Table of Contents
The Project
How is Kirogi different from other ground control applications?
Created from scratch in February 2019, Kirogi benefits from a lot of prior art. It aims to provide the following unique combination of features:
-
End-user focus. As a KDE application, Kirogi aims to be a polished experience that is fun and easy to use for novices and experts alike, with special emphasis on a premium direct control experience.
-
Multi-vendor. Kirogi aims to have wide out-of-the-box support for many vehicles by different manufacturers. Users should be able to use different vehicles without needing to switch ground control software.
-
Highly portable. Kirogi aims to support many different mobile and desktop platforms. Users should be able to switch platforms without needing to switch ground control software.
-
Freedom. Kirogi will always be freely-licensed. Users should have control over and be able to extend and modify their ground control on their own.
-
Open governance. Created and maintained by the KDE community, an organization with more than two decades of experience in hosting free software projects.
What does the name mean?
The Kirogi project was started in South Korea. Kirogi (written “기러기” in the native writing system) is the Korean word for wild geese.
Wild geese are known as expert flyers. Kirogi’s mascot is a farm goose with an adventurous spirit, who flies just as well thanks to the use of superior technology.
Features
When will Kirogi support my drone?
The Kirogi project is still in its early stages. For now it supports the following drones:
- Parrot Anafi
- Parrot Bebop 2
- Ryze Tello
Additionally, support for the MAVLink protocol is in early development, enabling control of many drones natively speaking this protocol.
Support for additional vehicles, also by other manufacturers, is very much a goal, as well as support for the MultiWii Serial Protocol (MSP). If your vehicle is not on the list yet, check back later!
Vehicle support is subject to availability for development and testing. If you are a manufacturer and would like to see Kirogi support your hardware, please contact the board of directors of KDE e.V. for this and any other business inquiries.
Can Kirogi download photos and videos from my drone?
Not yet. This feature is considered high priority and will be added before version 1.0.
Does Kirogi support mission planning and upload?
Not yet. A mission planning mode is a future goal.
Do I need a touchscreen to use Kirogi?
A touchscreen is not required to use Kirogi. It has basic support for two-stick gamepad/joypad controllers (it was tested with an Xbox One controller).
Parrot Drones
Does Kirogi support the Parrot Skycontroller peripherals?
Not yet. There is basic support for two-stick gamepad/joypad controllers, however.
I have a supported Parrot drone. Do I need the Parrot SDK to use Kirogi?
The Parrot SDK is not required to use Kirogi. It contains its own implementation of the protocol used to operate Parrot brand drones.
Technology and License
Does Kirogi support MAVLink?
Support for the MAVLink protocol is in early development, enabling control of many drones natively speaking this protocol. To build with MAVLink support check here.
What technology does Kirogi use?
Kirogi is written in C++14 and QML. It uses the Kirigami UI toolkit (part of KDE Frameworks) and Qt Quick, supported on a diverse array of mobile and desktop platforms.
What is the license?
Kirogi’s library in src/lib/ and bundled vehicle support plugins in src/plugins/ are licensed under LGPL v2.1 (or later), see COPYING.LIB.
The frontend (UI and other business logic) is licensed under GPL v2 (or later), see COPYING.
The app icon in data/icons/ is licensed under LGPL v2.1 (or later), see COPYING.LIB.
The mascot artwork in src/ui/assets/ is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0, see COPYING.MASCOT.