Building Ardupilot SITL

Building ArduPilot SITL on Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble)

Instructions to clone, build, and run ArduCopter SITL on Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS (noble).

Check your system version using

lsb_release -a

1. Clone the ArduPilot Repository

git clone https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot
cd ardupilot
git submodule init
git submodule update --recursive

2. Run the provided script to install prerequisites:

Tools/environment_install/install-prereqs-ubuntu.sh -y
. ~/.profile

3. Configure the Build System

Configure for Software-In-The-Loop (SITL) with the SITL board:

./waf configure --board=sitl

4. Build ArduCopter SITL

Compile ArduCopter:

./waf copter #plane, rover

5. Launch SITL

Use sim_vehicle.py to run the simulator:

./sim_vehicle.py -v ArduCopter -f copter --console --map -N

Flags explained:

-v ArduCopter: Select the firmware type

-f copter: physics model to be used

—console: Launch MAVProxy console

—map: Launch MAVProxy map

-N: Skip firmware rebuild (ignore this argument if your building for the first time)