Hello everyone,
I would like to have your recommendations on ROS2-compatible drones suitable for educational and research purposes. I’ve been through several options but haven’t found the ideal solution yet.
My Requirements:
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ROS2 native support or well-maintained ROS2 integration
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Onboard sensors capable of SLAM (3D LiDAR, RGBD camera, or stereo camera)
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Ability to operate indoors without external positioning infrastructure
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Budget: approximately $6,000 USD
What I’ve Tried/Considered:
I came across this helpful discussion: https://discourse.openrobotics.org/t/trying-to-find-pre-built-drones/44168, which recommends the Crazyflie platform. While Crazyflie is excellent for swarm research and basic control, it requires external infrastructure such as motion capture systems or marker-based localisation (e.g., Lighthouse or Loco Positioning), which isn’t practical for my use case.
Similarly, I’ve used DJI Tello drones, but they share the same limitation—reliance on external environmental setup for accurate localisation and mapping.
What I’m Currently Considering:
I’ve been looking at the ModalAI Starling 2 Max (https://www.modalai.com/products/starling-2-max?variant=48172375900484), which appears promising with its VOXL 2 flight computer, stereo cameras, and PX4/ROS2 support. However, I’d appreciate feedback from anyone who has hands-on experience with this platform, particularly regarding:
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Ease of integration with ROS2
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Reliability of onboard VIO/SLAM for indoor navigation
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Suitability for student projects and coursework
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Documentation quality and community support
Use Case:
The drones will be used for teaching autonomous navigation, path planning, and SLAM concepts to postgraduate students. Ideally, students should be able to develop and test algorithms in simulation (Gazebo/Webots/PyBullet) and deploy them on real hardware with minimal friction.
I’d greatly appreciate any recommendations, alternatives, or insights from those with experience in this area. If there are other platforms I should consider within this budget range, please do share.
Thank you in advance for your help!