Tello with DroneBlocks | Grades Grade 6–Grade 12 | Classbox | Classbox

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36 Standards Aligned

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Lesson Steps

👋 Tello Introduction

5 min

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<h3>What is a Drone?</h3>

When most people hear the phrase "drone," they undoubtedly immediately picture something, but what is it exactly?

<footer>
Unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are more commonly referred to as drones. This indicates that the thing in question is a flying machine that is not being driven by someone within the machine. The size and design of these vehicles can vary. Some of them might resemble an airplane, while others might resemble a helicopter or even multi-copters! Then, either a person on the ground or a computer that has been designed to navigate on its own, controls these vehicles remotely!
</footer>

Now that we have a grasp on what a drone is we can begin learning more about how they work!

✈️ Fundamentals of Drone Flight

10 min

<h3>↕️ Achieving Vertical Motion </h3>

The most crucial aspect of drone flight is likely vertical motion. After all, it is how our drones take to the skies! What steps are taken to achieve vertical motion? Let's investigate!

 

<h4>Gravity!</h4>

First, let's talk about how things fall. Gravity is the force that holds things down on Earth. All things on our planet are always affected by this force. This means that if we want to fly, we need to find a way to beat this force and keep beating it. Depending on how heavy something is, gravity pulls on it in a different way. We can use a simple equation to figure out how strong this force is:

 

F = m * g

 

With this equation, you can find out how much gravity is pulling on something. In this equation, F stands for force, m for the object's mass in kilograms, and g for the acceleration of gravity.

Gravity's acceleration can be different in different parts of our solar system, but on Earth, we use a rough estimate of 9.8 m/s².

So, let's see how this equation works in real life. The Tello drone we use at Betabox weighs about 85g. In our equation to find the force of gravity acting on the drone, we have to use kilograms so we need to convert. This would mean that we would solve the following expression to find the force of gravity on this object:

F = 0.085kg * 9.8 m/s²

 

<img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/h10mf03xc5wwmyg9c9x6joayil0w/moving+up+or+down.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 600px; height: 306px;" />

 

 

This means that the object would be subject to a force of 0.833 kg * m/s.

You may have noticed that our calculation is followed by an ugly unit. This is a combination of all the units we used when we did our math. This force can be simplified down to 0.833 N. In this case, the N stands for Newtons, which is the unit for measuring force.

<hr />
<h4>Overcoming Gravity!</h4>

Now that we know how to figure out the force of gravity, we can talk about why it matters for how our drones move up and down.

If our drone can't fight against the force of gravity, it won't be able to fly. This means that the propellers on our drones need to generate enough lift to beat gravity. In our last example, this would mean that we would need more than 0.833 N to take off. In reality, we'd need at least 25–50% more force to get off the ground. Once we're in the air, we can turn that force back down until it's just a little bit higher than gravity. This will let us stay in one place.

What about going down? To go down, we would start to reduce the amount of force we put out, letting gravity pull us down. When we get to the height we want, we'll add force to get back to a hover.

Let's recap!

<ul>
<li>For takeoff and climbing, you need to use more force than the force of gravity.</li>
<li>To hover, you need to put out about the same amount of force as gravity.</li>
<li>When you land or go down, you have to use less force than the force of gravity.</li>
</ul>

 

<hr />
 

<h3>↔️ Achieving Lateral Motion</h3>

Now that we know how drones move up and down, we can find out how they move side to side. Lateral motion means moving left, right, forward, or backward.

<h4> </h4>

<h4>Moving Forward or Backward!</h4>

When a drone is going straight up or down, all of the rotors have to be moving at the same speed. But if we want the machine to move forward or backward, we need to change the speed of the rotors.

So, to move forward or backward, we either need to speed up or slow down the front or back rotors. If we make the back rotors spin faster and the front rotors spin slower, the drone will start moving forward! If we make the front rotors spin faster and the back rotors spin slower, the drone will start to move backward!

When you do this, you may notice that the drone tilts forward or backward. In the world of flying drones, this is called pitch. Pitch just means how far forward or backward the drone is leaning.

To sum up, the drone moves in the direction that makes less force. Take a look at the diagram below to see the math in action:

 

<img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/sgnvaa7hq8mgxs61ndt42n4iwpu0/moving+forward+or+backward.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 600px; height: 306px;" />

<h3> </h3>

<h4>Moving Left or Right!</h4>

Moving to the left or right is similar to moving forward or backward. One set of rotors on the drone speeds up, while the other set slows down. So, if you speed up the left rotors and slow down the right ones, the drone will move to the right. The drone will move to the left if the opposite happens. Take a look at the diagram below to see the math in action:

<img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/7w46d9jtt5bruro89vpma618nf36/moving+left+or+right.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 600px; height: 306px;" />

 

Again, you may notice that the drone leans to the left or right when you do this. In the world of flying drones, that's called roll. Roll is the term for how much the drone leans to the left or right. You can also move in a diagonal direction by combining moving forward, backward, left, and right!

 

<hr />
<h3> </h3>

<h3>🔄 Achieving Rotation</h3>

Now that we've talked about moving up and down and side to side, you might be wondering about rotation. We can also turn the drone, but to figure out how, we need to understand something else first.

<h3> </h3>

<h4>What is Torque?</h4>

Torque is a way to measure the force that can turn something around an axis. This means that when our propellers spin, they create torque, which, if not taken into account, would make our drone spin out of control.

So why don't drones do that? Well, if you look closely at most drones, you will see that half of the propellers spin in a clockwise direction while the other half spin in the opposite direction. In our case, the pairs are across from each other on the diagonal. The drone flies steadily because these two different directions cancel out the torque.

Another thing to note is that each pair of these has a different propeller. One pair is the opposite of the other. If this wasn't true, one pair would push air up and the other would push air down. This would cancel out the force, making it impossible for our drone to fly. Since we now know what torque is, we can start to figure out how a drone turns.

<h3> </h3>

<h4>Achieving Rotation!</h4>

If all the propellers on a drone need to have the same amount of torque, what would happen if they didn't?

You're right! After that, the drone would turn. So, to turn the drone left or right, we just need to slow down and speed up one of the diagonal pairs. The drone would then move either clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on which motors were sped up. Rotation is called yaw in the world of drone flight. This is part of what we call attitude, along with roll and pitch. Take a look at the diagram below to see this in action:

 

<img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/8hujitttisx8tkginwxuh7o5v5bm/achieving+rotation.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 600px; height: 306px;" />

 

<hr />
 

<h3>Putting It All Together!</h3>

Now that we know the basics of drone movement, let's try putting it all together! Remember to keep the following rules in mind for drone movement:

🚦 Rules for Vertical Motion

<ul>
<li>If the total lift is greater than the force of gravity, the drone moves up.</li>
<li>If the total lift is less than the force of gravity, the drone moves down.</li>
<li>If the total lift is equal to the force of gravity, the drone doesn't move vertically.</li>
</ul>

 

🚥 Rules for Lateral Motion

<ul>
<li>If the lifts of the left propellers add up to more than the lifts of of the right propellers added together, it moves right.</li>
<li>If the lifts of the right propellers add up to more than the lifts of of the left propellers added together, it moves left.</li>
<li>If the lifts of the back propellers add up to more than the lifts of of the front propellers added together, it moves forward.</li>
<li>If the lifts of the front propellers add up to more than the lifts of of the back propellers added together, it moves backward.</li>
</ul>

Rules for Rotation

<ul>
<li>If the lifts of propellers 1 and 3 add up to more than the lifts of propellers 2 and 4, it rotates counterclockwise.</li>
<li>If the lifts of propellers 2 and 4 add up to more than the lifts of propellers 1 and 3, it rotates clockwise.</li>
<li>Otherwise, there is no rotational movement</li>
</ul>

 

<hr />
<h3> </h3>

<h3>Putting It All Together!</h3>

Now that you have reviewed the rules above try using the image and table below to determine how the drone will move! For these examples, we will assume the drone needs 4 N of lift to hover.

<img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/rsiyt18nnv16230lbpmegcfi0n0l/putting+it+all+together+diagram.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 600px; height: 432px;" />

 

 

<img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/nyntjf640l3fxgm4vm1qzju8g4fx/putting+it+all+together+chart.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 800px; height: 177px;" />

 

Congratulations! You now have the knowledge to determine how a drone will behave in flight!

<h3> </h3>

🤨 What is Aerodynamics?

10 min

<h3>What is Aerodynamics?</h3>

You might not know what the word aerodynamics means. So let's break it apart!

<img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/1mu3zy7xger43rrywqjc7preivsn/what+is+aerodynamics.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 533px;" />

The first part of the word "aero" comes from the Ancient Greek word for air. The second part, "dynamics," comes from the Ancient Greek word for power. When you put these two things together, you get the term "air power," which is pretty close to what it means.

Aerodynamics is the study of moving air and how it moves around solid things. Basically, it is the study of how the movement of air can make lift!

You will learn the basics of aerodynamics and how it applies to drones in this lesson!

 

<hr />
<h3>How Do Propellers Work?</h3>

We already know that the propellers are what give our drone lift, but how exactly do they do that?

What's interesting about propeller/wing aerodynamics is that there are still a lot of questions about it. Bernoulli's Principle is the general rule that everyone agrees on.

The Bernoulli Principle says that the speed of air and the pressure of air are related in a way that goes against each other. When the speed of air goes up, the air pressure goes down. When the speed of air goes down, the air pressure goes up.

Then, what does this rule have to do with our propellers?

<hr />
<h3>The Aerodynamics of Propellers!</h3>

Like the wings on an airplane, the tops of propeller blades are curved and the bottoms are flat. This shape is called a "airfoil" which causes air to move more quickly over the top than under the bottom.

Because of this, there is less air pressure on top of the propeller blades. This difference in pressure creates a kind of suction that gives the propeller a lift force.

Therefore, the blades of a quadcopter's propeller can be thought of as spinning wings. This is different from an airplane, which must fly fast enough to move enough air over its fixed wings to give it lift.

<img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/mv2df6pg1zq793ze6h7srjaut26a/aerodynamics+of+propellers.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 600px; height: 349px;" />

 

<hr />
<h3>What is Drag?</h3>

Drag is the aerodynamic force that is created when a solid body or object interacts with a fluid (liquid or gas) that moves in the opposite direction.

Drag also refers to the resistance between molecules of a fluid and a moving body or object.

For drag to happen, the body or object and the fluid must come into contact and be moving at different speeds. In the case of a quadcopter drone, the drag force happens when the quadcopter is moving and the air around it is moving in the opposite direction.

Since small quadcopter drones move at a slow pace, the drag force is very low because drag is related to speed.

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👩‍💻 Introduction to DroneBlocks

7 min

⬛️ Mission 1: Making a Square

15 min

⧉ Mission 2: Rising Squares

15 min

Related Supply Kit

Tello Drones (Supplies Limited)

All the hands-on materials you need for this lesson, delivered to your classroom.

Tello with DroneBlocks

Standards Alignment

36 Standards Aligned

Lesson Steps

👋 Tello Introduction

✈️ Fundamentals of Drone Flight

🤨 What is Aerodynamics?

Unlock 8 more steps

👩‍💻 Introduction to DroneBlocks

⬛️ Mission 1: Making a Square

⧉ Mission 2: Rising Squares

Tello Drones (Supplies Limited)

Ready to bring this lesson to your classroom?

🔺 Mission 3: Making a Vertical Triangle

⬣ Mission 4: Complex Polygons

🔄 Mission 5: Vertical Loop

♾️ Mission 6: Infinity Symbol

🚀 Final Mission: Freestyle Flight