Precision Landing with PX4 and ROS 2 using Aruco Markers
UB2.147 | Day 1 | 14:55 - 15:20 | Speakers: Ramon Roche, Beniamino Pozzan
Abstract
Many ROS developers know PX4 exists but never get the chance to actually poke at it. This talk gives you that chance. We walk through a complete precision landing pipeline using PX4, ROS 2, OpenCV, Aruco markers, and Gazebo, built the same way we teach it in our hands on workshops.
We start with the pieces of the PX4 architecture that matter to you as a ROS developer, then show how the PX4 ROS 2 interface works, including the PX4 ROS 2 Library by Auterion that makes message handling feel familiar instead of foreign. From there we jump into simulation with Gazebo, run OpenCV based Aruco detection, and wire it all into a precision landing controller.
The heart of the session is practical. We take the tag pose produced by OpenCV in the camera optical frame, transform it into the body frame and world frame, and use it to run an approach phase with PI velocity control. We cover the spiral search pattern for when the tag is not visible, and the land detection feedback that lets the system finish the job safely.
To make it easy to try everything at home, we will provide a Docker container and an open repository with all the source code and configuration you need to reproduce the pipeline on your own machine.
If you have ever thought about connecting your ROS and OpenCV skills to PX4 but did not know where to start, this talk will get you there with a smile and a working example you can take home.
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Speakers
Ramón is the General Manager of the Dronecode Foundation, part of the Linux Foundation, where he leads the open source communities building the world’s most adopted drone and robotics software stack. He works with more than ten thousand developers and companies who build on PX4, Pixhawk, QGroundControl, and the growing ecosystem around them.
Over the past year he has expanded Dronecode’s reach across robotics and space, co leading the Space Grade Linux initiative under ELISA, collaborating with NASA groups, and growing ties with the ROS community through workshops, meetups, and a major presence at ROSCon. He also led the PX4 Developer Summit 2025 in Atlanta and continues to drive new events, hackathons, and university programs that bring developers together around open standards.
Ramón has spent more than a decade in open source as both a contributor and a community builder. His earlier work includes DroneKit and the “smart modes” that powered the 3DR Solo, and in 2021 he received the AirWards Industry Impactor award for long standing impact in the drone industry.
He works remotely from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, where he lives with his family and still finds time for gaming and Sci Fi.
How to find him Email: rroche@linuxfoundation.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrpollo GitHub: https://github.com/mrpollo Work: https://www.dronecode.org/
B. Pozzan is a PX4 Maintainer and Senior Robotics Engineer at Archangel Autonomy. He has extensive experience integrating autopilots with ROS 2 for UAV control and GNSS-denied navigation. With a Ph.D. in Automation Engineering from the University of Padova, he specializes in multi-agent autonomy, control, and flight trials, bridging research and real-world deployment.
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