During the demonstration the drones communicate with each other through a local wireless network. The network needs to be set up so that the DHCP server assigns static IP addresses to the drones and the ground station. This is necessary for routing the MQTT messages which are used to pass telemetry data around the network.

Router Configuration

The router used in this project is manufactured by TPLink however the process should be similar for other routers.

Assign Static IP Addresses

  1. Navigate to the router configuration page in a browser, usually found at http://192.168.0.1.

  2. Login with the details found on the router.

  3. Navigate to the ‘Advanced’ tab and then to ‘DHCP Server’

  4. Under ‘Address Reservation’ click ‘Add’ and then enter the MAC address of the drone or ground station and a permanent static IP address.

Ground Station Network Settings

The ground station is connected via ethernet to the router and this connection can be configured to enable the ground station to access the internet through a seperate wifi connection while still being able to communicate on the local network. It is assumed the ground station is running Ubuntu 20.4 LTS

  1. Navigate to the ‘Network’ tab in the ubuntu settings and click the gear next to ‘Ethernet’.

  2. Navigate to the ‘IPv4’ tab and select ‘Automatic (DHCP)’ for ‘IPv4 Method’.

  3. Check ‘Use this connection only for resources on its network’ at the bottom of the page.