Day 5: Mission Debrief
STEP 1: This mission debrief will focus on a key question in drone exploration: What are the benefits and challenges of autonomous (pre-programmed) flight compared to manual remote control (RC) flying? Both are crucial when navigating Martian or unfamiliar terrain. Throughout this workshop, you’ve spent most of your time piloting drones manually. Now, we’ll shift gears and explore how programming a drone to follow a set path can offer different advantages—and why both approaches matter.
To prepare for this comparison, please download the DroneBlocks app, which we’ll use to program your drones. Use the appropriate link below for your device:
– iPad/iPhone – Apple App Store
– Android – Google Play Store
Once you’ve installed the app, watch the videos below to learn how to connect your drone and create your first autonomous flight program. Each video demonstrates how to connect, code, and launch an autonomous mission. Follow both videos carefully, and work with your instructor if you run into any issues.
STEP 2: Now that you know how to create an autonomous program, your next task is to design your own pre-programmed flight path through a hula hoop—similar to what you practiced on Day 3. This time, your goal is simple: take off, fly directly through the center of the hula hoop, and then land. Continue to test and refine your code until your drone can successfully complete this mission.
STEP 3: Now, switch back to the Tello remote control app you used earlier. Your task is to manually fly the exact same path as your autonomous program—take off, fly directly through the hula hoop, and land. Try to match your programmed flight as closely as possible using only human control.
STEP 4: For today’s debrief, think critically about all the flying you’ve done in Martian airspace. When would autonomous programming, like what you did with DroneBlocks, have been most useful? Which missions were better suited to human control? Can you think of a situation—like navigating weather or capturing CO₂—where combining both would have helped? Share your reflections using the QR code below to help mission control improve future flight plans. In the “Subject” area, include your first name and/or your team members’ names. Click here to see all debriefs.
