- Role
- Solo builder
- Period
- 2026–PRESENT
- Status
- WIP
- Tech
- Go, MAVLink, WebSockets, React, TypeScript, CesiumJS, Docker, PX4 SITL
- Repo
- https://github.com/jmvaldez/aetherforge
Why
I wanted to learn drones from the software side. QGroundControl is powerful, but it shows an operator everything at once. Aetherforge is my take on a simpler, operator-first fleet view, built on real MAVLink telemetry instead of mock data.
What works
- A Go backend that parses live MAVLink v2 telemetry from PX4 running in simulation
- A per-vehicle state machine tracking heartbeat and GPS fix
- Arm and disarm commands sent from the UI through the backend to the vehicle
- WebSocket streaming from the backend to the browser
- Real-time vehicle positions on a Cesium 3D globe
- A fleet manager UI with vehicle selection
- A shared component library documented in Storybook
The whole simulator runs in Docker, with no Gazebo or GPU required. Anyone can clone it and, after a one-time build of about ten minutes, watch a drone move on the map.
What I learned
Building this showed me how much I enjoy the layers under the features: keeping data flowing reliably and keeping the system running. That’s the part of full stack I want to get better at next.
Next
See the roadmap.