Learner

We are about ready to work with the first example program. But first we need to cover some concepts that you will encounter in the example.

Logging

Programming Tello drones follows a different model than the other robotics platforms discussed in this curriculum. Rather than writing programs that are downloaded to the drone for execution, like the other platforms, Tello programs are executed on the development PC and control the drone by sending it commands over a WIFI connection. So you are writing a PC program rather than a program deployed to a robotics platform.

This lesson is the first in the "off ramp" unit for Tello programmers. This unit contains a detailed exploration of writing Java programs for the control system used on Tello drones. 

We have been learning a lot about the Java programming language. Now its time to explore how we actually write, compile and execute Java programs that control the Tello.

A servo is a motor where we control its movements in finer detail than just turn on or off. Typically we want to move the motor in a range less than one revolution. This allows us to use the servo (motor) to control things like arms (raise/lower) and grippers (open/close). A Regulated Motor allows us to move the motor to a specific angle or by a specific angle. This allows us to have finer control over the movement of the motor and that allows us to control more complex mechanisms than things that just rotate.

Classes within a project or in a library are organized into packages. A package is simply a grouping identifier specified at the top of a class with the package statement. In a project, all classes with the same package name are grouped together under that name. Packages are important when we want to use libraries of classes published by other programmers, such as the Java Class Library or one of the robot specific libraries included in robot SDKs.