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Ticket 041: ArduPilot SITL Launch and Mission Upload

Status

Implemented.

Goal

Implement the first concrete ArduPilot SITL adapter that can connect to a running SITL instance, upload a mission derived from existing bvlos-sim YAML, and start a controlled simulator run.

Resolved Gap

Ticket 040 defined the adapter and evidence contract. This ticket added the concrete ArduPilot adapter, MAVLink connection lifecycle, mission upload and execution flow, and deterministic fake-tested adapter behavior.

Scope

  • Add an ArduPilot SITL adapter behind the contract from Ticket 040.
  • Support connecting to an already running SITL instance, with explicit configuration.
  • Translate supported mission YAML route items into the MAVLink mission upload path.
  • Upload, arm/start where appropriate, monitor run state, and stop/cleanup deterministically.
  • Capture simulator metadata needed by the evidence bundle.
  • Add tests using fakes/mocks for adapter lifecycle and mission upload behavior.
  • Add documentation for local SITL prerequisites without making them required for default CI.

Integration Requirements

  • Use existing mission, vehicle, and scenario YAML files as inputs.
  • Reuse the evidence bundle schema from Ticket 040.
  • Keep ArduPilot-specific dependencies optional and adapter-local.
  • Do not add MAVLink or simulator concerns to core estimator/scenario modules.
  • Add SITL-focused examples only if they reuse existing mission, vehicle, terrain, wind, and scenario conventions.

Acceptance Criteria

  • A supported mission can be uploaded to ArduPilot SITL through the adapter.
  • A live run arms, enters AUTO, and reaches an explicit MAVLink mission-complete state before its evidence bundle can be marked completed.
  • Adapter lifecycle behavior is covered by deterministic fake/mocked tests.
  • Default test runs do not require ArduPilot, MAVLink network access, or a live simulator process.
  • Unsupported mission actions fail with explicit adapter diagnostics.

Implementation Notes

  • adapters.sitl.ardupilot defines the ArduPilot execution adapter.
  • ArduPilotSitlAdapter satisfies the Ticket 040 SitlAdapter evidence boundary while keeping all MAVLink imports lazy and adapter-local.
  • Supported mission route items map to MISSION_ITEM_INT uploads using the pinned MAVLink command and altitude-frame IDs.
  • The optional sitl dependency group contains pymavlink; core dependencies and default tests remain independent of live simulator tooling.
  • The adapter records mission-progress and position telemetry plus command, simulator, and adapter logs for the evidence bundle.
  • The CLI maps live adapter connection, upload, execution, telemetry, and timeout failures to exit 13 (INTERNAL_ERROR); only input/schema/asset failures use 11 (INVALID_INPUT).

Out of Scope

  • Controller-log normalization beyond the SITL evidence message contract.
  • Launching a local ArduPilot subprocess from the Python adapter.
  • Scenario policy command execution.
  • Expected-vs-observed comparison reports.
  • PX4 support (Ticket 045).
  • Real aircraft or hardware integration.