v1.1.0 - 2026 modernization baseline

2026 modernization baseline. The repository moves to a single-branch model: main is the living line, v1.0.0 remains the immutable legacy snapshot.

Added

• 2026 development environment (docker/Dockerfile): CUDA 12.6 + TensorRT 10.3 + ROS 2 Humble + MAVROS 2 + ONNX/TensorRT tooling on Ubuntu 22.04; Jetson Orin supported via --build-arg BASE_IMAGE=nvcr.io/nvidia/l4t-jetpack:r36.3.0

  docker build -f docker/Dockerfile -t redtail:2026 .
  docker run --rm -it --gpus all -v "$PWD:/workspace/redtail" redtail:2026

• 2026 modernization blueprint (docs/modernization-2026.md):

  • Full legacy-to-2026 dependency matrix (ROS 2 Humble, ONNX model interchange, MAVROS 2 / uXRCE-DDS, PX4 v1.15+, colcon)
  • ROS 2 target architecture diagram (composable inference + lifecycle controller, typed vision_msgs replacing the legacy Image-tensor convention)
  • Six-phase migration plan (P0 environment ... P6 field validation) with concrete code touchpoints
  • Dual model-conversion recipe: TensorRT 8.5 Caffe route (AGX Xavier as conversion rig) and Caffe-to-ONNX-to-TensorRT 10 route with polygraphy parity gates
  • Per-device Jetson strategy (Xavier JetPack 5 ceiling / Orin JetPack 6 / TX1-TX2 frozen at v1.0.0)

• .gitattributes (LF enforcement for container-executed files), .dockerignore

Changed

• Branch consolidation: agx-xavier, jetson-nano-2gb, ros_isaac, 5-test aligned with v1.0.0 and removed; only main remains
• README, CONTRIBUTING, and the AGX Xavier guide updated for the single-branch policy

Unchanged

• All archived legacy sources remain byte-identical to upstream NVIDIA Redtail (BSD-3-Clause); ports land as new packages per the blueprint's non-goals

v1.0.0 - Curated Redtail snapshot with technical documentation

First tagged release of this repository: a curated, integrity-verified snapshot of the NVIDIA Redtail autonomous visual-navigation stack (TrailNet + TensorRT + ROS + PX4), documented for study and for maintenance on modern Jetson platforms.

Highlights

• Technical documentation suite (docs/) with Mermaid diagrams:
  • Architecture - perception-control dataflow, TrailNet 6-class head semantics, OFFBOARD control-loop sequence, TensorRT engine pipeline, stereo pipeline, codebase composition
  • ROS package reference - every node's topics, message types, and parameters, verified against source
  • Jetson AGX Xavier guide - TX1/TX2 to Xavier platform delta and an 8-step porting checklist backing the agx-xavier branch
  • Model inventory - SHA-256 checksums and sizes for all TrailNet, YOLO, and stereo DNN artifacts
• Governance: CHANGELOG.md (Keep-a-Changelog), CITATION.cff (snapshot + IROS 2017 / CVPR-W 2018 papers), CONTRIBUTING.md (branch policy: main stays a faithful snapshot; platform work lands on agx-xavier/jetson-nano-2gb/ros_isaac)
• Metadata fixes: px4_controller package description/version corrected; on-device installer now clones this repository instead of the retired NVIDIA-Jetson/redtail URL

Provenance and scope

The imported C++/CUDA/Python sources, models, launch files, and platform assets remain byte-identical to the final upstream NVIDIA-AI-IOT/redtail tree (BSD-3-Clause, NVIDIA copyright preserved). This release adds documentation and metadata only.

Compatibility warning

Legacy research software targeting Ubuntu 16.04 / ROS Kinetic / CUDA 9 / TensorRT 3-4 / Jetson TX1-TX2. Not safety-certified; not suitable for operational autonomous flight without independent validation. See README Safety and Limitations.