Abstract:
This survey provides a comprehensive comparison of prominent open-source unmanned
aerial vehicle (UAV) autopilots, focusing on their hardware compatibility, software features, and
communication protocols. Additionally, it assesses the impact of these autopilots on research and
education by examining their potential for integration with companion computers, compatibility
with robot operating system (ROS) middleware and the MATLAB/Simulink environment, and the
availability of simulation-in-the-loop (SITL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation tools. The
paper concludes with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of these leading opensource autopilots.