SITL
Software-in-the-Loop (SITL) is a simulation approach used in aerospace, robotics, and autonomous systems. In SITL, the software component under development—typically an autopilot flight stack such as PX4 or ArduPilot—is executed on a standard computer while interacting with a simulated environment that emulates the surrounding hardware and dynamics. The flight control software communicates with virtual sensors (IMU, GPS, barometer, magnetometer) and actuators through the same interfaces used on real hardware, commonly via MAVLink.
A SITL setup combines a physics or flight dynamics simulator with the autopilot. The simulator provides a
Purpose and use: SITL enables development, testing, and validation of control algorithms, sensor fusion, planning, and
Limitations: While SITL can closely model many aspects of flight dynamics and sensors, it may not capture
See also: ArduPilot, PX4, MAVLink, Gazebo, JSBSim, hardware-in-the-loop.