0.6: Calibrating the Color Sensor (JROTC ed.)

CoDrone EDU (JROTC ed.) is equipped with two color sensors on the bottom of the drone. When your drone is powered on you may have noticed the two bright lights projected underneath the drone. Those lights help your color sensors detect how much red, green, and blue light are being reflected back. You will learn more about how the color sensor works in a later lesson.

Important: The color sensors will only work when the drone has landed on a surface. The color sensors cannot detect the surface underneath during flight.

To calibrate the color sensor, you will need:

• the drone
• a battery
• 8 color cards (included in the box)

You will not need the Smart Controller to calibrate the color sensor.

Arrange the color cards in the following order:  WHITE, BLACK, RED, YELLOW, GREEN, LIGHT BLUE, BLUE, PURPLE

Step 1: Initiate the Color Calibration Sequence

Connect the battery to the drone and place it on the table. Press the action button on the drone five (5) times. Wait for the sound sequence. 🎶

Step 2: Use the Action Item to Calibrate the First Color

The color calibration sequence will calibrate each color one at a time in the order listed above. Place the drone on the white card and press the action button once.

Step 3: Repeat for Each Color

The LED on the drone will change to the next color that needs to be calibrated. Place the drone on the color before pressing the action button.

Note: If the LED turns off, this is for the black color card!

When you finish the color calibration, you will hear another sound sequence 🎶. Now your color sensor is ready to use!

You can verify that your sensor is working correctly by turning on your controller and switching the color status screen. Place you drone on each of the color cards and check your controller to see if it is reading correctly.

Note: there will be some variation that happens with this calibration. Be sure to calibrate again when you get into Blockly or Python. You will get more accurate readings from there.

You will learn where to see the values and program with the color sensor in later lessons. Move ahead to the next lesson to learn about your controller and how to access the color data.