px4_nav

ROS 2 navigation package for PX4-based aerial vehicles with waypoint following and obstacle avoidance logic.
Designed for use with PX4 SITL and Gazebo, but extensible to real hardware.

Prerequisites

Recommended environment:

• Ubuntu 22.04
• ROS 2 Humble

Required dependencies:

• PX4 Autopilot
• px4_msgs (PX4 ROS 2 message definitions)
• Micro XRCE-DDS Agent (PX4 ↔ ROS 2 communication)
• Gazebo (for SITL simulation)

Useful references:

• PX4 ROS 2 User Guide: https://docs.px4.io/main/en/ros2/user_guide
• PX4 Build & SITL: https://docs.px4.io/main/en/dev_setup/building_px4
• Micro XRCE-DDS: https://docs.px4.io/main/en/middleware/uxrce_dds

Setup

1. Install PX4 Autopilot

git clone https://github.com/PX4/PX4-Autopilot.git --recursive
cd PX4-Autopilot
bash ./Tools/setup/ubuntu.sh

Restart your terminal after installation.

2. Create ROS 2 Workspace

mkdir -p ~/ros2_ws/src
cd ~/ros2_ws/src

Clone required packages:

git clone https://github.com/WaliaRohan/px4_nav.git
git clone https://github.com/PX4/px4_msgs.git

3. Build

cd ~/ros2_ws
source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash
colcon build
source install/setup.bash

Running (PX4 SITL)

1. Start PX4 SITL

In a separate terminal:

cd PX4-Autopilot
make px4_sitl gazebo

2. Start Micro XRCE-DDS Agent

In another terminal:

MicroXRCEAgent udp4 -p 8888

3. Run Navigation Node

source ~/ros2_ws/install/setup.bash
ros2 run px4_nav <node_executable>

Replace <node_executable> with the actual executable name defined in CMakeLists.txt.

Notes

• This package assumes PX4 offboard control via ROS 2 topics.
• Message interfaces are defined using px4_msgs.