DTC-MRSD Unified Autonomy & Gimbal Control

Overview

This repository contains the unified software stack for the Team Chiron MRS-D drone system. It consolidates flight autonomy, gimbal control, and vision-based geolocation.

System Architecture

System	Hardware	Role	Key Components
Onboard (Drone)	NVIDIA Jetson Orin	Flight Autonomy & Gimbal Control	AirStack (ROS 2), MAVROS, Behavior Governor, RTSP Streamer
Ground Station	x86_64 Laptop (Ubuntu)	Mission Control & Geolocator	VLM Geolocator, Foxglove Studio, QGroundControl, FVD Dashboard

Communication:

• AirStack (Onboard) operates on ROS_DOMAIN_ID=70.
• Ground Station components operate on ROS_DOMAIN_ID=100.
• A Domain Bridge (running onboard) connects critical topics between the two domains.

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1. Prerequisites

Onboard (Drone)

• Hardware: NVIDIA Jetson Orin (ARM64).
• Software: Ubuntu 20.04/22.04, JetPack 5.x/6.x, Docker + NVIDIA Container Toolkit.
• Peripherals: PX4 Flight Controller (USB), Gimbal Camera (RTSP/USB).

Ground Station

• Hardware: x86_64 Laptop with NVIDIA GPU (recommended for VLM).
• Software: Ubuntu 22.04, Docker, Python 3.10+.
• Network: Reliable WiFi/Radio link to the drone (Static IP configuration recommended).

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2. Installation

Clone this repository on BOTH the Onboard Computer and Ground Station.

git clone --recursive https://github.com/LifGorg/TeamB_mrsd_24.git georgia_dtc_ops_team_chiron_mrsd
cd georgia_dtc_ops_team_chiron_mrsd

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3. Deployment (Ground Station)

Run these steps on your Ground Station Laptop. This sets up the VLM Geolocator and Mission Control dashboard.

The primary method is the FVD (Field Validation & Deployment) script:

./scripts/FVD.sh

What Happens (Ground Side)

The script initializes a tmux session with:

Pane	Component	Description
0	Foxglove Bridge	Connects local ground tools to the ROS network (Domain 100).
1	QGroundControl	Standard flight planning and telemetry.
2	RTSP Viewer	Displays the live video feed from the drone.
3	Local Receiver	Web video server for browser-based monitoring.
4	VLM Geolocator	Core Ground Node. Runs Gemini-based casualty detection and GPS estimation.

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4. Deployment (Onboard Drone)

Run these steps on the Jetson Orin (Onboard).

1. Build the AirStack Image

cd airstack/docker
docker build -f Dockerfile.unified -t airstack-unified:latest .

2. Launch Autonomy Stack

Start the unified container in background mode:

./airstack/docker/run_unified.sh

This automatically starts:

• MAVROS: Communication with PX4.
• Behavior Governor: Flight logic.
• Domain Bridge: Links Domain 70 (Drone) to Domain 100 (Ground).

3. Manual Gimbal Control (Optional)

Enter the container to run specific gimbal nodes if not auto-started:

docker exec -it airstack-unified bash
source /root/ros_ws/install/setup.bash
ros2 run gimbal_control gimbal_control_node

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5. Configuration

VLM Geolocator (Ground)

Located in vlm_geolocator/config/:

• camera_config.yaml: RTSP stream URL (should match drone IP).
• gps_config.yaml: Target GPS coordinate offset logic.

Environment Variables

Set these before running scripts to override defaults:

Variable	Default	Description
ROBOT_NAME	dtc_mrsd	Robot namespace.
ROS_DOMAIN_ID	70 (Onboard) / 100 (Ground)	DDS Domain ID.

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6. Repository Structure

• airstack/ – Onboard Code. ROS 2 workspace for flight autonomy (runs on Jetson).
• vlm_geolocator/ – Ground Code. Casualty detection and geolocation (runs on Laptop).
• operator/ – Ground Tools. Foxglove extensions.
• scripts/ – Utilities. Deployment scripts (e.g., FVD.sh).

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7. Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check
No Video on Ground	Check camera_config.yaml RTSP URL. Verify drone IP reachability.
VLM Not Detecting	Ensure Ground Station has internet access (for Gemini API) or local model loaded.
MAVROS Disconnected	On drone: Check USB connection to Pixhawk (/dev/ttyACM0).
Bridge Not Working	Verify domain_bridge is running in the onboard container.

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For legacy documentation, refer to archived files.