Many ROS developers know PX4 exists but never get the chance to actually poke at it. This talk gives you that chance. We walk through a complete precision landing pipeline using PX4, ROS 2, OpenCV, Aruco markers, and Gazebo, built the same way we teach it in our hands on workshops.
We start with the pieces of the PX4 architecture that matter to you as a ROS developer, then show how the PX4 ROS 2 interface works, including the PX4 ROS 2 Library by Auterion that makes message handling feel familiar instead of foreign. From there we jump into simulation with Gazebo, run OpenCV based Aruco detection, and wire it all into a precision landing controller.
The heart of the session is practical. We take the tag pose produced by OpenCV in the camera optical frame, transform it into the body frame and world frame, and use it to run an approach phase with PI velocity control. We cover the spiral search pattern for when the tag is not visible, and the land detection feedback that lets the system finish the job safely.
To make it easy to try everything at home, we will provide a Docker container and an open repository with all the source code and configuration you need to reproduce the pipeline on your own machine.
If you have ever thought about connecting your ROS and OpenCV skills to PX4 but did not know where to start, this talk will get you there with a smile and a working example you can take home.