Description

Turn any FPV drone into an intelligent, AI-powered UAV capable of autonomous flight and operation — even without GPS in non-GNSS environments.

Whether you’re a hobbyist, a UAV developer, or a professional using drones in your daily work, this book will give you the knowledge and tools to bring autonomy to your drones.

You’ll learn how to:

• Build FPV drones, rovers, and fixed-wing aircraft from scratch, including component selection, soldering, and PID tuning.
• Develop an autopilot system using Python 3, and understand the architecture behind autonomous flight.
• Integrate a Raspberry Pi as a companion computer for onboard AI, computer vision, and decision-making.
• Use OpenCV and YOLO to create computer vision models for object and target detection (recognition).
• Work with Betaflight and ArduPilot, and master communication protocols like MAVLink and MSP.
• Plan and execute reconnaissance missions using ArduPilot Mission Planner on fixed-wing planes.
• Simulate flights and test AI behavior (autopilot with target following) in Microsoft AirSim before real-world use.
• Design and build drones capable of delivering payloads or operating autonomously in non-GNSS environments.

This book gives you a practical roadmap for transforming a standard FPV drone into a self-driving, mission-capable UAV. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a copter, a ground robotic platform like a rover, or even a fixed-wing plane — each concept and module is clearly explained and ready to integrate, ensuring smooth implementation for developers and enthusiasts alike.

Written by Dmytro Sazonov, a former CTO, architect, and software engineer with over 20 years of experience in commercial software development, this book combines deep technical expertise with a hands-on approach to modern UAV autonomy.

If you’ve been searching for a step-by-step guide to adding AI-driven autonomy to any FPV drone — this is the book for you.