When you're first starting out, it's good to find out what there is and where you can find it. On the first boot, Cockpit opens a tutorial window that walks you through the main parts of the interface:
Cockpit generally automatically finds and/or connects to your vehicle:
If that address changes while operating, or your vehicle is not running BlueOS, it may be necessary to configure the global vehicle address, and potentially also the more specific backend server addresses to connect to MAVLink2REST and the WebRTC video signalling server (e.g. from MAVLink Camera Manager), so that Cockpit knows the correct connection points for the vehicle.
To access the configuration section, open the left sidebar, and select Settings / General
:
If necessary, there are some additional details in the advanced usage documentation.
Once connected to a vehicle, Cockpit loads a profile with a default set of interface views that are relevant for the vehicle type. These should serve as a reasonable starting point, which you can then customise to suit your specific use-cases and preferences.
Micro-aerial vehicles start out with an interface similar to other control station softwares, with
The default interface for rovers and boats is similar to the MAV one, but with the bottom bar altitude tracking swapped for a GPS speed widget:
Cockpit was first developed for ROVs, and there are three starting views built in:
For vehicles controlled via a joystick, button and axis function mappings can be set through the
Settings / Joystick
section of the left sidebar:
Cockpit does not currently contain vehicle configuration or calibration functionalities. It is recommended to perform these in advance, using either the BlueOS web interface and/or an alternative control station software like QGroundControl.
Once you're ready to operate your vehicle, you can get started with remote control, or switch between the Mission Planning and Flight displays via the left sidebar.