Software Engineering Radio is a podcast targeted at the professional software developer. The goal is to be a lasting educational resource, not a newscast. SE Radio covers all topics software engineering. Episodes are either tutorials on a specific topic, or an interview with a well-known character from the software engineering world. All SE Radio episodes are original content — we do not record conferences or talks given in other venues. Each episode comprises two speakers to ensure a lively listening experience. SE Radio is brought to you by the IEEE Computer Society and IEEE Software magazine.

SE Radio 745: Andrew Tridgell on Flight Control Software

November 04, 2026 58:08 9.97 MB ( 76.3 MB less) Downloads: 0

Dr Andrew Tridgell of the Ardupilot project discusses flight control software for autonomous and remote controlled aircraft. This field has advanced considerably in recent years, and autonomous vehicles are playing an increasingly important role in many industries -- from package delivery to scientific surveying and film-making -- as well as in the consumer market.

Host Jason Davey speaks with Tridgell about the fundamental concepts required to keep a drone in the air, the hardware and software architecture behind these vehicles, and how development and testing are handled in Ardupilot, one of the leading open source flight control software stacks.