In order to create the UAV flight control system from scratch, we’re going to need a microcontroller and a tool chain that is Linux compatible. Since we know we’re going to be dealing with servo control signals, input capture (good for reading pulse widths), and PWM modules are going to be important in our device selection. Microchip has a huge variety of microcontrollers available, and I have my eye on their dsPIC33 series because of the DSP hardware and variety of peripherals. Also, I have some experience using them in previous hobby projects, as well as my Senior Design. Best of all, I still have a PICkit2 emulator and PIC16F887 development board stashed away.

Or, how I started another project I was unlikely to finish.

It seems like everybody else has a UAV, and I don’t. So, let’s try to build one. I’m a poor writer, but if I force myself to document things in this blog, there’s a small chance I’ll keep myself from forgetting why I made decisions and going in circles.