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BLBlender

Drone Show

by SMUELDigital·Workflow

Images © SMUELDigital. Used for product review; image policy.

Why we like it

Drone Show earns its place in the superhive library as a version 1.0 prototype exporter that bridges Blender's drone show tooling and PX4 through a MAVSDK-based runner. Its documentation and clearly stated safety limitations keep the intended scope explicit.

What is Drone Show?

Drone Show extends the Blender 4.5+ drone show tool with a prototype show compiler and a MAVSDK Offboard export bundle aimed at PX4-based testing workflows. It compiles animated show data into a generic bundle carrying sampled trajectory and light information.

Compiling a show produces show_bundle.json, a generic package with sampled positions, velocities, accelerations, and RGB values for all drones. Alongside it, the add-on writes one CSV file per drone with time-based position and color samples, suitable for inspection, debugging, post-processing, or conversion into vendor-specific formats. A companion script, mavsdk_offboard_runner.py, connects to one MAVSDK system per drone and streams Offboard setpoints for synchronized execution.

This is a prototype exporter, not a vendor-certified show compiler and not a flight-authority-approved operational system. It is intended for PX4 SITL, lab tests, research setups, and custom companion-computer pipelines, and must be adapted, validated, and safety-reviewed before any real-world use.

Who is Drone Show best for?

Drone Show is best for pX4 SITL runs, lab tests, research setups, and custom companion-computer pipelines that take a Blender drone show into a MAVSDK Offboard runner for prototype testing.

How much does Drone Show cost?

Drone Show is completely free to download and use.

Key features

  • Compiles animated show data into a generic bundle with sampled trajectory and light information
  • Produces show_bundle.json containing sampled positions, velocities, accelerations, and RGB values for all drones
  • Generates one CSV file per drone with time-based position and color samples for inspection, debugging, post-processing, or conversion into vendor-specific formats
  • Includes mavsdk_offboard_runner.py, which connects to one MAVSDK system per drone and streams Offboard setpoints for synchronized execution
  • Optional Safety Check before export, where available, to catch basic issues early
  • Documentation included

Tags

#drone show#Blender#PX4#MAVSDK#Offboard#procedural#exporter

Frequently asked questions

Does Drone Show work with Blender 4.5?

Drone Show is built to extend the Blender 4.5+ drone show tool, so it targets that version and later. You build and animate the show in Blender using the existing drone show tooling, then compile it through this add-on. Because it layers a prototype show compiler and MAVSDK Offboard export on top of that base tool, a compatible Blender 4.5+ setup with the drone show tooling already in place is the starting point for the whole workflow.

What files does Drone Show generate on export?

Drone Show compiles animated show data into three outputs. It writes show_bundle.json, a generic package containing sampled positions, velocities, accelerations, and RGB values for every drone. It also creates one CSV file per drone with time-based position and color samples, useful for inspection, debugging, post-processing, or conversion into vendor-specific formats. Finally, it includes mavsdk_offboard_runner.py, a Python script that connects to one MAVSDK system per drone and streams Offboard setpoints for synchronized execution.

Is Drone Show ready for live drone flights?

Drone Show is a prototype exporter, not a vendor-certified show compiler or a flight-authority-approved operational system. It is intended for PX4 SITL, lab tests, research setups, and custom companion-computer pipelines. Before any real-world use, it must be adapted, validated, and safety-reviewed. PX4 Offboard mode requires continuous streaming of setpoints, correct handling of Offboard-loss and RC-loss behavior, and a valid state estimate, and the add-on does not enforce these constraints automatically, so you handle ports, coordinate frames, arming logic, and failsafes yourself.

Does Drone Show rely on MAVSDK and PX4?

Drone Show targets PX4-based testing workflows and ships a runner built on MAVSDK. The companion mavsdk_offboard_runner.py connects to one MAVSDK system per drone and streams Offboard setpoints, such as position or position–velocity–acceleration, for synchronized execution. To run a compiled show, you copy the exported folder to a machine that runs MAVSDK and has network access to all PX4 systems, whether SITL or real hardware. The generic show bundle can also be adapted to your own fleet and networking setup.

Is Drone Show free to use?

Drone Show is listed as free here in our catalog. For current licensing details and any terms attached to this version 1.0 release, check the developer's page on superhive. The package includes the show compiler, the compiled show bundle and per-drone CSV outputs, the mavsdk_offboard_runner.py script, and documentation. Keep in mind it is provided as a prototype exporter intended for testing and research, so review its stated limitations before building it into any pipeline.

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