Linux 5.4 Adds Support For The FlySky FS-iA6B - A Receiver Popular With DIY Drones

The input driver updates for the Linux 5.4 kernel include the addition of an interesting, budget-friendly RC receiver that can be used for home-built drones and other use-cases while now the driver allows the receiver when paired with a supported RC controller to serve as a traditional Linux joystick input.

The input updates were sent in earlier this week and among the changes are allowing drivers to support more precise timestamps for better velocity tracking, improvements to the BU21013 touchpad driver, and other changes as outlined in the pull request.

A new input driver to note is the FlySky FS-iA6B, which is actually an RC receiver. The FlySky FS-iA6B receiver functions as a serial IBUS device and allows for the FlySky FS-i6 and other compliant controls to act as a Linux joystick input device.

The 256 lines of code kernel driver can then allow for FlySky RC remote controls to work as an input device to control Linux games and the like. Details on an interesting setup using the driver and allowing a FlySky RC remote control to then act as input for the open-source FlightGear flight simulator can be found via this blog post. Obviously there are many other interesting hobbyist use-cases as well.

The FlySky FS-iA6B receiver retails for $10~18 USD while a compatible FlySky controller goes for $50+ USD.