Design an Aircraft Autopilot in Python using FlightGear
Flight Stabilization & Control, PID Tuning, Sensor Fusion (Complementary & Kalman Filter), Automated Waypoint Navigation
Design an Aircraft Autopilot in Python using FlightGear free download
Flight Stabilization & Control, PID Tuning, Sensor Fusion (Complementary & Kalman Filter), Automated Waypoint Navigation
Welcome to this hands-on course where you'll learn how to build an aircraft autopilot system in Python using the FlightGear simulator. Starting with the basics of aircraft dynamics, FlightGear setup, and communication over UDP sockets, you'll gradually progress to writing Python scripts that control ailerons, elevators, and rudders, and even perform automated take-offs. You'll dive into flight stabilization using PID controllers, understand the role of IMUs, and implement key flight maneuvers like wing leveling, altitude hold, and coordinated turns. As the course advances, you'll develop automated waypoint navigation using GPS concepts, Haversine formulas, and heading control. Finally, you'll explore advanced sensor fusion techniques—like complementary and Kalman filters—to estimate aircraft orientation and position, and use it for autonomous waypoint navigation. Whether you're an aspiring aerospace engineer, a hobbyist, or a developer interested in autonomous systems, this course offers the perfect blend of theory and practical coding to bring your own autopilot system to life.
Course Contents:
Section 1: Introduction
Introduction to Flightgear and its Python Interface
Understanding UDP Sockets Used for Communication between Python and Flightgear
Understanding Roll, Pitch & Yaw
Installing Flightgear & Flightgear Python Library in Linux
Python Script to Control the Aileron, Elevator and Rudder of an Aircraft
Python Program for Automated Plane Take-off
Important Functions in Python Program For Automated Takeoff
Section 2: Basic Flight Stabilization & Control
Wing Leveling Using PID Controller
What is an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and its function?
Proportional Integral Derivateive (PID) Controller
Python Code for Automatic Wing Leveling
How to Tune PID Controller Coefficients?
How Adverse Yaw Can Trigger Dutch Roll?
What is Coordinated Turn to avoid Adverse Yaw?
How to Implement Coordinated Turn?
Python Code for Automatic Wing Leveling with Co-ordinated Turn Logic
Aircraft Altitude Hold Using the Proportional Controller
Python Code for Aircraft Altitude Hold Using the Proportional Controller
Section 3: Automated Navigation & Waypoint Following
What is Waypoint Following?
What are Latitude and Longitude?
Haversine Formula for Distance Calculation & implementation in code
Bearing Calculation & implementation in code
PID Controller for Heading Adjustment
How to Add Waypoints?
Waypoint Switching Logic
Python Code for Automated Waypoint Navigation
Section 4: Advanced Aircraft Stabilization based upon Sensor Fusion of IMU Data
Automatic Wing Leveling Based Upon IMU Data
Understanding IMU measurements
Roll and Pitch Estimation using Accelerometer Data
Roll and Pitch Estimation using Gyroscopic Data
Complementary Filter for Sensor Fusion
Yaw Estimation Using Gyroscope
Overall Block Diagram for Roll, Pitch and Yaw Estimation
PID Controllers for Roll and Pitch Control
Python Program Automatic Wing Leveling Based Upon IMU Data
Section 5: Advanced Automated Waypoint Navigation based upon Sensor Fusion
Automated Waypoint Navigation based on Sensor Fusion
NED (North-East-Down) Co-ordinate System
Body Frame Co-ordinate System
Body Frame to NED Frame Conversion
Overview of Kalman Filter
Problem Context: Aircraft State Estimation
Kalman Filter Prediction & update steps
Kalman Filter implementation in Python Code
Transform from Body to NED Frame in Python Code
Python Code for Automated Waypoint Navigation using Sensor Fusion
