Hybrid F' and ROS2 Architecture for Vision-Based Autonomous Flight: Design and Experimental Validation

TL;DR

An integrated system combining NASA's F'flight software framework with ROS2 middleware via Protocol Buffers bridging is presented, demonstrating robust F'--PX4 integration and validating real-time performance requirements.

Abstract

Autonomous aerospace systems require architectures that balance deterministic real-time control with advanced perception capabilities. This paper presents an integrated system combining NASA's F' flight software framework with ROS2 middleware via Protocol Buffers bridging. We evaluate the architecture through a 32.25-minute indoor quadrotor flight test using vision-based navigation. The vision system achieved 87.19 Hz position estimation with 99.90\% data continuity and 11.47 ms mean latency, validating real-time performance requirements. All 15 ground commands executed successfully with 100 % success rate, demonstrating robust F'--PX4 integration. System resource utilization remained low (15.19 % CPU, 1,244 MB RAM) with zero stale telemetry messages, confirming efficient operation on embedded platforms. Results validate the feasibility of hybrid flight-software architectures combining certification-grade determinism with flexible autonomy for autonomous aerial vehicles.

Figures (4)

• Figure 1: Software evolution: cFS $\rightarrow$ F$\prime$$\rightarrow$ ROS 2 $\rightarrow$ Space ROS.
• Figure 2: Hybrid architecture: F$\prime$ for flight-critical logic; ROS 2 for perception/autonomy; bridge for telemetry/commands.
• Figure 3: Vision latency distribution.
• Figure 4: 3D trajectory from vision estimates.