1. Cloud Cap Technologies
Piccolo Autopilots
Brandon Witte
Shaoqian Wang

2. Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot
Outline
Cloud Cap Autopilot Solutions (3)
Piccolo Nano, Piccolo SL, Piccolo II
Piccolo Comparisons (4)
Piccolo II
Design Philosophy (5)
Key Features (6)
Sensor Package (7)
Optional Peripherals (8)
Piccolo Ground Station (9)
Piccolo Command Center (PCC) (10)
PCC Telemetry (11)
PCC Waypoints (12)
Autopilot Comparisons (13)
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot

3. Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot
Piccolo Nano
Piccolo SL
Piccolo II
Designed to meet the requirements of the smallest UAVs where the vehicle structure provides the enclosure and the autopilot components need to be distributed within the airframe’s available space. 
With its thin form factor and flexible I/O capability (14 configurable GPIO lines) is ideal for small fixed wing and VTOL platforms.  
Adds functionality and flexibility for advanced UAS including additional I/O for support (16 configurable GPIO lines) for payload intensive applications.  
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot

4. Piccolo Comparison Table
Attributes
Piccolo Nano (L/R/S)
Piccolo SL
Piccolo II
Size (in) / weight (g)
1.8 x 5.4 x 0.5 / 22 w.o. radio
5.1 x 2.24 x .075 /110 w. radio
5.59 x 1.81 x 2.46 / 220 w. radio
GPIO Ports
6/14/14
14 (configurable)
16 (configurable)
Price
~ $1,000
$6,500
$8,000
Enclosure
Unenclosed
EMI Shielded aluminum
EMI Shielded Carbon
SWIL/HWIL
No/Yes/Yes
Yes
Peripheral support
Limited/Limited/Yes
Max IAS
N/A
195 kts (224 mph)
155 kts (178 mph)
Design Philosophy
Maximum installation flexibility, minimum weight and smaller size than its counterparts
Ease of use with small UAVs. Flexible I/O capability and smaller than the Piccolo II
Complete/reliable integrated avionics system, additional I/O support for payload intensive app.
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot

5. Piccolo II Design philosophy
The highly integrated Piccolo autopilots are designed to provide a complete, off the shelf solution including core autopilot, flight sensors, navigation, wireless communication, and payload interfaces.
Offers an extremely robust, flexible, and reliable avionics package with a capability of drop in autonomous flight.
Command and control software was designed for ease of use and plug and play operation.
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot

6. Piccolo II – Key Features
5.16” x 2.46” x 1.81”, ~220 grams (7.7 oz) with integrated 900 MHz radio.
Supports wide variety of fixed wing and VTOL UAV’s.
Both Software and Hardware in the Loop (SWIL / HWIL) simulation modes for pre- flight testing.
16 configurable GPIO lines.
Onboard inertial, air data, GPS sensors, radio, and EMI shielded carbon enclosure.
Waypoint navigation – 1000 waypoints saved in autopilot.
Cost: $8,000 (Standard)
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot

7. Piccolo II – Sensor package
Power consumption
4 W (with integrated 900 MHz radio).
Inertial Sensors
3 axis gyroscopes (300 deg/s), 3 axis accelerometers (10g).
GPS
4 Hz uBlox Module GPS receiver.
Pressure
ported static, KPa ported pitot. 4 KPa differential for a 155 kts maximum IAS.
Communications
900 MHz Unlicensed
2.4 GHz Unlicensed
MHz Licensed
MHz Licensed
MHz Licensed
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot

8. Piccolo II – Optional Peripherals
Support for pan-tilt servos
Used for camera control and stabilization.
Laser Altimeter for auto-land
Provides accurate altitude information to perform a soft flared landing.
DGPS
extends auto-land performance by using a 2cp accuracy DGPS.
Supports autonomous taxi, rolling take-off, stationary and moving net recovery.
Helicopter Operations (VTOL)
Take-off, landing, precision hover, and automated path following.
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot

9. Piccolo Ground Station
Responsible for managing the wireless link to one or more Piccolo avionics.
The portable ground station (PGS) provides a flexible, rugged ground station option well suited for typical flight operations in field environments.
Pilot console interface can be used to manually control aircraft.
Built in frequency analyzer.
Cost: $2,500
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot

10. Piccolo Command Center
The user interface for the piccolo autopilot.
Powerful flight planning and management software.
Waypoint insertion
Route copy between aircraft.
Manage multiple aircraft on single map.
Ability to change airspeed, altitude and heading.
Terrain database supporting DTED and SRTM
Map Terrain Warning Layer
Airspace Boundary
Geo Fence
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot

11. Piccolo Command Center - Telemetry
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot

12. Piccolo Command Center – Waypoints
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot

13. Autopilot Comparisons
Piccolo II
PIXHAWK
Ardupilot/Mega
OpenPilot
Open Source? No
Yes
Programming Language
N/A C
Arduino(C/C++)
Develop Platform
ARM, Atom and other Linux
Arduino and WIP ARM RTOS
ARM PiOS
Flight platforms
(Fixed Wing/ VTOL)
Yes/ Yes
Size/weight (in/grams)
5.16 x 2.46 x 1.8 (220)
3.2 x 2.0x 0.6
(38)
2.76 x 1.77 x 0.59
(33)
1.42 x 1.42 x 0.61
8.5
Cost
~$8,000
$200
$250
$130
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot

14. Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot
Questions?
Cloud Cap Piccolo II Autopilot