Flight Controller Firmware

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description: >- How to flash PX4 firmware and the vehicle configuration file onto a local Skynode without repackaging AuterionOS and without building the firmware from source.

---

Flashing PX4 Binary and Vehicle Config

Disclaimer

{% hint style="warning" %} Any change to the flight control source code can have severe impacts on the vehicle's safety. {% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %} If you are interested in using a custom PX4 version please submit a ticket. {% endhint %}

Updating PX4 on local Skynode

In production environments APX4 (Auterion PX4) firmware binaries and configuration files will be bundled into an AuterionOS image and deployed by updating AuterionOS as a whole. For development purposes this is time-consuming. Thus you can use the following commands to directly update the flight controller in Skynode with a new firmware and / or configuration. These instructions require you to download and set up the Auterion Developer Tools first before proceeding.

PX4 configurations and the PX4 firmware binaries are located in ./fmu/config and ./fmu/binaries of your Auterion Developer Tools directory. These files are included in the AuterionOS image during the packaging. During an update of AuterionOS the PX4 binary and configuration are flashed on to the flight controller.

Upload a APX4 binary to Skynode

The following command can be used to upload a custom APX4 binary to Skynode. This is assuming a custom firmware file that is stored in the default location, as is typically the case for custom FMU builds by an OEM.

{% tabs %} {% tab title="Skynode ENT/GOV" %} ```bash

In the Auterion Developer Tools directory:

make fmu-update firmwarePath=fmu/binaries/px4_fmu-v5x_default.px4 ``` {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Skynode X/GX" %} ```bash

In the Auterion Developer Tools directory:

make fmu-update firmwarePath=fmu/binaries/px4_fmu-v6x_default.px4 ``` {% endtab %} {% endtabs %}

Upload APX4 Configuration to Skynode

It is also possible to only update the PX4 configuration files, such as the airframe definitions or UAVCAN firmware binaries. Assuming all related files are located in the folder ./fmu/config of your copy of the Auterion Developer tools, you can use the following command to perform the update:

```bash

In the Auterion Developer Tools directory:

make fmu-update configurationDir=fmu/config ```

Upload configuration and binary simultaneously

The two aforementioned commands for uploading a new APX4 firmware and the configuration can of course be combined to a single line as the following example shows:

{% tabs %} {% tab title="Skynode ENT/GOV" %} {% code fullWidth="true" %} ```bash

In the Auterion Developer Tools directory:

make fmu-update firmwarePath=fmu/binaries/px4_fmu-v5x_default.px4 configurationDir=fmu/config ``` {% endcode %} {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Skynode X/GX" %} ```bash

In the Auterion Developer Tools directory:

make fmu-update firmwarePath=fmu/binaries/px4_fmu-v6x_default.px4 configurationDir=fmu/config ``` {% endtab %} {% endtabs %}