swarms/README.md

The ultimate node.js library for controlling Bitcraze Crazyflie 2.0 drones

# swarms

The ultimate node.js client for controlling Bitcraze Crazyflie 2.0 drones

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## Motive

There were too many outdated and undocumented node.js libraries out there for programming Crazyflies. This package's goal is to fix that.

## Prerequisites

### Crazyflie Firmware

This package assumes you have the [latest version of the Crazyflie firmware](https://www.bitcraze.io/getting-started-with-the-crazyflie-2-0/#latest-fw).

### Crazyradio Driver on Windows

If on a Windows machine, look on [the Bitcraze wiki for instructions](https://wiki.bitcraze.io/doc:crazyradio:index#drivers) to install the correct driver onto your Crazyradio. You do not need to do this on macOS or Linux!

## Installation

This package's main dependency is `node-usb`. [Refer to its installation directions](https://github.com/tessel/node-usb#installation) for any help installing it on your operating system.

```
$ npm install swarms
```

Note: On Windows, you may get errors installing the `node-usb` package like the following: you may fail to install the `node-usb` package getting errors like:

```
error C2011: 'timespec': 'struct' type redefinition
```

You can fix this by following the [directions here](https://github.com/libusb/libusb/issues/144#issuecomment-269832528).

## Usage

The following script moves the drone's propellers. More examples are located in the [`/examples`](https://github.com/michaelgira23/swarms/tree/master/examples) directory.

```javascript
const { Crazyradio } = require('swarms');

const radio = new Crazyradio();

// Because you can only use `await` within an async function...
main();
async function main() {
	try {
		await radio.init();
		const drones = await radio.findDrones();

		if (drones.length < 1) {
			throw 'Could not find any drones!';
		}

		const drone = await radio.connect(drones[0]);

		await drone.commander.setpoint({
			roll  : 0,
			yaw   : 0,
			pitch : 0,
			thrust: 32500
		});

	} catch (err) {
		console.log('Uh oh!', err);
		await radio.close();
	}
}
```

## Documentation

Check out [the repository documentation](https://github.com/michaelgira23/swarms/blob/master/docs/table-of-contents.md) for information, tutorials, and more!

## Troubleshooting

Got a problem? Refer to the [troubleshooting page](https://github.com/michaelgira23/swarms/blob/master/docs/troubleshooting.md) in the documentation. If that doesn't help, [create an issue.](https://github.com/michaelgira23/swarms/issues/new)

## Contributing

Encounter a bug or have an idea for a new feature? [Open up an issue!](https://github.com/michaelgira23/swarms/issues/new) Pull requests also welcome! Check out the [Contributing Guide](https://github.com/michaelgira23/swarms/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md) for more details.

## License

This project is under the [MIT License](https://github.com/michaelgira23/swarms/blob/master/LICENSE).

## Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the following people, whose libraries were used as a reference:
- [Bitcraze team's `crazyflie-lib-python` library](https://github.com/bitcraze/crazyflie-lib-python)
- [C J Silverio's `aerogel` library](https://github.com/ceejbot/aerogel)