UAV Systems Engineering · M6-L1 · Hands-on lab (runs on your machine)

Install PX4

Get a working PX4 build environment, the foundation for every simulation lab that follows.

UAV Software and Flight-Controller Integration
Implementation-specific
About 60 minutes

What you will do

You will clone PX4-Autopilot, run its Ubuntu setup script, and build the SITL target. PX4 documents which Ubuntu releases and simulators are supported for each release: check the “Development environment” page of the PX4 documentation for your version first and follow it where it differs from the commands below, which reflect the documented flow for recent releases.

Before you start

A 64-bit Ubuntu machine, VM or container with at least 20 GB free disk and a few GB of RAM (check the PX4 docs for the supported Ubuntu version).
git, a stable internet connection and sudo rights for the setup script.
Lessons M6-T1 and M6-T3 (what PX4 is and its architecture) are recommended.

Steps

Clone the repository with its submodules: git clone https://github.com/PX4/PX4-Autopilot.git --recursive.
Run the setup script: bash ./PX4-Autopilot/Tools/setup/ubuntu.sh. It installs the toolchain and, by default, the simulator dependencies. Log out and back in (or reboot) when it tells you to.
Check out the release tag you want to work with (git checkout v1.15.0 for example, or the tag you choose), then git submodule update --init --recursive. Record the tag: you will need it for px4_msgs.
Build the SITL target: cd PX4-Autopilot && make px4_sitl.

git clone https://github.com/PX4/PX4-Autopilot.git --recursive
bash ./PX4-Autopilot/Tools/setup/ubuntu.sh
cd PX4-Autopilot
git describe --tags            # note the version you are on
make px4_sitl                  # builds the SITL firmware (first build takes several minutes)

Documented flow for recent PX4 releases. Pin a release tag for reproducibility.

How to know it worked

make px4_sitl finishes without errors and the build directory build/px4_sitl_default exists.
You have written down the exact PX4 tag or commit and your Ubuntu version.
You can state which simulator your PX4 version uses by default (the next lab runs it).

If it does not work

Troubleshooting
Symptom	Likely cause	What to check
Setup script fails on dependencies	Unsupported Ubuntu release or missing sudo	Compare with the supported releases in the PX4 documentation; use a supported version or container
Out of disk or memory during build	Build needs several GB	Free space; reduce parallel jobs
Submodule errors	Interrupted clone or wrong tag	Run `git submodule update --init --recursive` on the checked-out tag
Python or CMake version errors	Mixed system and user packages	Use the versions installed by the setup script; open a fresh shell after setup

References

Record your progress

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