Simulation of two drones using PyQt and Dronekit

In this tutorial, we will walk through how to create a simulation of two drones using PyQt and Dronekit.

PyQt is a Python library that allows you to create desktop applications with a GUI. Dronekit is a set of APIs and tools that allows you to create applications for controlling drones. By combining these two libraries, we can create a simulation of two drones interacting with each other in a virtual environment.

To get started, make sure you have PyQt installed on your system. You can install PyQt using pip by running the following command:

pip install PyQt5

Next, you will need to set up a virtual environment for your project. You can create a virtual environment using the following commands:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

Once you have your virtual environment set up, you will need to install Dronekit. You can install Dronekit using pip by running the following command:

pip install dronekit

Now that you have PyQt and Dronekit installed, let’s start by creating a simple GUI using PyQt. Create a new Python file and import the necessary PyQt modules:

from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication, QWidget, QVBoxLayout, QLabel

app = QApplication([])
window = QWidget()
layout = QVBoxLayout()
label = QLabel('Hello, world!')

layout.addWidget(label)
window.setLayout(layout)
window.show()
app.exec_()

Run this code to test your PyQt installation. You should see a window with the text "Hello, world!" displayed on it.

Next, let’s create a simulation of two drones using Dronekit. We will create two Dronekit vehicles, one for each drone, and then simulate their interaction with each other.

from dronekit import connect, VehicleMode

# Connect to the first drone
vehicle1 = connect('udp:127.0.0.1:14551', wait_ready=True)

# Connect to the second drone
vehicle2 = connect('udp:127.0.0.1:14552', wait_ready=True)

# Set the mode of the first drone to GUIDED
vehicle1.mode = VehicleMode("GUIDED")

# Set the mode of the second drone to GUIDED
vehicle2.mode = VehicleMode("GUIDED")

# Arm the first drone
vehicle1.armed = True

# Arm the second drone
vehicle2.armed = True

# Take off the first drone to an altitude of 10 meters
vehicle1.simple_takeoff(10)

# Take off the second drone to an altitude of 10 meters
vehicle2.simple_takeoff(10)

# Wait for both drones to reach their target altitude
while not vehicle1.location.global_relative_frame.alt == 10:
    pass

while not vehicle2.location.global_relative_frame.alt == 10:
    pass

# Land both drones
vehicle1.mode = VehicleMode("LAND")
vehicle2.mode = VehicleMode("LAND")

# Close the connections to the drones
vehicle1.close()
vehicle2.close()

This code will create two Dronekit vehicles and simulate their interaction with each other by taking off to an altitude of 10 meters and then landing.

Now, let’s combine our PyQt GUI with our Dronekit simulation. We will create a simple GUI that displays the status of each drone and allows the user to control their movement.

from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication, QWidget, QVBoxLayout, QLabel, QPushButton

class MainWindow(QWidget):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        self.setWindowTitle('Drone Simulation')

        layout = QVBoxLayout()

        self.drone1_label = QLabel('Drone 1: Idle')
        layout.addWidget(self.drone1_label)

        self.drone2_label = QLabel('Drone 2: Idle')
        layout.addWidget(self.drone2_label)

        takeoff_btn = QPushButton('Takeoff')
        takeoff_btn.clicked.connect(self.takeoff)
        layout.addWidget(takeoff_btn)

        land_btn = QPushButton('Land')
        land_btn.clicked.connect(self.land)
        layout.addWidget(land_btn)

        self.setLayout(layout)

    def takeoff(self):
        # Add Dronekit takeoff code here
        self.drone1_label.setText('Drone 1: Taking off')
        self.drone2_label.setText('Drone 2: Taking off')

    def land(self):
        # Add Dronekit land code here
        self.drone1_label.setText('Drone 1: Landing')
        self.drone2_label.setText('Drone 2: Landing')

app = QApplication([])
window = MainWindow()
window.show()
app.exec_()

This code creates a simple GUI with two labels displaying the status of each drone and two buttons to take off and land the drones. You can add the Dronekit simulation code to the takeoff and land methods to control the drones from the GUI.

That’s it! You have created a simulation of two drones using PyQt and Dronekit. You can expand on this tutorial by adding more features to the GUI, such as controls for changing the altitude or position of the drones, or by adding more drones to the simulation. Happy coding!