Aerostack2

ROS 2 framework for autonomous multi-drone systems and swarm robotics

License

BSD-3-Clause

Overview

Aerostack2 is a ROS 2 framework for developing autonomous multi-aerial-robot systems. It provides a modular architecture with standardized interfaces for perception, state estimation, motion planning, behavior coordination, and multi-robot cooperation. Designed for both research and real-world deployment, it supports multiple aerial platforms and simulation environments. The framework enables rapid prototyping of autonomous drone missions from single-UAV operations to coordinated swarm behaviors.

Aerostack2 is a ROS 2 framework designed to simplify the creation of autonomous multi-aerial-robot systems. Developed by researchers at Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, it provides a complete software stack for aerial robotics — from low-level platform interfaces to high-level mission planning and swarm coordination.

The framework's key strength is its modularity. Each component (state estimation, motion planning, behavior coordination, platform interface) is a self-contained ROS 2 package that can be replaced independently. This means the same mission code can run in simulation and on real hardware with minimal changes, enabling true sim-to-real deployment.

Aerostack2 is project-oriented: developers install only the packages they need. It ships with support for multiple aerial platforms and simulators, Docker images for quick onboarding, and a growing library of example projects demonstrating swarm behaviors, autonomous navigation, and multi-robot missions.

Why it matters

Aerostack2 provides the first fully modular, ROS 2-native framework purpose-built for multi-drone autonomy and swarm coordination. It dramatically lowers the barrier to deploying autonomous aerial fleets by abstracting platform-specific details behind clean interfaces.

Problem it solves

Developing autonomous multi-UAV systems typically requires deep integration work across flight controllers, planners, and communication layers. Aerostack2 solves this by offering a project-oriented, platform-independent architecture where components can be swapped without affecting the rest of the system.

Key takeaways

• Natively built on ROS 2 with full support for multi-robot aerial systems
• Platform-independent design enables easy migration between simulators and real drones
• Modular architecture lets you swap components (planners, controllers, platforms) independently
• Swarm-oriented from the ground up with multi-robot coordination primitives
• Docker images available for quick setup and reproducible deployments

Who it is for

• Aerial robotics researchers working on multi-UAV coordination and swarm behaviors
• Drone companies developing autonomous fleet management solutions
• ROS 2 developers building applications for aerial platforms
• University labs teaching or researching autonomous aerial systems

Limitations

• Currently tested only on ROS 2 Humble (Ubuntu 22.04), limiting OS compatibility
• Focused exclusively on aerial robots — not applicable to ground or underwater platforms
• Requires familiarity with ROS 2 concepts and ecosystem tooling
• Real hardware deployment demands compatible flight controllers and platform drivers