BlueOS Installation and Setup¶
This page explains how to install and configure BlueOS on an RPI compute module connected to an autopilot via ethernet
BlueOS official installation instructions can be found here
These instructions were originally posted on this blog post
Hardware Required¶
ArduPilot compatible flight controller
BotBlox DroneNet ethernet switch or CubeNodeETH and CubeLan 8-port ethernet switch (see ethernet adapters)
(optionally) Ethernet enabled camera gimbal (e.g. Siyi A8)
Installing BlueOS on RPI4 or RPI5¶
Install rpiboot and rpi-imager on your Ubuntu or Windows PC
Ubuntu users should run
sudo apt install rpiboot
sudo apt install rpi-imager
Windows user instructions are here but in short you should:
On the RPI I/O board
Mount the RPI CM4/CM5 on the RPI I/O board
Add jumper so the RPI CM starts in bootloader mode, “Fit jumper to disable eMMC Boot”
Connect I/O board to PC via USB
Power on the I/O board (if using the RPI5 I/O board this step is probably done by the above step)
On your PC
Open a web browser to the BlueOS release page, select a recent release of 1.5.0 or higher, open “Assets” and download “BlueOs-raspberry-linux-arm64-v8-bookworm-pi5” (if this image isn’t available, pick a different release)
run rpiboot:
Ubuntu users should open a terminal and enter “rpiboot”
Windows users should open the start menu and run “rpiboot-CM4-CM5 Mass Storage Gadget”
run rpi-imager:
Ubuntu users should open a terminal and enter “rpi-imager”
Windows users should open from start menu run “Raspberry Pi Imager”
from within RPI Imager:
Choose Device: “Raspberry Pi 4” or “Raspberry Pi 5”
Operating System: Use custom, select downloaded BlueOS .img file
Storage: select RPI drive (should have appeared after rpiboot was run)
Select “No” when asked to apply special settings
Configuring BlueOS¶
After the above installation is complete, perform the initial setup of BlueOS
Configure RPI/BlueOS to connect to your local WiFi:
Leave the RPI4/RPI5 on the I/O board initially
Make sure a WiFi antenna is attached to the RPI4/RPI5 CM
Remove the Jumper and power-down/power-up the I/O board so the RPI boots normally
Connect a PC via ethernet to the I/O board’s ethernet port
Set the PC’s IP address to manual with IP 192.168.2.100 (the RPI’s default IP address is 192.168.2.2 and we want the PC to be within the same ethernet subnet)
Open a Chrome browser to http://192.168.2.2, BlueOS should appear
A setup wizard should appear, select “Other vehicle setup”
Vehicle Name: MyCopter
MDNS Name: “blueos” (default)
On the top right, select the WiFi icon and connect to your local WiFi
Configure RPI/BlueOS’s Ethernet IP to be the same subnet as the autopilot and camera:
Push the buddha icon on the top right and change to “Pirate mode”
Select the networking icon
select “eth0”
select “ADD STATIC IP” and enter 192.168.144.20 (this will be the RPI’s IP address on the vehicle)
select “DISABLE DHCP SERVER”
beside “192.168.2.2 Static IP” push the trash can icon. At this point you will lose contact with BlueOS but you can re-gain contact by changing the PC’s manual IP address to 192.168.144.100 and reconnecting with the web browser to http://192.168.144.20
restore PC’s IP address to automatic
Connect RPI/BlueOS to Autopilot and Camera:
Follow DroneNet or CubeNodeETH setup instructions. This should result in these IP addresses for other components:
DroneNet/CubeNodeETH: 192.168.144.14
Autopilot: 192.168.144.15
Siyi A8: 192.168.144.25
On the autopilot, create an additional UDP Server connection for BlueOS to connect to:
NET_P1_TYPE = 2 (UDP server)
NET_P1_PROTOCOL = 2 (MAVLink2)
NET_P1_IP0 = 0
NET_P1_IP1 = 0
NET_P1_IP2 = 0
NET_P1_IP3 = 0
NET_P1_PORT = 14560
Install the RPI on the Ochin carrier board
On the PC open a Chrome browser to http://blueos-avahi.local/ (BlueOS should appear)
Open BlueOS’s Autopilot Firmware screen
select “Master Endpoint”
Connection Type: UDP Client
IP/Device: 192.168.144.15
Port/Baudrate: 14560
push “Save Changes”
Check top-right Heartbeat icon has gone white meaning the RPI and autopilot are communicating via MAVLink over ethernet