PX4-based Autonomous Drone Navigation & Video Streaming SW Developer

Project Overview: We are looking for an experienced software developer to build an autonomous drone navigation and video monitoring system. The system will integrate a PX4-based Autopilot with an Orange Pi 5 Ultra companion computer. The primary focus is to implement a specific exploration and monitoring scenario involving autonomous waypoint navigation, relative positioning, and real-time thermal video streaming to a tablet. Hardware & Tech Stack: - Flight Controller: PX4-based Autopilot using PixHawk 6X - Companion Computer: Rapsberry Pi5 - Positioning: RTK GPS for high-precision navigation - Camera/Sensor: XM650 (Vision Camera) - Network: WiFi - Control Interface: Tablet PC (Application/UI) Core Features to Develop: - Waypoint & Path Navigation: Dynamic route calculation and autonomous flight control. - Video Streaming & Monitoring: Real-time video transmission from the drone to a Tablet PC over WiFi. - Relative Positioning Flight: Maintaining a specific distance and altitude relative to a moving ground user (Leader). Mission Scenario (To be implemented): - Holding: The drone and the user (Leader) stand by at a designated starting position. - Setup: The user uses a Tablet PC to set the target coordinate (e.g., 120, 0) and the exploration route. The coordinator program calculates the optimal path. - Departure: The drone takes off and conducts an initial environmental scan of the immediate surroundings. As the user begins to move along the route, the drone flies overhead, leading the way. - Forward Scouting: The drone accelerates to a position approximately 50 meters ahead of the user to scan the forward path for safety or obstacles, then returns to maintain its relative position above the user. - Target Detection & Alert: The drone sprints to the final target location for intensive scanning. Using thermal imaging, it detects a specific target object (e.g., a specific heat signature). The drone immediately transmits the real-time video feed to the user's Tablet PC and then returns to the user's current position. Required Skills: - Proficiency in PX4 Autopilot and MAVLink protocol. - Experience with Companion Computers (Raspberry Pi) and ROS2 Humble, Gazebo Hamonic. Strong programming skills in C++ and Python. - Experience with video streaming protocols (WebRTC, GStreamer, etc.). - Hands-on experience with RTK GPS integration. Deliverables: - Complete source code with documentation (SW design document). - System setup instructions for the Rapsberry Pi5. - A working demonstration of the scenario.