE CURRENT TO FLASH/EEPROM Reserved Reserved Empty Empty Empty Request the reboot or shutdown of system components. 0: Do nothing for autopilot, 1: Reboot autopilot, 2: Shutdown autopilot. 0: Do nothing for onboard computer, 1: Reboot onboard computer, 2: Shutdown onboard computer. Reserved Reserved Empty Empty Empty Hold / continue the current action MAV_GOTO_DO_HOLD: hold MAV_GOTO_DO_CONTINUE: continue with next item in mission plan MAV_GOTO_HOLD_AT_CURRENT_POSITION: Hold at current position MAV_GOTO_HOLD_AT_SPECIFIED_POSITION: hold at specified position MAV_FRAME coordinate frame of hold point Desired yaw angle in degrees Latitude / X position Longitude / Y position Altitude / Z position start running a mission first_item: the first mission item to run last_item: the last mission item to run (after this item is run, the mission ends) Arms / Disarms a component 1 to arm, 0 to disarm Data stream IDs. A data stream is not a fixed set of messages, but rather a recommendation to the autopilot software. Individual autopilots may or may not obey the recommended messages. Enable all data streams Enable IMU_RAW, GPS_RAW, GPS_STATUS packets. Enable GPS_STATUS, CONTROL_STATUS, AUX_STATUS Enable RC_CHANNELS_SCALED, RC_CHANNELS_RAW, SERVO_OUTPUT_RAW Enable ATTITUDE_CONTROLLER_OUTPUT, POSITION_CONTROLLER_OUTPUT, NAV_CONTROLLER_OUTPUT. Enable LOCAL_POSITION, GLOBAL_POSITION/GLOBAL_POSITION_INT messages. Dependent on the autopilot Dependent on the autopilot Dependent on the autopilot The ROI (region of interest) for the vehicle. This can be be used by the vehicle for camera/vehicle attitude alignment (see MAV_CMD_NAV_ROI). No region of interest. Point toward next MISSION. Point toward given MISSION. Point toward fixed location. Point toward of given id. ACK / NACK / ERROR values as a result of MAV_CMDs and for mission item transmission. Command / mission item is ok. Generic error message if none of the other reasons fails or if no detailed error reporting is implemented. The system is refusing to accept this command from this source / communication partner. Command or mission item is not supported, other commands would be accepted. The coordinate frame of this command / mission item is not supported. The coordinate frame of this command is ok, but he coordinate values exceed the safety limits of this system. This is a generic error, please use the more specific error messages below if possible. The X or latitude value is out of range. The Y or longitude value is out of range. The Z or altitude value is out of range. result from a mavlink command Command ACCEPTED and EXECUTED Command TEMPORARY REJECTED/DENIED Command PERMANENTLY DENIED Command UNKNOWN/UNSUPPORTED Command executed, but failed result in a mavlink mission ack mission accepted OK generic error / not accepting mission commands at all right now coordinate frame is not supported command is not supported mission item exceeds storage space one of the parameters has an invalid value param1 has an invalid value param2 has an invalid value param3 has an invalid value param4 has an invalid value x/param5 has an invalid value y/param6 has an invalid value param7 has an invalid value received waypoint out of sequence not accepting any mission commands from this communication partner Indicates the severity level, generally used for status messages to indicate their relative urgency. Based on RFC-5424 using expanded definitions at: http://www.kiwisyslog.com/kb/info:-syslog-message-levels/. System is unusable. This is a "panic" condition. Action should be taken immediately. Indicates error in non-critical systems. Action must be taken immediately. Indicates failure in a primary system. Indicates an error in secondary/redundant systems. Indicates about a possible future error if this is not resolved within a given timeframe. Example would be a low battery warning. An unusual event has occured, though not an error condition. This should be investigated for the root cause. Normal operational messages. Useful for logging. No action is required for these messages. Useful non-operational messages that can assist in debugging. These should not occur during normal operation. The heartbeat message shows that a system is present and responding. The type of the MAV and Autopilot hardware allow the receiving system to treat further messages from this system appropriate (e.g. by laying out the user interface based on the autopilot). Type of the MAV (quadrotor, helicopter, etc., up to 15 types, defined in MAV_TYPE ENUM) Autopilot type / class. defined in MAV_AUTOPILOT ENUM System mode bitfield, see MAV_MODE_FLAGS ENUM in mavlink/include/mavlink_types.h A bitfield for use for autopilot-specific flags. System status flag, see MAV_STATE ENUM MAVLink version, not writable by user, gets added by protocol because of magic data type: uint8_t_mavlink_version The general system state. If the system is following the MAVLink standard, the system state is mainly defined by three orthogonal states/modes: The system mode, which is either LOCKED (motors shut down and locked), MANUAL (system under RC control), GUIDED (system with autonomous position control, position setpoint controlled manually) or AUTO (system guided by path/waypoint planner). The NAV_MODE defined the current flight state: LIFTOFF (often an open-loop maneuver), LANDING, WAYPOINTS or VECTOR. This represents the internal navigation state machine. The system status shows wether the system is currently active or not and if an emergency occured. During the CRITICAL and EMERGENCY states the MAV is still considered to be active, but should start emergency procedures autonomously. After a failure occured it should first move from active to critical to allow manual intervention and then move to emergency after a certain timeout. Bitmask showing which onboard controllers and sensors are present. Value of 0: not present. Value of 1: present. Indices: 0: 3D gyro, 1: 3D acc, 2: 3D mag, 3: absolute pressure, 4: differential pressure, 5: GPS, 6: optical flow, 7: computer vision position, 8: laser based position, 9: external ground-truth (Vicon or Leica). Controllers: 10: 3D angular rate control 11: attitude stabilization, 12: yaw position, 13: z/altitude control, 14: x/y position control, 15: motor outputs / control Bitmask showing which onboard controllers and sensors are enabled: Value of 0: not enabled. Value of 1: enabled. Indices: 0: 3D gyro, 1: 3D acc, 2: 3D mag, 3: absolute pressure, 4: differential pressure, 5: GPS, 6: optical flow, 7: computer vision position, 8: laser based position, 9: external ground-truth (Vicon or Leica). Controllers: 10: 3D angular rate control 11: attitude stabilization, 12: yaw position, 13: z/altitude control, 14: x/y position control, 15: motor outputs / control Bitmask showing which onboard controllers and sensors are operational or have an error: Value of 0: not enabled. Value of 1: enabled. Indices: 0: 3D gyro, 1: 3D acc, 2: 3D mag, 3: absolute pressure, 4: differential pressure, 5: GPS, 6: optical flow, 7: computer vision position, 8: laser based position, 9: external ground-truth (Vicon or Leica). Controllers: 10: 3D angular rate control 11: attitude stabilization, 12: yaw position, 13: z/altitude control, 14: x/y position control, 15: motor outputs / control Maximum usage in percent of the mainloop time, (0%: 0, 100%: 1000) should be always below 1000 Battery voltage, in millivolts (1 = 1 millivolt) Battery current, in 10*milliamperes (1 = 10 milliampere), -1: autopilot does not measure the current Remaining battery energy: (0%: 0, 100%: 100), -1: autopilot estimate the remaining battery Communication drops in percent, (0%: 0, 100%: 10'000), (UART, I2C, SPI, CAN), dropped packets on all links (packets that were corrupted on reception on the MAV) Communication errors (UART, I2C, SPI, CAN), dropped packets on all links (packets that were corrupted on reception on the MAV) Autopilot-specific errors Autopilot-specific errors Autopilot-specific errors Autopilot-specific errors The system time is the time of the master clock, typically the computer clock of the main onboard computer. Timestamp of the master clock in microseconds since UNIX epoch. Timestamp of the component clock since boot time in milliseconds. A ping message either requesting or responding to a ping. This allows to measure the system latencies, including serial port, radio modem and UDP connections. Unix timestamp in microseconds PING sequence 0: request ping from all receiving systems, if greater than 0: message is a ping response and number is the system id of the requesting system 0: request ping from all receiving components, if greater than 0: message is a ping response and number is the system id of the requesting system Request to control this MAV System the GCS requests control for 0: request control of this MAV, 1: Release control of this MAV 0: key as plaintext, 1-255: future, different hashing/encryption variants. The GCS should in general use the safest mode possible initially and then gradually move down the encryption level if it gets a NACK message indicating an encryption mismatch. Password / Key, depending on version plaintext or encrypted. 25 or less characters, NULL terminated. The characters may involve A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and "!?,.-" Accept / deny control of this MAV ID of the GCS this message 0: request control of this MAV, 1: Release control of this MAV 0: ACK, 1: NACK: Wrong passkey, 2: NACK: Unsupported passkey encryption method, 3: NACK: Already under control Emit an encrypted signature / key identifying this system. PLEASE NOTE: This protocol has been kept simple, so transmitting the key requires an encrypted channel for true safety. key Set the system mode, as defined by enum MAV_MODE. There is no target component id as the mode is by definition for the overall aircraft, not only for one component. The system setting the mode The new base mode The new autopilot-specific mode. This field can be ignored by an autopilot. Request to read the onboard parameter with the param_id string id. Onboard parameters are stored as key[const char*] -> value[float]. This allows to send a parameter to any other component (such as the GCS) without the need of previous knowledge of possible parameter names. Thus the same GCS can store different parameters for different autopilots. See also http://qgroundcontrol.org/parameter_interface for a full documentation of QGroundControl and IMU code. System ID Component ID Onboard parameter id, terminated by NUL if the length is less than 16 human-readable chars and WITHOUT null termination (NUL) byte if the length is exactly 16 chars - applications have to provide 16+1 bytes storage if the ID is stored as string Parameter index. Send -1 to use the param ID field as identifier (else the param id will be ignored) Request all parameters of this component. After his request, all parameters are emitted. System ID Component ID Emit the value of a onboard parameter. The inclusion of param_count and param_index in the message allows the recipient to keep track of received parameters and allows him to re-request missing parameters after a loss or timeout. Onboard parameter id, terminated by NUL if the length is less than 16 human-readable chars and WITHOUT null termination (NUL) byte if the length is exactly 16 chars - applications have to provide 16+1 bytes storage if the ID is stored as string Onboard parameter value Onboard parameter type: see MAVLINK_TYPE enum in mavlink/mavlink_types.h Total number of onboard parameters Index of this onboard parameter Set a parameter value TEMPORARILY to RAM. It will be reset to default on system reboot. Send the ACTION MAV_ACTION_STORAGE_WRITE to PERMANENTLY write the RAM contents to EEPROM. IMPORTANT: The receiving component should acknowledge the new parameter value by sending a param_value message to all communication partners. This will also ensure that multiple GCS all have an up-to-date list of all parameters. If the sending GCS did not receive a PARAM_VALUE message within its timeout time, it should re-send the PARAM_SET message. System ID Component ID Onboard parameter id, terminated by NUL if the length is less than 16 human-readable chars and WITHOUT null termination (NUL) byte if the length is exactly 16 chars - applications have to provide 16+1 bytes storage if the ID is stored as string Onboard parameter value Onboard parameter type: see MAVLINK_TYPE enum in mavlink/mavlink_types.h The global position, as returned by the Global Positioning System (GPS). This is NOT the global position estimate of the sytem, but rather a RAW sensor value. See message GLOBAL_POSITION for the global position estimate. Coordinate frame is right-handed, Z-axis up (GPS frame). Timestamp (microseconds since UNIX epoch or microseconds since system boot) 0-1: no fix, 2: 2D fix, 3: 3D fix. Some applications will not use the value of this field unless it is at least two, so always correctly fill in the fix. Latitude in 1E7 degrees Longitude in 1E7 degrees Altitude in 1E3 meters (millimeters) above MSL GPS HDOP horizontal dilution of position in cm (m*100). If unknown, set to: 65535 GPS VDOP horizontal dilution of position in cm (m*100). If unknown, set to: 65535 GPS ground speed (m/s * 100). If unknown, set to: 65535 Course over ground (NOT heading, but direction of movement) in degrees * 100, 0.0..359.99 degrees. If unknown, set to: 65535 Number of satellites visible. If unknown, set to 255 The positioning status, as reported by GPS. This message is intended to display status information about each satellite visible to the receiver. See message GLOBAL_POSITION for the global position estimate. This message can contain information for up to 20 satellites. Number of satellites visible Global satellite ID 0: Satellite not used, 1: used for localization Elevation (0: right on top of receiver, 90: on the horizon) of satellite Direction of satellite, 0: 0 deg, 255: 360 deg. Signal to noise ratio of satellite The RAW IMU readings for the usual 9DOF sensor setup. This message should contain the scaled values to the described units Timestamp (milliseconds since system boot) X acceleration (mg) Y acceleration (mg) Z acceleration (mg) Angular speed around X axis (millirad /sec) Angular speed around Y axis (millirad /sec) Angular speed around Z axis (millirad /sec) X Magnetic field (milli tesla) Y Magnetic field (milli tesla) Z Magnetic field (milli tesla) The RAW IMU readings for the usual 9DOF sensor setup. This message should always contain the true raw values without any scaling to allow data capture and system debugging. Timestamp (microseconds since UNIX epoch or microseconds since system boot) X acceleration (raw) Y acceleration (raw) Z acceleration (raw) Angular speed around X axis (raw) Angular speed around Y axis (raw) Angular speed around Z axis (raw) X Magnetic field (raw) Y Magnetic field (raw) Z Magnetic field (raw) The RAW pressure readings for the typical setup of one absolute pressure and one differential pressure sensor. The sensor values should be the raw, UNSCALED ADC values. Timestamp (microseconds since UNIX epoch or microseconds since system boot) Absolute pressure (raw) Differential pressure 1 (raw) Differential pressure 2 (raw) Raw Temperature measurement (raw) The pressure readings for the typical setup of one absolute and differential pressure sensor. The units are as specified in each field. Timestamp (milliseconds since system boot) Absolute pressure (hectopascal) Differential pressure 1 (hectopascal) Temperature measurement (0.01 degrees celsius) The attitude in the aeronautical frame (right-handed, Z-down, X-front, Y-right). Timestamp (milliseconds since system boot) Roll angle (rad) Pitch angle (rad) Yaw angle (rad) Roll angular speed (rad/s) Pitch angular speed (rad/s) Yaw angular speed (rad/s) The attitude in the aeronautical frame (right-handed, Z-down, X-front, Y-right), expressed as quaternion. Timestamp (milliseconds since system boot) Quaternion component 1 Quaternion component 2 Quaternion component 3 Quaternion component 4 Roll angular speed (rad/s) Pitch angular speed (rad/s) Yaw angular speed (rad/s) The filtered local position (e.g. fused computer vision and accelerometers). Coordinate frame is right-handed, Z-axis down (aeronautical frame, NED / north-east-down convention) Timestamp (milliseconds since system boot) X Position Y Position Z Position X Speed Y Speed Z Speed The filtered global position (e.g. fused GPS and accelerometers). The position is in GPS-frame (right-handed, Z-up). It is designed as scaled integer message since the resolution of float is not sufficient. Timestamp (milliseconds since system boot) Latitude, expressed as * 1E7 Longitude, expressed as * 1E7 Altitude in meters, expressed as * 1000 (millimeters), above MSL Altitude above ground in meters, expressed as * 1000 (millimeters) Ground X Speed (Latitude), expressed as m/s * 100 Ground Y Speed (Longitude), expressed as m/s * 100 Ground Z Speed (Altitude), expressed as m/s * 100 Compass heading in degrees * 100, 0.0..359.99 degrees. If unknown, set to: 65535 The scaled values of the RC channels received. (-100%) -10000, (0%) 0, (100%) 10000 Timestamp (milliseconds since system boot) Servo output port (set of 8 outputs = 1 port). Most MAVs will just use one, but this allows to encode more than 8 servos. RC channel 1 value scaled, (-100%) -10000, (0%) 0, (100%) 10000 RC channel 2 value scaled, (-100%) -10000, (0%) 0, (100%) 10000 RC channel 3 value scaled, (-100%) -10000, (0%) 0, (100%) 10000 RC channel 4 value scaled, (-100%) -10000, (0%) 0, (100%) 10000 RC channel 5 value scaled, (-100%) -10000, (0%) 0, (100%) 10000 RC channel 6 value scaled, (-100%) -10000, (0%) 0, (100%) 10000 RC channel 7 value scaled, (-100%) -10000, (0%) 0, (100%) 10000 RC channel 8 value scaled, (-100%) -10000, (0%) 0, (100%) 10000 Receive signal strength indicator, 0: 0%, 255: 100% The RAW values of the RC channels received. The standard PPM modulation is as follows: 1000 microseconds: 0%, 2000 microseconds: 100%. Individual receivers/transmitters might violate this specification. Timestamp (milliseconds since system boot) Servo output port (set of 8 outputs = 1 port). Most MAVs will just use one, but this allows to encode more than 8 servos. RC channel 1 value, in microseconds RC channel 2 value, in microseconds RC channel 3 value, in microseconds RC channel 4 value, in microseconds RC channel 5 value, in microseconds RC channel 6 value, in microseconds RC channel 7 value, in microseconds RC channel 8 value, in microseconds Receive signal strength indicator, 0: 0%, 255: 100% The RAW values of the servo outputs (for RC input from the remote, use the RC_CHANNELS messages). The standard PPM modulation is as follows: 1000 microseconds: 0%, 2000 microseconds: 100%. Timestamp (microseconds since system boot) Servo output port (set of 8 outputs = 1 port). Most MAVs will just use one, but this allows to encode more than 8 servos. Servo output 1 value, in microseconds Servo output 2 value, in microseconds Servo output 3 value, in microseconds Servo output 4 value, in microseconds Servo output 5 value, in microseconds Servo output 6 value, in microseconds Servo output 7 value, in microseconds Servo output 8 value, in microseconds Request the overall list of MISSIONs from the system/component. http://qgroundcontrol.org/mavlink/waypoint_protocol System ID Component ID Start index, 0 by default End index, -1 by default (-1: send list to end). Else a valid index of the list This message is sent to the MAV to write a partial list. If start index == end index, only one item will be transmitted / updated. If the start index is NOT 0 and above the current list size, this request should be REJECTED! System ID Component ID Start index, 0 by default and smaller / equal to the largest index of the current onboard list. End index, equal or greater than start index. Message encoding a mission item. This message is emitted to announce the presence of a mission item and to set a mission item on the system. The mission item can be either in x, y, z meters (type: LOCAL) or x:lat, y:lon, z:altitude. Local frame is Z-down, right handed (NED), global frame is Z-up, right handed (ENU). See also http://qgroundcontrol.org/mavlink/waypoint_protocol. System ID Component ID Sequence The coordinate system of the MISSION. see MAV_FRAME in mavlink_types.h The scheduled action for the MISSION. see MAV_CMD in common.xml MAVLink specs false:0, true:1 autocontinue to next wp PARAM1 / For NAV command MISSIONs: Radius in which the MISSION is accepted as reached, in meters PARAM2 / For NAV command MISSIONs: Time that the MAV should stay inside the PARAM1 radius before advancing, in milliseconds PARAM3 / For LOITER command MISSIONs: Orbit to circle around the MISSION, in meters. If positive the orbit direction should be clockwise, if negative the orbit direction should be counter-clockwise. PARAM4 / For NAV and LOITER command MISSIONs: Yaw orientation in degrees, [0..360] 0 = NORTH PARAM5 / local: x position, global: latitude PARAM6 / y position: global: longitude PARAM7 / z position: global: altitude Request the information of the mission item with the sequence number seq. The response of the system to this message should be a MISSION_ITEM message. http://qgroundcontrol.org/mavlink/waypoint_protocol System ID Component ID Sequence Set the mission item with sequence number seq as current item. This means that the MAV will continue to this mission item on the shortest path (not following the mission items in-between). System ID Component ID Sequence Message that announces the sequence number of the current active mission item. The MAV will fly towards this mission item. Sequence Request the overall list of mission items from the system/component. System ID Component ID This message is emitted as response to MISSION_REQUEST_LIST by the MAV and to initiate a write transaction. The GCS can then request the individual mission item based on the knowledge of the total number of MISSIONs. System ID Component ID Number of mission items in the sequence Delete all mission items at once. System ID Component ID A certain mission item has been reached. The system will either hold this position (or circle on the orbit) or (if the autocontinue on the WP was set) continue to the next MISSION. Sequence Ack message during MISSION handling. The type field states if this message is a positive ack (type=0) or if an error happened (type=non-zero). System ID Component ID See MAV_MISSION_RESULT enum As local MISSIONs exist, the global MISSION reference allows to transform between the local coordinate frame and the global (GPS) coordinate frame. This can be necessary when e.g. in- and outdoor settings are connected and the MAV should move from in- to outdoor. System ID global position * 1E7 global position * 1E7 global position * 1000 Once the MAV sets a new GPS-Local correspondence, this message announces the origin (0,0,0) position Latitude (WGS84), expressed as * 1E7 Longitude (WGS84), expressed as * 1E7 Altitude(WGS84), expressed as * 1000 Set the setpoint for a local position controller. This is the position in local coordinates the MAV should fly to. This message is sent by the path/MISSION planner to the onboard position controller. As some MAVs have a degree of freedom in yaw (e.g. all helicopters/quadrotors), the desired yaw angle is part of the message. System ID Component ID Coordinate frame - valid values are only MAV_FRAME_LOCAL_NED or MAV_FRAME_LOCAL_ENU x position y position z position Desired yaw angle Transmit the current local setpoint of the controller to other MAVs (collision avoidance) and to the GCS. Coordinate frame - valid values are only MAV_FRAME_LOCAL_NED or MAV_FRAME_LOCAL_ENU x position y position z position Desired yaw angle Transmit the current local setpoint of the controller to other MAVs (collision avoidance) and to the GCS. Coordinate frame - valid values are only MAV_FRAME_GLOBAL or MAV_FRAME_GLOBAL_RELATIVE_ALT WGS84 Latitude position in degrees * 1E7 WGS84 Longitude position in degrees * 1E7 WGS84 Altitude in meters * 1000 (positive for up) Desired yaw angle in degrees * 100 Set the current global position setpoint. Coordinate frame - valid values are only MAV_FRAME_GLOBAL or MAV_FRAME_GLOBAL_RELATIVE_ALT WGS84 Latitude position in degrees * 1E7 WGS84 Longitude position in degrees * 1E7 WGS84 Altitude in meters * 1000 (positive for up) Desired yaw angle in degrees * 100 Set a safety zone (volume), which is defined by two corners of a cube. This message can be used to tell the MAV which setpoints/MISSIONs to accept and which to reject. Safety areas are often enforced by national or competition regulations. System ID Component ID Coordinate frame, as defined by MAV_FRAME enum in mavlink_types.h. Can be either global, GPS, right-handed with Z axis up or local, right handed, Z axis down. x position 1 / Latitude 1 y position 1 / Longitude 1 z position 1 / Altitude 1 x position 2 / Latitude 2 y position 2 / Longitude 2 z position 2 / Altitude 2 Read out the safety zone the MAV currently assumes. Coordinate frame, as defined by MAV_FRAME enum in mavlink_types.h. Can be either global, GPS, right-handed with Z axis up or local, right handed, Z axis down. x position 1 / Latitude 1 y position 1 / Longitude 1 z position 1 / Altitude 1 x position 2 / Latitude 2 y position 2 / Longitude 2 z position 2 / Altitude 2 Set roll, pitch and yaw. System ID Component ID Desired roll angle in radians Desired pitch angle in radians Desired yaw angle in radians Collective thrust, normalized to 0 .. 1 Set roll, pitch and yaw. System ID Component ID Desired roll angular speed in rad/s Desired pitch angular speed in rad/s Desired yaw angular speed in rad/s Collective thrust, normalized to 0 .. 1 Setpoint in roll, pitch, yaw currently active on the system. Timestamp in milliseconds since system boot Desired roll angle in radians Desired pitch angle in radians Desired yaw angle in radians Collective thrust, normalized to 0 .. 1 Setpoint in rollspeed, pitchspeed, yawspeed currently active on the system. Timestamp in milliseconds since system boot Desired roll angular speed in rad/s Desired pitch angular speed in rad/s Desired yaw angular speed in rad/s Collective thrust, normalized to 0 .. 1 Setpoint in the four motor speeds System ID of the system that should set these motor commands Front motor in + configuration, front left motor in x configuration Right motor in + configuration, front right motor in x configuration Back motor in + configuration, back right motor in x configuration Left motor in + configuration, back left motor in x configuration Setpoint for up to four quadrotors in a group / wing ID of the quadrotor group (0 - 255, up to 256 groups supported) ID of the flight mode (0 - 255, up to 256 modes supported) Desired roll angle in radians +-PI (+-32767) Desired pitch angle in radians +-PI (+-32767) Desired yaw angle in radians, scaled to int16 +-PI (+-32767) Collective thrust, scaled to uint16 (0..65535) Outputs of the APM navigation controller. The primary use of this message is to check the response and signs of the controller before actual flight and to assist with tuning controller parameters. Current desired roll in degrees Current desired pitch in degrees Current desired heading in degrees Bearing to current MISSION/target in degrees Distance to active MISSION in meters Current altitude error in meters Current airspeed error in meters/second Current crosstrack error on x-y plane in meters Setpoint for up to four quadrotors in a group / wing ID of the quadrotor group (0 - 255, up to 256 groups supported) ID of the flight mode (0 - 255, up to 256 modes supported) RGB red channel (0-255) RGB green channel (0-255) RGB blue channel (0-255) Desired roll angle in radians +-PI (+-32767) Desired pitch angle in radians +-PI (+-32767) Desired yaw angle in radians, scaled to int16 +-PI (+-32767) Collective thrust, scaled to uint16 (0..65535) Corrects the systems state by adding an error correction term to the position and velocity, and by rotating the attitude by a correction angle. x position error y position error z position error roll error (radians) pitch error (radians) yaw error (radians) x velocity y velocity z velocity The target requested to send the message stream. The target requested to send the message stream. The ID of the requested data stream The requested interval between two messages of this type 1 to start sending, 0 to stop sending. The ID of the requested data stream The requested interval between two messages of this type 1 stream is enabled, 0 stream is stopped. The system to be controlled roll pitch yaw thrust roll control enabled auto:0, manual:1 pitch auto:0, manual:1 yaw auto:0, manual:1 thrust auto:0, manual:1 The RAW values of the RC channels sent to the MAV to override info received from the RC radio. A value of -1 means no change to that channel. A value of 0 means control of that channel should be released back to the RC radio. The standard PPM modulation is as follows: 1000 microseconds: 0%, 2000 microseconds: 100%. Individual receivers/transmitters might violate this specification. System ID Component ID RC channel 1 value, in microseconds RC channel 2 value, in microseconds RC channel 3 value, in microseconds RC channel 4 value, in microseconds RC channel 5 value, in microseconds RC channel 6 value, in microseconds RC channel 7 value, in microseconds RC channel 8 value, in microseconds Metrics typically displayed on a HUD for fixed wing aircraft Current airspeed in m/s Current ground speed in m/s Current heading in degrees, in compass units (0..360, 0=north) Current throttle setting in integer percent, 0 to 100 Current altitude (MSL), in meters Current climb rate in meters/second Send a command with up to four parameters to the MAV System which should execute the command Component which should execute the command, 0 for all components Command ID, as defined by MAV_CMD enum. 0: First transmission of this command. 1-255: Confirmation transmissions (e.g. for kill command) Parameter 1, as defined by MAV_CMD enum. Parameter 2, as defined by MAV_CMD enum. Parameter 3, as defined by MAV_CMD enum. Parameter 4, as defined by MAV_CMD enum. Parameter 5, as defined by MAV_CMD enum. Parameter 6, as defined by MAV_CMD enum. Parameter 7, as defined by MAV_CMD enum. Report status of a command. Includes feedback wether the command was executed. Command ID, as defined by MAV_CMD enum. See MAV_RESULT enum The offset in X, Y, Z and yaw between the LOCAL_POSITION_NED messages of MAV X and the global coordinate frame in NED coordinates. Coordinate frame is right-handed, Z-axis down (aeronautical frame, NED / north-east-down convention) Timestamp (milliseconds since system boot) X Position Y Position Z Position Roll Pitch Yaw Sent from simulation to autopilot. This packet is useful for high throughput applications such as hardware in the loop simulations. Timestamp (microseconds since UNIX epoch or microseconds since system boot) Roll angle (rad) Pitch angle (rad) Yaw angle (rad) Roll angular speed (rad/s) in body frame Pitch angular speed (rad/s) in body frame Yaw angular speed (rad/s) in body frame Latitude, expressed as * 1E7 Longitude, expressed as * 1E7 Altitude in meters, expressed as * 1000 (millimeters) Ground X Speed (Latitude), expressed as m/s * 100 Ground Y Speed (Longitude), expressed as m/s * 100 Ground Z Speed (Altitude), expressed as m/s * 100 (+ve down) X acceleration (mg) in body frame (+ve forward) Y acceleration (mg) in body frame (+ve right) Z acceleration (mg) in body frame (+ve down) Sent from autopilot to simulation. Hardware in the loop control outputs Timestamp (microseconds since UNIX epoch or microseconds since system boot) Control output -1 .. 1 Control output -1 .. 1 Control output -1 .. 1 Throttle 0 .. 1 Aux 1, -1 .. 1 Aux 2, -1 .. 1 Aux 3, -1 .. 1 Aux 4, -1 .. 1 System mode (MAV_MODE) Navigation mode (MAV_NAV_MODE) Sent from simulation to autopilot. The RAW values of the RC channels received. The standard PPM modulation is as follows: 1000 microseconds: 0%, 2000 microseconds: 100%. Individual receivers/transmitters might violate this specification. Timestamp (microseconds since UNIX epoch or microseconds since system boot) RC channel 1 value, in microseconds RC channel 2 value, in microseconds RC channel 3 value, in microseconds RC channel 4 value, in microseconds RC channel 5 value, in microseconds RC channel 6 value, in microseconds RC channel 7 value, in microseconds RC channel 8 value, in microseconds RC channel 9 value, in microseconds RC channel 10 value, in microseconds RC channel 11 value, in microseconds RC channel 12 value, in microseconds Receive signal strength indicator, 0: 0%, 255: 100% Optical flow from a flow sensor (e.g. optical mouse sensor) Timestamp (UNIX) Sensor ID Flow in pixels in x-sensor direction Flow in pixels in y-sensor direction Flow in meters in x-sensor direction, angular-speed compensated Flow in meters in y-sensor direction, angular-speed compensated Optical flow quality / confidence. 0: bad, 255: maximum quality Ground distance in meters. Positive value: distance known. Negative value: Unknown distance Timestamp (milliseconds) Global X position Global Y position Global Z position Roll angle in rad Pitch angle in rad Yaw angle in rad Timestamp (milliseconds) Global X position Global Y position Global Z position Roll angle in rad Pitch angle in rad Yaw angle in rad Timestamp (milliseconds) Global X speed Global Y speed Global Z speed Timestamp (milliseconds) Global X position Global Y position Global Z position Roll angle in rad Pitch angle in rad Yaw angle in rad Send raw controller memory. The use of this message is discouraged for normal packets, but a quite efficient way for testing new messages and getting experimental debug output. Starting address of the debug variables Version code of the type variable. 0=unknown, type ignored and assumed int16_t. 1=as below Type code of the memory variables. for ver = 1: 0=16 x int16_t, 1=16 x uint16_t, 2=16 x Q15, 3=16 x 1Q14 Memory contents at specified address Name Timestamp x y z Send a key-value pair as float. The use of this message is discouraged for normal packets, but a quite efficient way for testing new messages and getting experimental debug output. Timestamp (milliseconds since system boot) Name of the debug variable Floating point value Send a key-value pair as integer. The use of this message is discouraged for normal packets, but a quite efficient way for testing new messages and getting experimental debug output. Timestamp (milliseconds since system boot) Name of the debug variable Signed integer value Status text message. These messages are printed in yellow in the COMM console of QGroundControl. WARNING: They consume quite some bandwidth, so use only for important status and error messages. If implemented wisely, these messages are buffered on the MCU and sent only at a limited rate (e.g. 10 Hz). Severity of status. Relies on the definitions within RFC-5424. See enum MAV_SEVERITY. Status text message, without null termination character Send a debug value. The index is used to discriminate between values. These values show up in the plot of QGroundControl as DEBUG N. Timestamp (milliseconds since system boot) index of debug variable DEBUG value