GUI Design for Cockpit using ArcGIS

System Setup

• Install Qt Framework 5.15.2 and ArcGIS Runtime SDK v100.14.1 for Qt API on Linux.

• Open a new terminal and paste the following command:

  mkdir -p ~/dev/cpp/arcgis && cd ~/dev/cpp/arcgis

  Then clone the repositories:

  git clone https://git.unibw.de/angewandte-ki-f-r-dynamische-systeme/cockpit-arcgis.git && git clone https://git.unibw.de/angewandte-ki-f-r-dynamische-systeme/cockpit-helper.git

• run this command to install GNU Compiler Collection, ZeroMQ3 and OpenGL libraries:

sudo apt-get install build-essential && sudo apt-get install libzmq3-dev && sudo apt install libgl1-mesa-dev

• Open the Qt Creator and then click on Open Project. Go to your cloned folder cockpit-arcgis and select the .pro file.

• Create your own developer account on this website: https://developers.arcgis.com/

• Go to your Dashboard and copy your API Key, then replace it with the value of data_url key in param/gui_param_file.yaml file.

• Go to Layers section and click on Import Data, select the zip file from the repo. Then copy the Url of a layer and replace it with the value of data_url key in param/gui_param_file.yaml file.

• Meanings of the layer data can be found here (from page 8): https://tlbg.thueringen.de/fileadmin/TLBG/Vertrieb/testdaten/dlm/4-4_03_basis-dlm-aaa.pdf

• Install anaconda, create a new conda environment and activate it:

conda create -n simauto conda activate simauto

Afterwards, go to your other cloned folder cockpit-helper and run the following command:

conda env update -n simauto --file environment.yaml && sudo apt-get install wmctrl scrot gawk && pip install guibot pyautogui opencv-python && chmod +x dumpxml.sh getwinidbyname.sh

• Install Air Manager: https://siminnovations.com/wiki/index.php?title=Air_Manager_4.x_Installation

• Install XPlaneConnect.zip file: https://github.com/nasa/XPlaneConnect/releases/tag/v1.3-rc5

Unzip the .zip archive and copy the folder to the plugin directory ([X-Plane Directory]/Resources/plugins/)

• Install Flight Simulator Plugins: https://siminnovations.com/wiki/index.php?title=Flight_Simulator_Plugins_Installation

• To run the whole project:

  • Run XPlane11 simulator

  • execute dumpxml.sh in cockpit-helper folder from a terminal:

    ./dumpxml.sh

  or to test it quickly: python3 read_gps.py

  • Open Qt Creator and run the project

Known Problems

Air Manager CPU usage is changing when 75" display is connected to the computer. It overloads the CPU, and this situation affects communication pipeline and GUI performance.

Contributions

• Before a contribution or adding a new feature, a corresponding issue should be created first. This issue should clarify what the contribution will be about.

• camelCase case type is being used for class, variable and function names.

• All commits should follow this specific pattern: Issue-\d+ Example: created layout issue-2

• Merge requests must be approved by at least one developer.

ArcGIS Runtime API for Qt

• Main Page: https://developers.arcgis.com/qt/

• C++ API Reference: https://developers.arcgis.com/qt/cpp/api-reference/

ArcGIS Developer Glossary

• https://developers.arcgis.com/documentation/glossary/

Tutorials

• Tutorials for ArcGIS Runtime API for Qt: https://developers.arcgis.com/qt/tutorials/

• Sample codes for ArcGIS Runtime API for Qt in C++ https://developers.arcgis.com/qt/cpp/sample-code/

• Tutorial for the interaction with ArcGIS online GUI: https://learn.arcgis.com/de/projects/get-started-with-arcgis-online/

Best Practices

• ArcGIS Best Practices: https://developers.arcgis.com/qt/programming-patterns/best-practices/

• Qt Creator Best Practices: https://web.stanford.edu/dept/cs_edu/resources/qt/recommended-settings