Solo swarms - mission planner

3DRfan-opensource · Jun 28, 2017

Hello,

I have 2 Solos, I'm able to connect them to mission planner individually via UDP. But is there a way I can connect them both at the same time to do some basic swarm operation?
I've looked around, I found the ROS option for swarming, but that's really not autonomous. Has anyone tried this?
Or, would it be a better idea to switch to IRIS+ for autonomous swarm applications?
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

andrew.baker.142 · Jun 28, 2017

I want to do this too (except I have 5 Solos)!
I found out that you can connect the laptop to a second WiFi network by using a USB WiFi dongle, but I have not pushed past that small success. MP has recently been updated to allow additional connectivity but I have not really pulled the string. I need to try again.
One option I was considering was to integrate a SIK radio into Solo, but probably won't work until we get Arducopter Master ported over (soon?)
Search on user Randy McKay on YouTube. He is a developer and has has some success with swarm, but not multiple Solos.
The biggest limiting factor seems to be my limited knowledge of WiFi protocol and how to get multiple air vehicles on the same network. I know it can be done.

3DRfan-opensource · Jun 28, 2017

Thank you Andrew. Do you know if Iris+ would be a better option?

andrew.baker.142 · Jun 28, 2017

Iris+ will be easier to swarm, but Solo is a more capable air vehicle depending on what else you want to do with it. Solo is also more available and likely cheaper too. Randy McKay does much of his development work on an Iris+. Check out his YouTube channel.