Introduction
The PICpilot is a software package meant to control fixed-wing aircraft and numerous "copters", among other vehicles. It requires the usage of a specific type of digital signal microcontroller. This microcontroller is produced by Microchip. The microcontroller that is currently supported is the dspic33fj256gp710A. However, many other similar models can be easily adapted for support.
This software is designed to be used with two communicating microcontrollers (essential double cores). Due to the atypical nature of the software, it is recommended to view the board schematics here. The schematics are also included in another section of this document.
The two processors are allocated to two individual tasks. The chip which is responsible for attitude management is often referred to as the "main" chip. It is responsible for making corrections to the planes orientation in space, which involves pitch, roll, yaw, heading, throttle, and altitude. It also manages a few additional tasks involving relaying communication with the ground station. The second processor is often referred to as the "Path Manager". This chip controls the where the plane should fly (path), and the transitions in altitude and heading between each waypoint (specific GPS coordinates). It also controls the GPS and altitude sensors. These two chips work asynchronously from one another in order to automate the plane.