A Survey of Pixhawk/PX4 Autopilot and Its Impact on Research and Education

The rapid advancement of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies has increased demand for flexible autopilot platforms suitable for both research and education. Among available options, the open-source Pixhawk/PX4 autopilot has emerged as a leading solution due to its modular architecture and robust software ecosystem. This survey examines the adoption of the Pixhawk/PX4 platform in research and education. The survey covers the analysis of the Pixhawk/PX4 autopilot software development APIs, its compatibility with ROS middleware and MATLAB/Simulink environments, and environments for software/hardware-in-the-loop simulations. Additionally, it explores the integration of Cutting-Edge technologies to enhance UAVs performance. By synthesizing these findings, this survey presents a holistic map of the Pixhawk/PX4 ecosystem, and it serves as a multifaceted resource, providing its diverse audience with critical insights to support informed tool selection for UAV development projects.