BCFlight is an open-source Linux-based Raspberry Pi drone and ground controller system, offering a complete solution for flight control, stabilization, and telemetry.

• Low resource usage : ~25% CPU and ~100MB RAM on Raspberry Pi 4
• High frequency : Sensors and stabilizer update rate up to 8kHz (on RPi4)
• Ultra-low latency : ~5ms controls latency, ~50ms video latency over composite
• Stabilization : Up to 8 motors with customizable configuration matrix

• DShot (150 & 300) - Recommended
• OneShot125 and OneShot42
• Standard PWM

• WiFi/Ethernet : Standard TCP/UDP/IP
• Raw WiFi : Based on wifibroadcast
• Radio : nRF24L01, SX1276/77/78/79 (FSK/LoRa)
• S-BUS : Limited functionality support

• Composite output : Direct connection to 5GHz VTX modules, with SmartAudio support
• Multi-camera recording : MKV format, up to ~120 MPix/s total throughput
• Gyroflow output : Compatible with Gyroflow for video stabilization
• Live HUD : Real-time telemetry, battery status, speed, acceleration

• LuaJIT : Flexible configuration and customizable event handling
• User code : Execution of custom Lua functions
• Full API : Access to all systems

The project consists of three main components:

Core system managing:

• Main thread : Sensor data collection, attitude calculation, stabilization
• Controller thread : User input reception, telemetry transmission
• Power thread : Battery monitoring and current consumption

Configurable GUI client for:

• Remote control via PC
• Sensor and telemetry visualization
• Advanced configuration

Portable control interface with:

• Touchscreen support
• Adapted user interface
• Lua configuration

• InvenSense ICM-42605, ICM-20608, MPU-9250, MPU-9150, MPU-6050
• STMicroelectronics L3GD20H, LSM303

• Bosch BMP180, BMP280

• HC-SR04 (distance sensors)
• ADS1015/ADS1115 (ADC)

Automatically generated images based on Raspbian:

• SSH : root:bcflight by default
• System : Read-only by default (security)
• Flight Service : Disabled by default for configuration

¹ DShot and composite output can be enabled via /boot/config.txt and /var/flight/config.lua

# Dependencies
sudo apt-get install nasm qtmultimedia5-dev qtbase5-dev qtchooser qt5-qmake qtbase5-dev-tools libnl-3-dev libnl-genl-3-dev libnl-route-3-dev libiw-dev libfftw3-dev libqscintilla2-qt5-dev

# Build
git clone https://github.com/dridri/bcflight.git
cd bcflight/controller_pc
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -S . -B build
cd build && make -j$(nproc)
./controller_pc

# Dependencies
sudo apt update
sudo apt install git pkg-config cmake make g++ libc6-dev libraspberrypi-dev libiw-dev libdrm-dev libgbm-dev libcamera-dev libgles2-mesa-dev libgps-dev libasound2-dev libcrypt-dev zlib1g-dev libpng-dev libshine-dev libavformat-dev libavutil-dev libavcodec-dev libpigpio-dev lua5.3 libfftw3-dev

# Build
git clone https://github.com/dridri/bcflight
cd bcflight/flight
cmake -Dboard=rpi -Ddebug=1 -S . -B build
cd build && make -j$(nproc)

-- Frame configuration (quadcopter)
frame = Multicopter {
    maxspeed = 1.0,
    air_mode = {
        trigger = 0.25,
        speed = 0.15
    },
    motors = {
        DShot( 4 ), DShot( 5 ), DShot( 6 ), DShot( 7 )
    },
    matrix = {
        Vector( -1.0,  1.0, -1.0, 1.0 ),
        Vector(  1.0,  1.0,  1.0, 1.0 ),
        Vector( -1.0, -1.0,  1.0, 1.0 ),
        Vector(  1.0, -1.0, -1.0, 1.0 )
    }
}

-- IMU configuration
imu = IMU {
    gyroscopes = { imu_sensor.gyroscope },
    accelerometers = { imu_sensor.accelerometer },
    filters = {
        rates = { input = Vector( 80, 80, 80 ), output = Vector( 0.25, 0.25, 0.25 ) },
        accelerometer = { input = Vector( 350, 350, 350 ), output = Vector( 0.1, 0.1, 0.1 ) }
    }
}

-- PID stabilizer
stabilizer = Stabilizer {
    loop_time = 500, -- 2000Hz
    rate_speed = 1000, -- deg/sec
    pid_roll = PID( 45, 70, 40 ),
    pid_pitch = PID( 46, 70, 40 ),
    pid_yaw = PID( 45, 90, 2 )
}

More videos on YouTube @drichfpv

Features:

• 5V 3A LM22676 regulator (max 42V input)
• ADS1115 ADC for battery voltage measurement
• Dual RFM95W radio sockets with external antennas
• High-precision ICM-42605 IMU
• BMP581 barometer
• Dual CSI camera connectors
• Direct composite video output to VTX

• Configuration
• Sensors
• Motors
• Radio

Contributions are welcome! The project is licensed under GPL v3.

This project is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See the LICENSE file for more details.

• CI/CD : ci.drich.fr
• Images : bcflight.drich.fr
• CAD : View on CADLAB.io

⚠️ Warning : This software is provided for educational and research purposes. Drone usage can be dangerous. Please respect local regulations and use at your own risk.