Rohith Maben

Aeronautical Engineer • UAV Systems • Researcher

🛰️ mavQT

mavQT is a lightweight Python tool that connects MAVLink-enabled drones to IoT systems via MQTT.
It allows you to receive, display, and forward MAVLink messages in real time to an MQTT broker, enabling seamless data streaming to cloud and edge devices. flow

Features

Connect to UDP/TCP MAVLink streams from drones
Forward MAVLink messages to any MQTT broker
Subscribe and publish MQTT topics with custom QoS levels
Lightweight and easy to integrate into existing UAV systems

Installation and Setup

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/rohith8272/mavQT.git
cd mavQT

Create a virtual environment and install dependencies:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate   # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Run the tool:
```
python -m mavQT
```

Setting Up an MQTT Broker

Before running mavQT, ensure that an MQTT broker is available to receive MAVLink packets.

Option 1: Run a Local Broker (Mosquitto)

Download Mosquitto:
https://mosquitto.org/download/
Navigate to the Mosquitto installation directory where mosquitto.exe is located.

Create a configuration file named sample.conf with the following contents:

# Default listener (local + remote)
listener 1883 0.0.0.0

# Allow anonymous connections 
allow_anonymous true

# (Optional) persistence
persistence true
persistence_location mosquitto/

Start the broker:
```
mosquitto.exe -c "sample.conf" -v
```
The broker should now be running on port 1883.

Option 2: Use an Online Broker

If you prefer not to run a local broker, you can use a free online MQTT service like:

Forwarding MAVLink Streams

To connect your MAVLink stream to mavQT, ensure your flight controller or GCS is sending data to the correct UDP/TCP port. If you haven’t set up Software in the Loop(SITL) simulations before, you can use: https://dronesim.xyz/

Example 1: Using Mission Planner

Set UDP outbound on port 14550.

Example 2: Using MAVProxy

mavproxy --master=tcp:127.0.0.1:5760 --out 127.0.0.1:14550

For more information on MAVLink routing, check the DroneSim documentation:
Forwarding MAVLink Packets

Testing mavQT

Connect mavQT to your MQTT broker using its IP and port.
Subscribe to or publish MQTT topics to view real-time MAVLink data.
Adjust QoS levels as needed for reliable message delivery.

Example usage:

python -m mavQT

MP+mavQT On connection to an active MAVLink stream, new messages are auto discovered. I can now check the messages that I would like to broadcast with the custom topic name (default mavlink/msg). The bottom terminal should now show the client topics. You can also recieve the topics on any device with an mqtt client within the network or using a VPN.

The MAVLink packets are sent as soon as they are received by the tool, while it is also possible to set a time interval and QoS level.

Contribute

The current tool is a PoC and you are free to modify and alter it to your requirements. If you’d like to improve mavQT, report bugs, or suggest features, feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request.

📍 Repository: https://github.com/rohith8272/mavQT