Skip to main content
Contact Us
EDGE AI · UAV & DRONES

How Does a Jetson Connect to a Flight Controller?

An NVIDIA Jetson connects to a drone flight controller over a serial UART or a CAN bus, usually speaking the MAVLink protocol. The Jetson runs the autonomy software (often ArduPilot or PX4 companion software) and sends commands, waypoints, and position estimates to the flight controller, which executes them and returns telemetry.

01

The Short Answer

The Jetson and the flight controller talk over a serial connection — a UART or a CAN bus — using the MAVLink protocol that ArduPilot and PX4 understand. The Jetson, acting as the companion computer, runs the AI and autonomy, and uses that link to send the flight controller velocity commands, waypoints, or a precise position estimate. The flight controller flies the aircraft accordingly and streams telemetry back.

02

The Interfaces Involved

Drone-grade Jetson computers expose the right ports for this. The FLYC-300 provides UART, CAN 2.0, and Ethernet; the iBOX-604-G2 provides CAN FD, UART, and RS-232. The choice of UART, CAN, or Ethernet depends on the flight controller and the data rate; MAVLink runs over all of them, and newer stacks can also use DDS over Ethernet. Getting the wiring, the baud rate, and the failsafe behavior right is part of a safe integration.

  • //
    UART The simplest MAVLink link, common on most flight controllers.
  • //
    CAN bus A robust option, including CAN FD on the iBOX-604-G2.
  • //
    Ethernet Higher-bandwidth MAVLink or DDS for richer telemetry.
03

Getting It Right

The link between companion computer and flight controller is safety-critical, so the protocol, timing, and failsafe handling matter. We integrate the Jetson with the flight controller as part of building the platform. See our guide to NVIDIA Jetson for drones.