Looking for a Nav2-equivalent library (UGV) for multi-UAV mission management (state machine / behavior tree)

ROS 1 / ROS 2
1

Hello everyone,

I’m currently developing a multi-UAV coordination application on PX4 and I’m looking for a software solution to plan and execute missions across several drones. On the UGV side, I’m used to working with Nav2 (the ROS 2 navigation stack), which provides a mission manager, state machines and behavior trees.

I’m wondering if there exists, for PX4 (either as a ROS 2 package or a native library), an equivalent framework that would let me:

  • Orchestrate missions for multiple vehicles (waypoints, geofences, swarm surveillance, etc.)
  • Define modular behaviors using state machines or behavior trees

Specifically, I’d appreciate any insights on:

  1. Available ROS 2 packages or standalone modules for PX4 offering these capabilities
  2. Recommended tutorials or user experiences for setting up a multi-drone mission orchestrator
  3. Examples of complex missions (synchronized patrols, automatic target tracking, in-flight reconfiguration) already implemented with such a library

Thank you in advance for your pointers and shared experiences!

2

Hi paf,

I’m coming from the same background as you! Were you able to find what you were looking for?

I haven’t been able to find anything specific to PX4 (or even Ardupilot). It is possible to add Nav2 compatibility using MAVROS, but I’m concerned that the delay from ROS2→MAVROS→MAVLink→PX4 might be too significant. Alternatively considering finding a BT library in a MAVLink-compatible language, cutting out the need for ROS2.