A proxy for MultiWii flight controller module for Python 3
This "proxy" uses the MultiWii Serial Protocol (MSP) to communicate with the physical flight controller. The communication is established using a serial communication.
Enter the main directory and choose one of the following command to install the module.
pip3 install .
python3 setup.py
MultiWii is a free and open source flight controller software made for Arduino based drones. It was first released early 2012 and has been successful ever since drone enthusiasts, tinkerers and developers started building their own Arduino based drones.
MultiWii has a communication protocol for sending and receving data. This is possible with the MultiWii Serial Protocol (MSP).
Since most developers nowadays use the programming language Python and the newer version Python 3, it became truly fitting and appropriate to develop WiiProxy. A simple to use and user friendly Python 3 module that allows you to effectively and safely control your MultiWii based drone.
This is the only Python 3 based module for communicating with a MultiWii flight controller. If you plan on developing a Python 3 based application for a MultiWii based drone, this module will definitely be useful.
This module can be deployed on a single-board computer such as the Raspberry Pi, preferably the Raspberry Pi 3. Your single-board computer must be deployed on the drone and connected to the MultiWii flight controller via USB.
This module is extremely easy to use and does not require a complex setup to function properly.
In order to communicate with the flight controller, you need to correctly setup a serial port which is connected to the flight controller via USB. Some flight controller boards require an FTDI chip such as the RT232RL (USB to TTY) module. The serial communication is strictly established with the pySerial 3.4 module.
serial = pyserial.Serial()
serial.port = "/dev/ttyUSB0" # Port depends on your OS and interface.
serial.baudrate = 115200
serial.bytesize = pyserial.EIGHTBITS
serial.parity = pyserial.PARITY_NONE
serial.stopbits = pyserial.STOPBITS_ONE
serial.write_timeout = 3
serial.xonxoff = False
serial.rtscts = False
serial.dsrdtr = False
serial.open()
Once you've correctly initialized a serial port, you need to create a new instance for the flight controller with your newly created serial port. You simply pass your serial object as the first parameter when creating the MultiWii instance.
from WiiProxy import MultiWii
...
controller = MultiWii(serial)
controller.arm()
sleep(1)
channels = [1500, 1500, 1500, 1200]
controller.set_channels(channels)
controller.disarm()
ident = controller.get_ident()
imu = controller.get_imu()
print(ident)
print(imu)
All serial based methods _write(), _read() and _write_read() should be used in a public method when performing some operation. Methods such as set_channels() and get_channels() should be cloned when implementing other MultiWii functionalities.
To properly use the _write() method, you need to strictly comply with the rules of MSP and to properly use the _read() method, you also need to comply with the formatting rules of the Python library struct. The _construct_payload() method compliments the _write() method and the _destruct_payload() compliments the _read() method. The _write_read() should be used when performing some request. It provides the same result as _write() and _read() together but intentionally causes less syntaxes from being made. Examine the arguments for all mentioned methods to gather a deeper understanding of how WiiProxy works.
WiiProxy and the MultiWii Serial Protocol (MSP) can be used on different boards, unfortunately, I've only tested MSP through WiiProxy on these following boards. Your board will most likely be able to operate if it's indeed compatible with the MSP.
- MultiWii Crius SE 2.0
- MultiWii Crius AIO 2.0
- MultiWii PRO
This module was developed by engineer-186f.
WiiProxy - Version 1.0