Open source program

How to access the open source program of the autopilot ?

Program of the Milo autopilot  is available  —> HERE.

You are free to appropriate it, to modify it for your personal use, to suggest modifications. The program is present in GitHub. If you don’t want to use GitHub to submit changes, you can submit them by email: contact@milo-autopilot.com

An “approved” change to the program will result in a new version that can be downloaded from GitHub,which all users can then install to their autopilot.

This is Arduino code, editable and installable on your pilot with the Arduino development platform (the Arduino “IDE”). The pilot is equipped with an Arduino nano compatible board. Installing the code on the nano board requires a USB Type C cable.

This program is simple and “lightweight”. It takes place in a single Milo.ino file (apart from the communication library with the Bosch BMX055 sensor). “.ino” is the file extension specific to Arduino programs.

 

 

How to install a new version of the software.

  

To install a new software version on your Milo autopilot, you will need:

  • a computer (a PC) with a Windows 10 (or more recent) operating system, or macOS 10.15 (or more recent), or 64-bit Linux.
  •  an internet connection
  • a USB cable with a type C plug.
  • the electronic box of the Milo autopilot.

 

The procedure, in brief :

  • Install the Arduino development platform (“Arduino IDE”) on your PC
  • Download the new version of Milo software to your PC, from the github.com website
  • Upload this new version to your autopilot, using the Arduino IDE and USB cable.

 

The procedure, in details :

 

 – Install the Arduino IDE on your PC:

  1. Go to the arduino.cc website, select the “software” page.
  2. In “DOWNLOAD OPTIONS” select the operating system of your PC (the rest of this procedure will be detailed for Windows. Refer to the arduino.cc website for the other OS’s).
  3. Select “JUST DOWNLOAD”
  4. Select the box “I confim to have read…” then “JUST DOWNLOAD” again
  5. In your download directory a file “arduino-ide_2.3.2_Windows_64bit.exe” is created.
  6. double-click on this file to execute it. This will install the arduino IDE on your pc
  7. on the appearing window, click “I accept”, then “next”, then “install”
  8. on the last window click “close”. The arduino IDE is installed. A corresponding icon should appear on your PC desktop.

In future Milo software updates you will not need to repeat this arduino IDE installation. You can use it directly, since it is already installed.

 

– Download the new version of Milo software to your PC, from the github.com website

  1. Go to github.com/Milo-Pilot/Milo-Autopilot
  2. Click on the green box “<> code”, then on “Downoad ZIP”
  3. In your download directory a “Milo-Autopilot-main.zip” file is created.
  4. Make “right click” – “Extract all”
  5. on the appearing window select “extract”.
  6. a “Milo-Autopilot-main” directory is created in your download directory. It contains the new version of Milo software and its library.

 

– Load this new version to your autopilot, using the Arduino IDE and USB cable.

  1. Open the top cover of the Milo autopilot electronic box
  2. Using the USB cable, connect your PC to the arduino module in the box (this blue module is equipped with a female USB type C socket).
  3. Launch the arduino IDE by double-clicking on the “Arduino IDE” icon on your PC desktop.
  4. In the “File / Preferences” menu, click on “BROWSE”, then double-click on the “Milo-Autopilot-main” directory which was previously created in your download directory, then click on the “Milo -Autopilot-main” subdirectory., then “Choose” (bottom right), then “OK”.                                This is to tell arduino where it can get the new version of the Milo software

5. In the “tools / Port” menu, indicate the number of the USB port into which you plugged the USB cable.

6. In the “Tools / Boards” menu indicate that the arduino module used is of the “nano” type;

7. In the “File / Open” menu, double-click on the “Milo” directory then on the “Milo.ino” file. This file opens in the arduino IDE. This is the Milo autopilot software.

8. Click the horizontal arrow at the top left (“Upload”). You should see the messages “Compiling sketch”, then “Done compiling”, then “Uploading”, then “Done uploading” appear successively. If no red error message appears, that means that the new Milo software is correctly uploaded to the autopilot. You can unplug the USB cable.

9. Phew ! – you are done.

  • Contact:   contact@milo-autopilot.com
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