Encoded MAVLink commands
- 1 Overview
- 2 Requirements
- 3 Encoding scheme
- 3.1 Usage
Overview
It is desired for a human to have the option of viewing and modifying the MAVLink commands generated by Autonomy programs before they are executed. This is provided as a common data structure which is transferred between programs.
Requirements
Must be able to be saved to a file.
Encoding scheme
It was debated whether or not to encode this file as CSV or in Mission Plain-Text File format, however it was decided that the encoding will be saved as a CSV file. The main reasoning behind this was the team’s familiarity with CSV and the flexibility offered by CSV files. Instead of pilots having to look up command codes every time, CSV’s can parse enums (strings) and allow for a more readable interface for pilots. CSV files can also be opened in excel for more user friendly editing.
It is recommended that pilots modify the csv file via Excel or another spreadsheet software in order to minimize errors.
The encoding will have the following headers:
frame | command_type | param1 | param2 | param3 | param4 | param5 | param6 | param7 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
The values will be interpreted as follows:
frame: The frame of reference for the command. Frame should be one of the following two.
global
(usually used for landing or return to launch)global_relative_alt
(all other commands, such as waypoint, spline waypoint, etc.)
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command_type: The command type. Depending on this value, params 1 through 7 will take on different meanings. This should be one of the following enums:
land
:return_to_launch
: Return to the home location where the vehicle was last armed.takeoff
waypoint
: Navigate to the specified waypointwaypoint_spline
loiter_timed
: Loiter at the specified location for an specified amount of timeloiter_unlimited
: Loiter at the specified location for an unlimited amount of timedo_jump
: Jump to the specified command in the mission list.Parsing will throw an error if the command type is unrecognized
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param1 through param7: These take different meanings depending on the command type. See the following table for their respective meanings. N/A means that this parameter is inapplicable and should be set to 0 in the CSV.
More information on the parameters can be found from the link below:
https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-mavlink-mission-command-messages-mav_cmd.html
** If set to zero, the aircraft will land at its current location.
command_type | param1 | param2 | param3 | param4 | param5 | param6 | param7 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
land | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | **Target latitude in decimal degrees | **Target longitude in decimal degrees | N/A |
return_to_launch | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
takeoff | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Altitude in metres |
waypoint | Hold time in seconds | Acceptance radius in metres | N/A | N/A | Latitude in decimal degrees | Longitude in decimal degrees | Altitude in metres |
waypoint_spline | Hold time in seconds | N/A | N/A | N/A | Latitude in decimal degrees | Longitude in decimal degrees | Altitude in metres |
loiter_timed | Loitering time in seconds | N/A | N/A | N/A | Latitude in decimal degrees | Longitude in decimal degrees | Altitude in metres |
loiter_unlimited | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Latitude in decimal degrees | Longitude in decimal degrees | Altitude in metres |
do_jump | The sequence number of the mission command to jump to | Maximum number of times to perform the jump. | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Usage
The encoded MAVLink commands buffer can be passed directly as part of interprocess communication or written to and read from a file.
The HMI program can be a simple text editor or a custom GUI created by WARG.
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