Getting started

Install

Download from the Releases page:

System	File
Windows 10 / 11 (x64)	CORV.GCS.Setup.<version>.exe	Installer; you can choose the folder
Linux (x64)	CORV.GCS-<version>.AppImage	Portable: chmod +x and run
Debian / Ubuntu	corv-gcs_<version>_amd64.deb	sudo apt install ./corv-gcs_<version>_amd64.deb
macOS, Apple silicon	CORV.GCS-<version>-arm64.dmg	Drag the app to Applications
macOS, Intel	CORV.GCS-<version>-x64.dmg	Drag the app to Applications

The macOS app is not signed with an Apple Developer ID, so macOS reports a downloaded copy as damaged. Clear the download flag once, after copying it to Applications: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/CORV GCS.app".

To run from source you need Node.js 18 or newer:

git clone https://github.com/Xarin94/Corv-GCS.git
cd Corv-GCS
npm install
npx electron-rebuild     # native serial-port module for Electron
npm start

A serial telemetry radio on Linux needs your user in the dialout group (sudo usermod -aG dialout $USER, then log in again).

First launch

The app opens on the FLIGHT DATA tab in demo mode: a simulated flight over Innsbruck, so the 3D view has something to show before any vehicle is connected. The loading screen waits for the terrain around the aircraft; it goes away by itself after a short timeout if the network is slow.

The tabs along the top:

Tab
FLIGHT DATA	The 3D view, the HUD and the command bar — see Flight screen
FLIGHT PLAN	The mission editor — see Mission planning
SETUP	Connection, calibration, failsafes, tuning, parameters, simulator, LiDAR, ROS — see Vehicle setup
SYS CONFIG	Flight stack, navigation mode, language, 3D model, HUD fields, offline data, stream rates — see GCS settings

On the flight screen, the arrow on the right edge opens the side panel: set home, reboot, mute the GCS, ADS-B traffic, RTL options, a target, the message log and log replay. The window has no frame: move the mouse to the top edge for the minimise / maximise / close buttons.

Terrain and imagery

The 3D terrain is built from SRTM elevation tiles, one file per 1° × 1° square (about 25 MB at 30 m resolution, named like N47E011.hgt). The tiles under the vehicle are downloaded automatically when a network is available and kept on disk, in data/terrain next to the installation (in the per-user data folder when the installation folder is read-only). Without a network you can:

• put your own .hgt files in topography/ inside the installation folder, or pick a folder in SYS CONFIG → SYSTEM CONFIG → TERRAIN (HGT FOLDER) — from OpenTopography or USGS EarthExplorer;
• download an area ahead of time in SYS CONFIG → OFFLINE DATA DOWNLOAD: a latitude/longitude box, the highest satellite zoom to keep, and the SRTM tiles under it.

Satellite tiles are cached as they are shown, so an area flown once works offline afterwards.

Missions, flight logs and LiDAR maps are written to a data/ folder next to the installation (data/missions, data/logs, data/lidar); under Program Files, where that is not allowed, they go to the per-user data folder. Custom aircraft models (.glb / .gltf) go in models/.

Choose the flight stack

SYS CONFIG → FLIGHT STACK → ENVIRONMENT tells the GCS which firmware it talks to:

Choice	Link it suggests	What changes
ArduPilot (Copter / Plane / Rover / Sub)	MAVLink serial, 57 600 baud	Everything available
INAV	MSP serial, 115 200 baud	Missions upload as INAV waypoint lists; what INAV cannot fly is greyed out while planning; MAVLink-only setup pages are disabled
Betaflight	MSP serial	No navigation: the FLIGHT PLAN tab is disabled; telemetry only

Connect a vehicle

SETUP → COMMS → CONNECTION:

CONNECTION TYPE	Typical use	Default
MAVLink Serial	USB telemetry radio (SiK, RFD900, …) or the autopilot’s USB port	57 600 baud (115 200 on USB)
MAVLink UDP	MAVProxy, mavlink-router, a companion computer, Herelink	127.0.0.1:14550
MAVLink TCP	SITL, also through WSL on Windows	127.0.0.1:5760
MSP Serial (INAV / Betaflight)	The flight controller’s USB or a telemetry UART	115 200 baud; Slow link polling for long-range radios
MSP TCP (INAV SITL)	INAV’s simulator
CORV Binary (Legacy)	The onboard CORV autopilot over USB	460 800 baud

SCAN lists the serial ports; CONNECT opens the link and requests the data streams. The FIRMWARE INFO panel shows what answered. A cellular module (LTEtelem) is connected from SETUP → COMMS → CELLULAR LINK instead — see Vehicle setup.

Once connected, the command bar at the bottom shows the link, the battery, the GPS and the flight mode, and the annunciators beside the speed tape flag anything wrong — see Flight screen. Before a first flight, work through the ArduPilot pre-arm checks and arming pages for your vehicle.

No aircraft at hand?

SETUP → TOOLS → SIMULATION downloads and starts an ArduPilot simulator with one click and connects to it — see Simulator.