Generic ROS-Based Multirotor Architecture for Controller Testing in Indoor Environments

This paper proposes a three layer architecture as well as an on-board low level controller for indoor navigation of multirotors, with implementation and testing on a hexacopter. Robot Operating System (ROS) and Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) were used to communicate between the system's architectural levels. A decentralized cascade Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) control system was designed as a low level controller for normal operation with a fail-safe backup mode of operation to prevent a system crash in case of an unnatural architectural failure, and were implemented in the on-board computer. The system communication was highly reliable and accurate, with full communication cycle frequency of 29Hz. The simulation results are satisfactory as the system has some minor overshoot. The roll, pitch and yaw controllers are decent as they stabilize quickly with and with almost no oscillations.