ArduPilot development

Clone the repository

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot.git
cd ardupilot
git submodule update --init --recursive

Run the following commands from the ArduPilot repository root.

Install prerequisites

./Tools/environment_install/install-prereqs-ubuntu.sh -y
. ~/.profile

Build SITL

./waf configure --board sitl
./waf copter

To clean build outputs:

./waf clean

Run SITL

./Tools/autotest/sim_vehicle.py -v ArduCopter -f quad --map --console

Use the Okushiga location

Open the locations file:

nano Tools/autotest/locations.txt

Add this entry:

Okushiga=36.779180,138.527999,1500,0

Start one vehicle with the custom parameter file (adjust local paths as needed):

/home/kai/dev/ardupilot/Tools/autotest/sim_vehicle.py -v ArduCopter -f quad -L Okushiga --map --console --count=1 --add-param-file=/home/kai/ap_sitl_copter.parm

Build and upload for CubeBlack

./waf configure --board CubeBlack
./waf copter
./waf --targets bin/arducopter --upload

WebMavlinkStream with Tokyo Station SITL

After building Copter SITL in /home/kai/dev/ardupilot, run these commands from the OpenKAI repository root, in separate terminals:

# Terminal 1: OpenKAI's two UDP listeners and browser viewer
cmake --build build -j2
build/OpenKAI jsonCfg/WebMavlinkStream.json

# Terminal 2: ArduCopter SITL and MAVProxy
docs/ArduPilot/run_web_mavlink_sitl.sh

Launch QGroundControl with automatic UDP connection enabled on 14550. Open http://localhost:8080/ and click Start for visualization. Use QGC to send commands; the browser viewer is read-only.

The launcher loads WebMavlinkStream.parm with --add-param-file. The file sets SIM_OPOS_LAT=35.6812 and SIM_OPOS_LNG=139.7655, approximately Tokyo Station's Marunouchi plaza, SIM_OPOS_ALT=5 m MSL and SIM_OPOS_HDG=0 degrees (north). The altitude is a chosen simulation ground level, not a surveyed elevation. It also sets vehicle system ID 1, MAVLink 2, and position/attitude/status stream rates.

Map windows and network destinations are sim_vehicle.py / MAVProxy launch options, not ArduPilot parameters. The launcher omits --map and --console, uses --no-extra-ports to disable implicit UDP outputs, and supplies:

UDP destination	Listener	Purpose
127.0.0.1:14550	QGC	Telemetry and commands
127.0.0.1:14551	OpenKAI udpSitl	Future bidirectional SITL handlers
127.0.0.1:14552	OpenKAI udpMavlink	Telemetry for the web viewer

There are three destinations because OpenKAI has two separate UDP connections and QGC has its own. The listeners are bound by OpenKAI and QGC; SITL's MAVProxy forwards telemetry to them and relays replies. The web viewer then publishes over HTTP/WebSocket on 8080. --mavproxy-args '--streamrate=-1' leaves the parameter-file stream rates in place; QGC may request different rates.

In WebMavlinkStream.json, udpSitl connects sitl_rx / sitl_tx through mavlinkSitl to sitlVehicle. Its bW2R:true learns MAVProxy's return address when telemetry arrives. Future handlers should use this stream. The existing vehicle stream remains dedicated to visualization; the two decoders use channels 1 and 0, filtering vehicle system/component 1/1. Sending commands from OpenKAI still requires completing the existing MavMsgBase::getMsgQueue TODO. Future setters should receive explicit sender IDs 200/191; the decoder's mySystemID / myComponentID fields do not currently apply them to encoded messages.

The launcher reuses the existing build with --no-rebuild and stores EEPROM, logs and other simulation files under build/sitl-web-mavlink. Saved eeprom.bin parameters override new .parm defaults. For a clean parameter reset of this dedicated simulation, run:

docs/ArduPilot/run_web_mavlink_sitl.sh -w

Use ARDUPILOT_DIR=/path/to/ardupilot to select another checkout, or SITL_RUN_DIR=/path/to/state to select another simulation state directory. Additional launcher arguments are passed to sim_vehicle.py; -w resets the selected directory's saved parameters. Rebuild ArduPilot separately after changing its code.

See the viewer guide for model assets and MSL/ellipsoid height alignment, and the official SITL usage and MAVProxy forwarding documentation for launch and connection options.