2022-07-19: Drone Programming Studio Funded by ODU Faculty Innovator Grant Program 2022
We are very excited to receive Faculty Innovator Grant 2022 funded by the Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT) at Old Dominion University. The goal of this grant is to help faculty to explore
innovative uses of technology to improve student learning. This is in collaboration with Dr. Faryaneh Poursardar (PI) and Dr. Sampath Jayarathna (Co-PI) at the Department of Computer Science.
Lack of experience in Computer Science students connecting
programming skills with real-world problems led us to develop "Drone
Programming Studio" control and manipulation of drones with various
programming languages in CS programming course projects.
One main issue that has been identified in academic institutions is
that students do not have a chance to apply hands-on knowledge that combines
their coding skills with real-world problems until their senior year. Drone
programming projects proposed in this project will be a valuable experience for
them to combine the coursework knowledge with hands-on experiences. The
faculty team recognizes the need to broaden participation in Computer Science,
specifically as it relates to generating inter-professional education and
practice opportunities in the other fields closely related to Computer Science
such as Engineering, and Cybersecurity. The nature of this project is
multidisciplinary and can connect with Computer Engineering, Aerospace
Engineering, and Cybersecurity fields.
Tello is a mini programmable drone (see Figure) equipped with an HD camera unit and is manufactured by Ryze Robotics. Tello is fairly low priced (<$100 for drone unit), safe to fly indoors, and easy to learn programming using various programming languages (python, Swift, Ruby, etc.,) supported by its API. Tello is Powered by a DJIGlobal flight control system and an Intel processor (Movidius MA2x chipset). The MA2x is based on a SARC LEON processor which has two RISC CPUs to run the RTOS, firmware, and runtime scheduler. Other specifications include, max speed of 8m/s, 100m max distance, 13-minute flight time, and built-in functions for range finder, barometer, LED, and vision system.
Tello is an impressive programmable drone perfect for STEM-based education, tailor-made to learn programming languages with real-world applications. Students can write code to command multiple Tello drones to fly in a swarm and develop amazing AI functions. The small footprint (size 98×92.5×41mm and 80g weight including battery) of this drone makes it easy to use in an indoor classroom environment with the support of Electronic Image Stabilization and world-famous DJI flight control technology.
This innovative educational approach of using drones as an example of a hardware device that can be controlled by custom-designed software is a great way to show students how they can apply their course-related knowledge to real-world problems. The main goal of this project is to provide students with an opportunity to learn and have experience with drone programming.
--Faryaneh Poursardar (@Faryane)
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