Is QGroundControl needed to control my rover or can I use a BlueOS extension?

[EliotBR (Eliot)]

Hi @grantdutoit,

@grantdutoit

The evolution of BlueOS and features such as the Extensions Manager are remarkable. Well done!

Thanks!

@grantdutoit

Is QGC still going to be required to control my rover if I am not using or need a mission planner? I will need a mission planner in future but experience has shown that the shortest route travelled is often the best. There are no unneeded bits in the middle.

QGC is a control station software that can control vehicles over MAVLink. It is not the only such software*, and there’s no requirement to use it if your vehicle does not use MAVLink communications.

*NOTE: QGroundControl is currently the only control station software we support for use with the ArduSub autopilot firmware. There are other such softwares that cater to other MAVLink-based vehicles (e.g. MissionPlanner for copters/planes).

As it happens, we’re currently in the process of developing our own Extension-based alternative control station software as a future alternative.

@grantdutoit

I’m hoping to use extensions and the extension manager to create an interface to manage and display the data as required. I know extensions are not viewed as stable and there will be issues along the way but if I’m not bound to QGC, then I’d love to explore an extension.

Custom integrations are one of the primary use-cases for Extensions, and seems like a good basis for what you’re trying to achieve.

If you haven’t already seen, we have initial extensions documentation available, which includes some examples that may be helpful for developing your own.

That said, given the overlap of functionality with “control software that can display video streams and data” it may make more sense to join efforts with us. Unfortunately we haven’t yet decided whether our control station software will be open source, so at this stage those kinds of discussions would likely need to be held privately. If you’re interested I’ll set up a chat with the relevant members of our software team.