# ArduPilot/ardupilot

ArduPlane, ArduCopter, ArduRover, ArduSub source

Repository: https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ardupilot
Homepage: http://ardupilot.org/
Language: C++
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: arducopter, ardupilot, arduplane, ardurover, ardusub, uav, drone, plane, copter, rover, sub, autopilot, mavlink, dronekit, uas, ros, ugv, rov, robotics, auv
Last push: 2026-08-26T13:15:02+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 98/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 95, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4985, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 37, "gap_med": 0, "n_releases_24m": 28}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 15748, forks 21296 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:13.959094+00:00)

## What it is
ArduPilot is an open-source autopilot firmware suite (ArduPlane, ArduCopter, ArduRover, ArduSub) written in C++ that controls unmanned vehicles including multirotors, fixed-wing aircraft, rovers, boats, and submarines. It runs on a wide variety of flight controller hardware and communicates via MAVLink with ground control stations.

## Use cases
- fly a drone autonomously with waypoint missions
- autopilot firmware for a fixed-wing UAV
- control an underwater ROV with ArduSub
- build a self-driving rover with GPS navigation
- run SITL simulation of a quadcopter
- integrate drone control via MAVLink or ROS
- antenna tracking for UAV telemetry

## When to choose
- you need mature, feature-rich open-source autopilot firmware for drones, planes, rovers, or boats
- you want broad hardware support across many flight controller boards
- you need MAVLink/ROS integration for companion computers
- you want a large community, extensive documentation, and SITL simulation

## When to avoid
- you need a lightweight microcontroller-only flight stack with minimal footprint
- you require a permissive license (GPLv3 applies)
- you are building a non-vehicle robotics project unrelated to autopilots

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: stable
- function: robotics, simulation, embedded, middleware
- domain: robotics, autonomous-vehicles, embedded-systems, hardware
- platform: embedded, cross-platform, cpp
- tags: autopilot, drone, uav, mavlink, firmware, ardupilot, flight-controller, rover, submarine, linux

## Member repositories
- ArduPilot/ardupilot (main) score 98

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:13.959094+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:05:33.458125+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:13.959094+00:00, sha a68e6d51ec28)
  - homepage: http://ardupilot.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:33.552194+00:00, sha 4c78cdba28e0)
  - site_page: https://ardupilot.org/ardupilot/docs/common-donation.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:33.561638+00:00, sha 06b5005dec17)
  - site_page: https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/events.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:33.563536+00:00, sha 1eb009c3ea15)
  - site_page: https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/common-history-of-ardupilot.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:33.565389+00:00, sha 963009a7ab1d)
  - site_page: https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/license-gplv3.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:33.567225+00:00, sha adad22a130d7)
  - site_page: https://ardupilot.org/ardupilot/docs/common-partners.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:33.568952+00:00, sha 19cce8692abf)
  - site_page: https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/common-training-centers.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:33.570483+00:00, sha 496aa987ab63)
  - site_page: https://ardupilot.org/ardupilot/docs/common-team.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:33.572160+00:00, sha 77363dcbe0b5)
  - site_page: https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/common-team.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:33.574196+00:00, sha 8141ff95354b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.