We’re happy to announce that there is a new release of the software for the Crazyflie ecosystem! The new release is called 2023.06 and is available for download on github or through the python client.
Major changes
The main addition is an extended supervisor framework and updated arming functionality.
Extended supervisor framework
The purpose of the supervisor is (will be) to keep an eye on the Crazyflie and make sure that everything is fine. If it detects a problem it can take action to hopefully handle the situation in a way that is better for the Crazyflie as well as people close by. The supervisor taps into the stabilizer loop and has the power to take control of the motors when needed.
The current version actually behaves very much like the previous version, but the underlying framework has been re-written to enable better handling in the future. There are now well defined states that the Crazyflie goes through for preflight checks, when flying and after landing.
Arming
Basic arming functionality has been added, mainly intended for larger platforms with brushless motors. A manual action is required after preflight checks have passed, to let the Crayflie know that a human is in control. If the system is not armed, it is not possible to fly.
Arming is required by default for the Bolt platform. For the Crazyflie 2.X, there is an auto-arming feature that immediately arms the platform when the preflight checks have passed, that is it works like it used to do.
If you use a BigQuad deck, auto-arming will also be enabled by default (as it uses the Crazyflie 2.X platform) and the firmware should be rebuilt with the MOTORS_REQUIRE_ARMING kbuild config flag set to enable manual arming.
The arming functionality is built on top of the supervisor.
Updates to the python client
An arming button has been added to the flight tab in the client to support the new arming functionality.
An emergency stop button has also been added to the top of the client window that shuts down the motors immediately.
Updates to the python library
A new CRTP message has been added to arm/disarm the system. The CRTP version has been updated to version 6.
Note, if you are controlling a Bolt from a script (or any other platform with arming enabled) you have to send an arming message to the platform before you can fly.
Release details
The following versions were released. See each release for details.