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ArduDeck Beta 1.2 (v0.1.2)
Dedicated to the memory of Sir Patrick Stewart, 1940 to 2026
This release is dedicated to Sir Patrick Stewart, who passed away this week. For me he was one of the best captains: serious, but kind, focused, and principled. He is the reason I went the scientific path. He encouraged me to get close to technology and to explore what has not been explored, and because of him I never thought of a thing as impossible, only as not explored yet. My condolences go to his family and to his close friends.
The app carries a small tribute; the first launch will show you. It is a small thing from a small project, and it is what I have to give. Thank you, Captain.
Beta 1.1 made the map the cockpit. Beta 1.2 is about the hour before you reach the cockpit, and about trusting what you see once you are in it: a Set up a new vehicle wizard that walks a copter, plane, VTOL, rover or boat from the box to armed, Quick Setup presets that configure a build in one pass, a configuration view rebuilt around the questions pilots ask, surveys that work out their own corridor width, speed and altitude changes from the telemetry screen, the fleet features that now act on the vehicle you pick, video from the synthetic vision and the simulator on the same hub as your camera, telemetry from an ExpressLRS backpack without touching the aircraft, and the app in three more languages thanks to three contributors. Thirteen release candidates went out between September 15 and October 24; thank you to everyone who flew them.
What changed since Beta 1.1 at a glance
| Commits since v0.1.1 | 140 (132 without merges) |
| Release candidates | 13 (rc1 on 2026-09-15 to rc13 on 2026-10-24) |
| Files changed | 1,605 (+227,841 / -60,239 lines) |
| Pull requests merged | 4 (#131, #151, #155, #160) |
| Issues closed | 17 |
| Issues referenced in commits | 14 (#127 to #155) |
| Contributors | 5 (4 code contributors besides the maintainer) |
| Languages | 5 (English, German, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Ukrainian in beta; 3 new) |
| Tours | 7 new or rewritten |
| Guides | 8, in a new guides system |
| New configuration tabs and cards | 30+ |
Highlights
- Set up a new vehicle: a wizard for ArduPilot copters, helicopters, planes, VTOLs, rovers and boats that asks how big it is, how the motors sit, which way the board is mounted, what the mode switch does, and what happens when things go wrong, then checks motors and surfaces and ends at Ready to arm
- Quick Setup: pick a preset for how you fly, check the transmitter, review every setting, apply in one go
- Configuration rebuilt around questions: Arming (why it will not arm), Autotune without parameter hunting, Hardware with official product names, DroneCAN nodes and their parameters, LEDs and Sound, Logging, Sensors, Telemetry rates, Plane tuning with rate and throttle response plots, Rover navigation and speed and steering
- Corridor surveys measure themselves: width from the camera footprint, edge margin, band drawn on the map, grid turn guard, surveys saved as projects
- In-flight adjust: speed, altitude and loiter radius from the telemetry screen (#141), heading per waypoint (#140), set or shift all heights at once, insert a waypoint between two
- Instruments on the map, grouped: drag one onto another to share a tray; new Messages, sensor, numeric, RTK, link and sticks instruments
- Fleet vehicle focus: calibration, motor test, FTP, logs, DroneCAN restart and reboot act on the vehicle you pick, and replies count only from it
- Native joystick support: assign axes and buttons per channel, reverse, safe zone, on-screen virtual sticks (#128)
- Video on one hub: synthetic vision and the 3D Sim World publish as RTSP, SRT and WebRTC next to your camera; recordings and snapshots gallery; camera settings for RunCam WiFiLink and OpenIPC
- Synthetic vision with satellite imagery and 3D buildings, with roofs from imagery and an offline bake for the field
- CRSF telemetry from an ExpressLRS backpack, read-only, nothing changed on the aircraft
- Simulate before you fly: launch SITL and the simulator from the app, pick region, vehicle and conditions, then inject failures from the Test Conditions panel
- Proximity ring: distance sensors draw their sectors around the aircraft on the map (#137)
- Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and Ukrainian (beta) (#151, #155, #160), and a proper i18n layer under every screen
- The Bridge tribute theme, see below
Setup and configuration
- Set up a new vehicle: one wizard across vehicle types. Copter and heli: size, motor layout, board orientation, receiver, compass, flight modes, motor check, battery and failsafes, ready to arm. Plane: measure the wing, what makes it go, extras, how it takes off, thermals, airframe, wing and tail, outputs, control surfaces, motor check, airspeed sensor. VTOL: hover type, lift motor layout, assist in plane flight, tailsitter steering. Rover and boat: how it steers, motor driver, wheel or rudder check. Pictograms for every choice
- Quick Setup: presets for how you fly (Beginner, Cinematic, Freestyle, Racing, Long Range for multirotors; Trainer, Sport, Glider, Long Range FPV, Flying Wing for planes), transmitter check, a review of every setting the wizard will write, then apply. A Quick Setup tab in the configuration view with hardware cards and recommendations
- Hardware setup wizard in the Hardware tab plans peripheral configuration from presets; cargo can extend it through the module SDK
- New configuration tabs: Arming (pre-arm checks, why it will not arm, how it arms), Autotune (set up an autotune without parameter hunting), Hardware (detected flight controller and every device on its DroneCAN bus, with official product names), DroneCAN (nodes on the CAN bus, their parameters, bus health measured every 5 s, review before writing), LEDs and Sound (status LED, buzzer, safety button), Logging (what the flight controller records, and whether it records at all), Sensors, Telemetry rates, Plane tuning, Rover Navigation and Speed and Steering
- New configuration cards: Board orientation with a 3D board mount scene and a clearer AHRS picker, Compasses with heading source, GPS wiring with port glyphs, GPS antenna position (drag the antenna to where it sits), GPS diagnostics read straight from the receiver, Return home (RTL height and the safety parameters around it, #98), Vibration filter with notch analysis, Stick assignment, SITL battery, Motor outputs with ESC telemetry
- Rate, throttle and steering response plots show the effect of a tuning change before you fly it
- Servo output cards with an output visual and a gimbal range dialog; Servo Output shows the values the flight controller actually reports (#146); servo tester mapping; aux switch control
- Battery voltage multiplier calibrated from a voltage you measure (#144)
- Parameter compare modal: review every parameter change before it is written, with a wiring check prompt where a change touches outputs
- Parameters that document -1 as the disable value accept it (#135); Rover modes recognised (#147); FBWA named correctly
- Flight mode metadata with descriptions per mode
- PX4 parity: arming, compass, logging and telemetry rate configuration for PX4 vehicles
Calibration and sensors
- Compass fit panel shows the quality of the fit, with vehicle models for the orientation steps
- Vehicle calibration panel and accelerometer calibration state machine reworked; calibration tour
- Extended sensor functionality: GPS setup and diagnostics, sensor configuration tab, board orientation detection
Mission planning and surveys
- Corridor surveys derive their width from the camera footprint: with no explicit strip count, ArduDeck lays out the fewest strips whose photos reach both edges and spreads them evenly, with an edge margin and the corridor band drawn on the map; photos are no longer sampled on turn loops and end overshoots. An explicit strip count keeps the old spacing
- Extended corridor surveys with automatic merging of sections, corridor routing, strip ordering, turn radius from the vehicle, lead-in lines
- Grid turn guard: pass ends align only for a real turn onto the next row
- Survey menu and algorithm fixes, quality-of-life improvements, survey vehicle settings
- Save a survey as a project; the Library gains a Projects browser and a Survey areas browser, with a backup target dialog
- Insert a waypoint between two existing ones; heading per waypoint (#140); set or shift all heights at once; camera trigger items; mission end handling
- Flown path drawn on the map; the flight preview follows the aircraft
- Waypoint action menu no longer transparent (#139); restart and go commands follow the right waypoint, AUTO takes off (#127)
- Module SDK: 3D layers, volumes and terrain on the mission map for cargo such as operational volumes and terrain tools; map gesture lock while a module draws
Telemetry screen and instruments
- In-flight adjust: change speed, altitude and loiter radius from the telemetry screen (#141), as a panel, a map instrument and a map command popup, backed by an ArduDeck Lua command script
- Instrument grouping: drag one instrument onto another and they share a tray, drag it out to split; docked groups snap and track; a Grouped gauge shape setting for round gauges; instrument profiles and variant glyphs; auto-arrange
- New instruments: Messages, sensor readouts, numeric readouts, RTK status, link radio, sticks
- Native joystick support (#128): assign any axis or button to a channel, reverse, safe zone, teach by moving the stick; on-screen virtual sticks when no joystick is present
- Proximity ring: when a distance sensor is detected ArduDeck offers to add the ring overlay, drawing sector distances around the aircraft (#137)
- Workspace layouts and map focus layer; map area picker dialog
- Touch dragging on tablets; steady instruments on the desktop, no per-frame map and WebGL relayouts during a resize
- Fleet vehicle focus: selecting a vehicle focuses it for configuration, not only for flight commands. Parameters (FTP fast path and list with gap fill, set, batch set, write to flash), calibration, motor and servo test, RC override, the FTP browser, CAN bus stats, log list, download, erase and format, DroneCAN node restart, one-shot parameter reads and reboot act on the focused vehicle over whichever link carries it; replies count only from it. Each fleet vehicle keeps its own armed state. Signing, Lua scripts, GPS passthrough, legacy mission, fence and rally upload and the bootloader stay on the primary connection
- Fleet mode send fix; multi-battery display fix
Video and synthetic vision
- Vision (synthetic) and the 3D Sim World publish through the MediaMTX hub at rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/vision and /sim_world, readable over SRT and in a browser over WebRTC. The Vision stream renders in its own hidden 1280x720 window, with or without the HUD, so nothing drawn over a panel ends up in it. Stream popover with read URLs, codec, reader count and encoder stats; errors name the failing step
- Recordings and snapshots gallery with a viewer
- Camera settings dialog for cameras that expose them (RunCam WiFiLink, OpenIPC): resolution, bitrate, brightness, contrast, saturation, rotation, channel, SD recording, telemetry
- Camera source switch, video link banner, stream health readout, stall detection, WebRTC diagnostics, stream diagnostics with fallback; RTSP fixed on Windows; FPV stream reconnection fixed; HUD home readout
- Custom SRT and WebRTC (WHEP) sources; a wfb-ng receiver sidecar downloaded on demand for RunCam WiFiLink and similar dongles (Windows via the WinUSB driver, Linux build included later in the cycle)
- Synthetic vision: satellite imagery draped on the terrain, smoother pose, altitude correction; 3D buildings with roof imagery and facades, an imagery and buildings source picker, and an offline buildings bake alongside the offline map cache; terrain tiles and a building cache in the main process
Radios, links and transports
- CRSF telemetry from an ExpressLRS backpack: set Telemetry Mode to WiFi in the ELRS Lua script, join the backpack network and ArduDeck listens on port 14550. Read-only (position, attitude, altitude, battery, flight mode, link quality), works behind any CRSF receiver, INAV included
- Arming sends no RC override while a transmitter is live or RCMAP is unknown, and the override release frame really releases (#152)
- Critical fix for USB serial on Windows, DTR toggle, serial diagnostics
- MAVLink Inspector shows DISTANCE_SENSOR fields the FC actually sends (#137)
- MAVFTP: trusts the reported size when the FC errors past EOF, caps download growth when it never signals EOF (#131)
- UDP and TCP receive buffers bounded at 1 MB like serial; link liveness tracking
- Radio HUD (EdgeTX widget): redesigned monochrome rendering with a guide for sunlight-readable radios, a template gallery (Rangefinder work, Long range, Big picture, Minimal, Cinematic, Thermal, Mission drive, Field work, Sounding), tile inspector, screen strip, sonar setup card, mode voice, HUD layout library, an Experimental badge, and a round of widget fixes
- iNav and camera control fix, Taranis fix
Simulation
- Launch SITL and the simulator from inside the app: pick where you fly (with a new region dialog and sky preview), the vehicle and the conditions, then fly over a 3D Sim World
- Test Conditions panel injects GPS denied, GPS glitch, GPS jam, satellite dropout, compass fail, baro fail, high vibration, motor out and radio loss; an Obstacles panel places obstacles; environment simulation and failure injection panels for SITL; custom frame physics
- SITL home position picker, SITL max speed, SITL can hand its physics to an external simulator
- Swarm SITL fixed on Windows (#133); the Trainer is found when installed outside the Hangar
- Simulator stream control: publish the sim world like any camera
Logs and analysis
- Log Explorer: FFT spectrum view with selectable sources and notch analysis (#148), chart statistics
Cargo, Hangar and module SDK
- Cargo manager: keys for experimental versions and test candidates, update checks, Developer section that loads a cargo from a folder and reloads it on rebuild; Hangar apps alongside cargo, with install and remove
- Module SDK seams for map layers, mission panels, alerts, fence proposals, hardware setup and 3D mission layers; host module fixes; vehicle profile collection (modes, parameter metadata and calibration routines declared by the vehicle itself); ArduDeck MAVLink dialect in mavlink-ts
- Bay manager and production records for production cargo
- Vault backup dialog and backup targets
- Security update for cargo licence validation
- Six cargos published in the Hangar since Beta 1.1:
- Lua Graph Editor: build ArduPilot Lua scripts by wiring blocks together instead of writing code
- Operational Volumes: the three volumes of an operational authorisation, drawn on the mission map from your aircraft's own numbers
- UAV-DEV: UAV-DEV hardware recognised under its official product names, with documentation links and settings
- MGRS: grid references shown, typed and shared in MGRS or UTM throughout ArduDeck, for emergency services and professional crews
- AI Agent Bridge (MCP): connect Claude Code, Codex or Cursor to ArduDeck over MCP; the agent reads the vehicle and proposes changes you approve
- Sonar: a fish-finder echogram for boats from a Blue Robotics Ping echosounder
Languages and first run
- Traditional Chinese (zh-TW), contributed by phoenixlin2007 (#151, #150)
- Simplified Chinese (zh-CN), contributed by Li-T-1025 (#155)
- Ukrainian (uk, beta), contributed by PapaJustifyTV (#160)
- A proper i18n layer under every screen with a Language card in Settings (System, English, Deutsch, 简体中文, 繁體中文, Українська (beta)), a translating guide in the repository, and German kept current
- Tours new or rewritten: Vehicle setup, Sensor calibration, Instruments on the map, Projects, Quick Setup, Fleet vehicle focus, and Mission planning (corridor width, turns, waypoint heading, saving a project)
- Guides, a new system next to the tours, with demos: Map and vision side by side, Workspace layouts, Instrument grouping, Simulate before you fly, Telemetry from an ExpressLRS backpack, Add features with cargo, Adjust while flying, ArduDeck speaks your language
- Supported by section in About
Bridge tribute theme
This is not a feature, it is the tribute. ArduDeck Beta 1.2 is dedicated to Sir Patrick Stewart, who passed away this week, and the Bridge theme is how the app carries that: the dedication at the top of these notes is the reason it exists. The personal part is in the note "Thank you, Captain": https://ardudeck.com/blog/thank-you-captain/ The tribute itself is in the app, and the first launch introduces it. Nothing more is described here.
Platform
- Electron upgraded; Node 20.19 minimum for development
- Performance pass across the renderer; sidebar and view transitions no longer stutter on tablets
- IPC fixes, register update, Linux fix, shell fix
- Licence files updated so the AppImage shows in public catalogues; dev setup fixed on Windows and Linux; stale builds no longer linger in GitHub Actions; the mac-arm64 build pinned to a working runner; automatic PR checks
Fixes
- #127 restart and go commands follow the right waypoint; AUTO takes off
- #133 Windows: swarm SITL kept only the last instance
- #135 parameters documented with -1 as the disable value accept it
- #137 MAVLink Inspector showed DISTANCE_SENSOR fields as zero
- #139 waypoint action dropdown was transparent
- #144 battery voltage multiplier from a measured voltage
- #146 Servo Output showed wrong flight controller values
- #147 Rover modes not recognised
- #152 force arm on ArduPlane 4.7 pushed throttle for a second: no RC override while a transmitter is live or RCMAP is unknown, release frame really releases
- Critical USB serial fix on Windows, RTSP on Windows, FPV stream reconnection, HUD fixes, multi-battery display, fleet mode send, survey menu closing before entering a survey, missing translations
- Issues closed since Beta 1.1 also include #99, #103, #105, #117, #118, #119, #128, #130, #136, #142, #143, #149 and #150 (shipped in 1.1 or answered during the Beta 1.2 cycle)
Also in the repository
- ArduDeck OS groundwork: a link service that owns the vehicle link and caches parameters, a live desktop surface with map, synthetic vision and instruments, a Vehicle Link quick settings tile and ArduDeck Settings, GNSS receiver detection, and a simulated swarm. It is a separate surface and not part of this app release; on ArduDeck OS the desktop app connects through the OS link
- Shared packages: @ardudeck/vehicle-core (flight mode tables, heartbeat filter, MAVFTP, UBX and RTCM), @ardudeck/sitl (swarm layout and launch without Electron), create-ardudeck-module
- ArduDeck Mobile 1.0 for Android and iOS shipped in the same window (#149), with survey corridors, instrument groups and parameter staging ported from the desktop
Contributors
- phoenixlin2007: Traditional Chinese localisation (#151), reports #128, #136, #142, #150
- Li-T-1025: Simplified Chinese localisation (#155), report #117
- PapaJustifyTV: Ukrainian localisation, beta (#160)
- jlpoltrack: MAVFTP robustness (#131)
- Reporters whose issues shaped this release: Allister779 (#99, #105, #144, #147), davipet1 (#139, #140, #141), julled (#146, #149, #152), kirik74 (#148), memonero-glitch (#127, #130), WNP78 (#118, #135), SideCodeIO (#137), openoyp (#133), Mrak0v (#143), tr0043t (#119), b3kL0g2010 (#103)
Since rc13
For RC testers, the final build adds on top of rc13: Simplified Chinese (#155), Ukrainian in beta (#160), the #152 arming fix (no RC override while a transmitter is live or RCMAP is unknown, release frame fixed), serial diagnostics and a DTR toggle, and the Bridge tribute theme with the new Quick Setup, Fleet vehicle focus and Mission planning tours and the five new guides.