Use a Joystick

You can use a joystick to command your drone via the datalink if you don’t have an RC transmitter.

Currently supported joysticks are listed in the paparazzi/conf/joystick directory.

Learn how to configure a new joystick on this page: Create a new joystick configuration

  • Open the airframe file of you aircraft and change the radio_control type to datalink : <module name="radio_control" type="datalink"/>. Build and upload to the drone.

Note

For the first time you try it, remove the propeller blades from you drone : if your configuration is wrong, motors could start spinning and hurt you!

  • Start a session as usual for your drone

  • Start the “Joystick” tool : Tools->Joystick, and stop the program (it might already be crashed because of a bad options)

  • Edit the Joystick command : $PAPARAZZI_SRC/sw/ground_segment/joystick/input2ivy  -ac AC_NAME JOYSTICK_CONFIG_FILE.xml.

  • Replace AC_NAME by the name of the aircraft (it is probably good as it takes the current A/C), and replace JOYSTICK_CONFIG_FILE by a filename from paparazzi/conf/joystick.

Attention

Initial sticks positions default to middle position until the axis has been moved. Move all axis to avoid bad surprises.

You can also use the -c option (c meaning check) to prevent sending messages with bad values. Messages will start beeing sent only when all axis received events.

$PAPARAZZI_SRC/sw/ground_segment/joystick/input2ivy -ac AC_NAME JOYSTICK_CONFIG_FILE.xml -c

Note

Save the programs as a new session to avoid doing that all over again every time!