How to Get Drone Battery Status Using DroneKit

Use the vehicle.battery attribute in DroneKit to access the drone's battery status, which includes voltage, current, and remaining percentage. Connect to the vehicle first, then read vehicle.battery.level or other battery properties to get the status.

Syntax

To get the battery status in DroneKit, you first connect to the drone vehicle, then access the battery attribute of the vehicle object. The main properties are:

• vehicle.battery.voltage: Battery voltage in volts.
• vehicle.battery.current: Battery current in amperes (may be None if not supported).
• vehicle.battery.level: Remaining battery percentage (0-100).

python

from dronekit import connect

# Connect to the vehicle
vehicle = connect('127.0.0.1:14550', wait_ready=True)

# Access battery status
battery = vehicle.battery
print(f"Voltage: {battery.voltage} V")
print(f"Current: {battery.current} A")
print(f"Remaining: {battery.level} %")

Example

This example connects to a drone simulator or real drone and prints the battery voltage, current, and remaining percentage. It demonstrates how to safely connect and read battery data.

python

from dronekit import connect
import time

# Connect to the vehicle (change connection string as needed)
vehicle = connect('127.0.0.1:14550', wait_ready=True)

try:
    # Print battery status
    print("Battery Status:")
    print(f"Voltage: {vehicle.battery.voltage} V")
    print(f"Current: {vehicle.battery.current} A")
    print(f"Remaining: {vehicle.battery.level} %")
finally:
    # Close vehicle connection
    vehicle.close()

Output

Battery Status:
Voltage: 11.1 V
Current: None A
Remaining: 95 %

Common Pitfalls

Some common mistakes when getting battery status with DroneKit include:

• Not waiting for the vehicle to be ready before accessing battery data, which can cause errors.
• Assuming vehicle.battery.current is always available; some drones do not provide current data and return None.
• Forgetting to close the vehicle connection after use, which can cause resource leaks.

python

from dronekit import connect

# Wrong: Access battery before vehicle is ready
vehicle = connect('127.0.0.1:14550')  # Missing wait_ready=True
print(vehicle.battery.voltage)  # May raise error or None

# Right: Wait for vehicle to be ready
vehicle = connect('127.0.0.1:14550', wait_ready=True)
print(vehicle.battery.voltage)

Quick Reference

Summary tips for getting battery status with DroneKit:

• Use connect(connection_string, wait_ready=True) to ensure vehicle is ready.
• Access battery info via vehicle.battery.
• Check voltage, current, and level properties.
• Handle None values gracefully, especially for current.
• Always close the vehicle connection with vehicle.close() when done.

Key Takeaways

Always connect to the vehicle with wait_ready=True before accessing battery data.

Use vehicle.battery.voltage, vehicle.battery.current, and vehicle.battery.level to get battery status.

Some drones may not provide current data; expect None and handle it safely.

Close the vehicle connection after reading battery status to free resources.

Battery level is a percentage and the most reliable indicator of remaining power.