# Micro Air Vehicle Link (MAVLink) in a Nutshell: A Survey

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.10641 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.10641/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 22 Jun 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [A Survey and Framework of Cooperative Perception: From Heterogeneous Singleton to Hierarchical Cooperation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.10590/) (2022)
- [Machine Learning for the Detection and Identification of Internet of Things (IoT) Devices: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.10181/) (2021)
- [Cyber Mobility Mirror for Enabling Cooperative Driving Automation in Mixed Traffic: A Co-Simulation Platform](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.09463/) (2022)
- [Computer Vision for Volunteer Cotton Detection in a Corn Field with UAS Remote Sensing Imagery and Spot Spray Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.07334/) (2022)
- [Attention Meets UAVs: A Comprehensive Evaluation of DDoS Detection in Low-Cost UAVs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.19881/) (2024)
- [Architecture for Multi-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles based Autonomous Precision Agriculture Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.21183/) (2026)
- [Sensor-Driven Mission Synthesis for UAV/UGV Swarms: A TB-CSPN Coordination Architecture with Hardware-Enforced Safety](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.14306/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The Micro Air Vehicle Link (MAVLink in short) is a communication protocol for unmanned systems (e.g., drones, robots). It specifies a comprehensive set of messages exchanged between unmanned systems and ground stations. This protocol is used in major autopilot systems, mainly ArduPilot and PX4, and provides powerful features not only for monitoring and controlling unmanned systems missions but also for their integration into the Internet. However, there is no technical survey and/or tutorial in the literature that presents these features or explains how to make use of them. Most of the references are online tutorials and basic technical reports, and none of them presents comprehensive and systematic coverage of the protocol. In this paper, we address this gap, and we propose an overview of the MAVLink protocol, the difference between its versions, and its potential in enabling Internet connectivity to unmanned systems. We also discuss the security aspects of MAVLink. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first technical survey and tutorial on the MAVLink protocol, which represents an important reference for unmanned systems users and developers.