Node-RED Programming with Tello and Tello EDU
Learn the ins and outs of flow based drone programming
This Course is included in DroneBlocks Membership
Dive into the world of flow based programming with Node-RED for Tello and Tello EDU drones. Node-RED is a powerful visual editor for developing custom software for IoT, the Internet of Things. Since Tello and Tello EDU can be programmed using UDP this makes Node-RED a logical choice for building advanced drone missions.
This video course walks through installing Node-RED, understanding the interface, creating custom logic, and building visual dashboards for Tello and Tello EDU. You will learn the basics of Node-RED as well as how to use JavaScript to add custom behavior to your missions. You will also gain an understanding of Tello EDU's mission pad and swarm features.
Since Node-RED runs in a web browser it can be accessed from any computer on the same network. This will come in handy when viewing visual dashboards that interface with Tello and Tello EDU. All source code can be found in the GitHub repository for this course:
https://github.com/dbaldwin/DroneBlocks-Tello-EDU-Node-RED
With 20 lessons in this course we hope that you'll gain an in-depth understanding of Node-RED and share your creations with the DroneBlocks community. Be sure to preview some of the free lessons below and we look forward to seeing you in the course.
Your Instructor
Dennis has been fascinated with remote control cars and airplanes since he was a kid. Through his passion of the RC hobby he learned many aspects of engineering by building, wiring, and programming flight controllers for his RC planes and quadcopters. He shares a majority of his research and development on his YouTube channel.
In 2010 Dennis found the ArduPilot project and was amazed by the vibrant developer community behind the project. From this point forward he spent countless hours tinkering in the garage and building numerous autonomous drones ranging from hexacopters, VTOL aircraft, delta wings, and mini quads. This was all made possible with APM and Pixhawk flight controllers.
In 2014 Dennis designed and 3D printed a popular mini quadcopter frame and posted it on Thingiverse. At this time he crossed paths with Marisa at Walnut Springs Elementary School in Dripping Springs, TX. Dennis asked Marisa if he could work with her after-school "Tech Team" to teach students how to print, wire, build and fly these little mini quadcopters. Students loved the idea but quickly asked how they could use the drones to shoot photos and video. This led Dennis to the DJI SDK.
In 2015 Dennis put together a proof of concept of using block programming and coupled it with the DJI SDK to tap into the capabilities of market leading drone hardware. From this day DroneBlocks was born. Students loved the concept of block programming to perform autonomous missions with DJI hardware. DroneBlocks has grown into a platform that consists of app, curriculum, and a vibrant community of users sharing their mission code all over the world.
Dennis graduated from The Citadel with a BS in Electrical Engineering and is no stranger to software technology. He has co-founded several technology businesses over the past 20 years. In this next chapter Dennis and Marisa want to expand DroneBlocks into every STEAM classroom across the globe.
Course Curriculum
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StartInstalling Node-RED Dashboard Module (1:19)
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StartNode-RED Dashboard Overview (3:09)
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StartNode-RED Dashboard to Control Tello (7:17)
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PreviewNode-RED Dashboard for Tello Response (5:20)
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StartNode-RED Dashboard to View Tello's State Information (9:40)
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StartNode-RED Dashboard to View Tello's Video Stream (5:42)