Pixhawk-Based Quadrotor Design and Sensor-Actuator Testing via Simulink External Mode

Abstract

This study presents the systematic design, hardware integration, and real-time testing of a small-scale quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based on the Pixhawk 2.4.8 flight controller and F450 frame. The primary objective is to bridge the gap between theoretical modeling and physical implementation by utilizing the MATLAB/Simulink environment. The research details the selection and synchronization of core components, including brushless DC motors, electronic speed controllers (ESCs), and essential navigation sensors like GPS and MAVLink-based telemetry. A dedicated control and monitoring interface was developed using the "UAV Toolbox Support Package for PX4 Autopilots" within Simulink. By operating the system in "Connected IO" mode, a bi-directional real-time communication link was established between the PC and the UAV hardware. Experimental results demonstrate that all critical flight data (including IMU (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer), vehicle attitude (Roll, Pitch, Yaw), GPS coordinates, and battery status) can be accurately monitored, while the actuators (BLDC motors) can be controlled with high precision through the Simulink interface. This integrated approach provides a robust and transparent framework for researchers to validate flight control algorithms and sensor fusion techniques on physical hardware before full autonomous deployment.