  This work provides an extension of Ardupilot's capabilities to allow
researchers to develop swarm robotics applications in Robot Operating
System(ROS)/Gazebo simulations. Ardupilot is a tool used for autopilot
functions in autonomous air, land and underwater robots. However, the original
Ardupilot was not designed for applications in the field of swarm robotics.
Hence, the main contribution of this paper is to endow Ardupilot with the
capability to handle swarm robotics simulations, including the refactoring of
the manufacturer's description files. This work offers a comprehensive and
realistic simulation test-bed for swarm robotics applications under the
ROS/Ardupilot umbrella using an existing off-the-shelf Erlerobotics' erlecopter
UAV.
