pyswarm

Implementation of Spiral Mapping Algorithm using a Swarm of CrazyFlies.

Setup

• Complete the installation for physical robots and simulation from the documentation
• Git clone pyswarm and replace the scripts folder from crazyswarm/ros_ws/src/crazyswarm/scripts with pyswarm/scripts.
• Reconfigure the crazyflie addresses in the hexadecimal system and assign channels accordingly using a microUSB and cfclient
• Update the firmware of each crazyflie by following the steps mentioned here
• List all the crazyflies in the configuration file allCrazyflies.yaml. If you use unique marker arrangements, the initialPosition field of the crazyflies.yaml entries will be ignored, but if you use duplicated marker arrangements, initialPosition must be correct – a few centimeters variation is fine.
• Configure your motion capture system in the configuration ROS launch file ros_ws/src/crazyswarm/launch/hover_swarm.launch.
• You can enable/disable each crazyflie using the chooser tool. To start the chooser run:

cd ros_ws/src/crazyswarm/scripts
python chooser.py

Use python3 for ROS Noetic on Ubuntu 20.04.

Tutorials

To run the test script in simulation:

python test_swarm.py --sim

In the 3D visualization, you should see the Crazyflies take off, complete the task, and then land.

To run the script on to real hardware, first start the crazyswarm_server:

roslaunch crazyswarm hover_swarm.launch

It should only take a few seconds to connect to the CFs. If you are using a motion capture system and crazyswarm_server is running correctly, you should be able to see CF pose(s) in rviz.

Open a new terminal and run the script:

python swarm_flow.py

You should see the same behavior in real life. It is a good practice to run chooser.py before starting the crazyswarm_server to check the battery voltage of each crazyflie and rebooting the enabled CFs.