If the PIC18LF252-I/SP is not big enough to store future firmware, the PIC18LF2620-I/SP (64kb flash inside and pincompatible afa I can see) would be able to.
From what i understand, there is still around 10KB remaining on the PIC free to use.
I believe this board he is working on is for several things, USB connectivity to upgrade firmware's, instead of RS232, more storage (more code) and faster RISC CPU inside the PIC to execute the code.
I would not mind CAPS/SPS image support, if they got off of their behind and supported the minimig with some fort of Library that can be incorporated into PIC. But I suspect this would be too big for the current PIC, and where the new chip/board could come in to play.
He has already said that Multiple ADF support should fit in the existing PIC
Will this daughter board be necessary in the future for new pic firmware?
There could be TWO releases, Original PIC, and newer PIC.
The ORIGINAL PIC would have bug fixes and minor feature enhancements, and the NEWER PIC for advanced features.
The ORIGINAL Pic code is getting NEAR to perfect now, Add in Multiple ADF support and I think its just about there. (Unless there are more DMA bugs to fix).
If you are talking about HDF support and other stuff, then that is going to *REQUIRE* a pic upgrade