2.1: Flight Events

Step 1

Getting Started

PRE-FLIGHT WARNING

Our drones are durable, yet not indestructible. Please exercise caution while piloting your drone. To prolong the longevity of your drone, avoid flying into walls or other objects. Prior to takeoff, please review lesson 0.2 “Before You Fly”.

Make sure that your drone is connected with Blockly before starting the lesson! If you are unsure of how to connect, go back to lesson 1.1 to review!

Step 2

Senior Blocks

In the intermediate module, you will be using the “Senior” set of blocks. Now that you have mastered Blockly basics, these blocks will begin to introduce more advanced concepts. Click on the “Senior” tab to open up the new set of blocks.

You might notice that the blocks might look a little different, but they will do the same commands. This is so you can familiarize yourself with a coding format that more closely resembles Python, a popular text-based programming language.

Step 3

Flight Events

Flight events include takeoffs, landings, and hovering. You will find these blocks inside the “Flight Commands” menu. In this lesson, we will focus on the first four blocks in this list.

Step 4

Take-Off

Any code that has your CoDrone EDU in the air will start with the takeoff() block. This will make your drone launch from the ground. Don’t worry about your drone flying straight into the ceiling! CoDrone EDU uses the height sensor to fly about a meter off of the ground. Then, it will hover automatically and wait for the next command.

Let’s make your CoDrone EDU take off now! Drag the takeoff() block from the “Flight Commands” menu to your workspace.

Step 5

Land

The land() block brings your CoDrone EDU to the ground gently. When you’re finished with everything else in your code, attach the land() block to the bottom of your program.

Step 6

Hover

If you want your CoDrone EDU to hover for more time before landing, you can use the hover() block from the flight commands menu and connect it after takeoff. Don’t forget to type in the number of seconds you would like your CoDrone EDU to hover for before landing.

Step 7

Wait

Using the hover command is one way to make your program pause for a duration of seconds. You can also use a sleep() block, found in the gray “Timing” category. This block will pause your program. In other words, it puts your program to sleep. No other commands will be sent until the time delay finishes.

Replace hover() with a sleep() delay of 3 seconds.

Step 8

Emergency Stop Motors

WARNING

Though this command should only be used in emergencies or when safety has become a concern, in this exercise, try to catch the drone when using the emergency_stop() block or clicking “Stop”. In all other circumstances, you should use the land command to bring your drone safely to the ground.

There might be times when your CoDrone EDU is about to crash into something, and you need to have it land before it does serious damage. If you want your CoDrone EDU to land before crashing, you can always use the “Stop” button in your workspace.

You can also use the emergency_stop() command, located under “Flight Commands”. However, we always recommend using land() whenever possible if you want to protect your drone from damage.

Step 9

Challenge

Challenge: CoDrone EDU Pushups

Try to make your CoDrone EDU take off and land 3 times in a row with one code! Currently, your CoDrone EDU can do one push-up with the code you have.

Rules

1. The CoDrone EDU must completely leave the ground on takeoff.

2. The CoDrone EDU must be completely back on the ground on landing.

3. You must include a hover command between takeoff and landing.

Step 10

Lesson Complete

In this lesson, you had your first look at programming CoDrone EDU to take off, hover, and land using senior level blocks. You might have noticed that the blocks look different from the junior level blocks. Don’t worry, they were designed to help you get used to how functions look in text-based programming languages like Python and JavaScript!

This lesson works with:

Grade level:

Approx. time required:

CSTA

CCSS