Tashi Vertex + AirSim Starter Kit 🛰️🤖

This is a minimal, "Hello World" template for building decentralized drone swarms using the Tashi Vertex RS consensus engine and Microsoft AirSim.

Project Objective

The goal of this starter kit is to demonstrate a peer-to-peer (P2P) handshake between two drones. Instead of a central server, the drones use a Hashgraph-based gossip protocol to agree on a state (in this case, a simple string message).

🚀 Prerequisites

1. AirSim: Installed and running (Unreal Engine environment).
2. Tashi Vertex RS: A local clone of the tashi-vertex-rs repository, compiled using cargo build.
3. OS Support:
   • macOS / Linux: Direct execution supported.
   • Windows: Supported via WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux).

🛠️ AirSim Setup

To run this swarm, AirSim needs to be configured for multiple vehicles.

1. Locate Settings File

• Windows: Documents\AirSim\settings.json
• Linux/Mac: ~/Documents/AirSim/settings.json

2. Apply Swarm Configuration

Paste the following configuration into your settings.json. This spawns two drones in a clear environment:

{
  "SeeDocsAt": "https://github.com/Microsoft/AirSim/blob/master/docs/settings.md",
  "SettingsVersion": 1.2,
  "SimMode": "Multirotor",
  "ClockType": "SteppableClock",
  "Vehicles": {
    "Drone1": {
      "VehicleType": "SimpleFlight",
      "X": 0, "Y": 0, "Z": 0
    },
    "Drone2": {
      "VehicleType": "SimpleFlight",
      "X": 2, "Y": 0, "Z": 0
    }
  }
}

3. Launch Environment

Launch any AirSim-compatible binary (e.g., Africa, Blocks, or CityEnviron). When asked to use Car or Multirotor, choose Multirotor.

💻 Code Setup

1. Verify Binary Paths: Open hello_mission.py and ensure the tashi_path points to your local tashi-vertex-rs directory.

   self.tashi = TashiStarterManager(DRONES, tashi_path="../tashi-vertex-rs")

2. Run the Mission:

   python hello_mission.py

📡 What Happens?

1. Consensus Boot: The script cleans old network ports and launches two Tashi P2P nodes.
2. Sync Takeoff: Drone1 and Drone2 take off and hover together.
3. The Handshake: Drone1 broadcasts a decentralized greeting via the Vertex network.
4. Consensus Verification: Once Drone2 receives the message via the Gossip layer, it confirms the data is synchronized.
5. Soft Landing: Upon verified agreement, both drones initiate an autonomous landing sequence and disarm.