GPS and magnetometer and their roles

The GPS and magnetometer are the two main and interrelated components of the drone. Both of the components work as the eyes and ears of the drone to help the drone locate itself in the 3D environment with respect to the Earth and also to navigate in the 3D space. The presence of a GPS and compass helps the drone navigate through different waypoints in space completely autonomously and also while returning to the launch position:

Figure 5.4 – An image depicting how a GPS works

How does GPS work?

The GPS module is used to interface with the flight controller by any means of a hardware protocol, i.e., SPI, I2C, or CAN, depending on the manufacturer and model (see product user manual). A GPS module consists of different positioning systems, such as GPS, Glonass, Beidou, and so on, which receive the signals from the satellite network via radio receivers. These signals have the velocity, time, and location co-ordinate...