Yup, You Can Control a Drone Using Scratch!

Everyone has the same question when they first get interested in programming: “What language should I learn?” The answer is any of them —…

Cameron Coward
5 years agoDrones

Everyone has the same question when they first get interested in programming: “What language should I learn?” The answer is any of them — they’re pretty much all good. But, if you’re young, Scratch is a visual programming language designed specifically for you. While veteran programmers might think of Scratch as a glorified toy, it’s actually very robust. In his newest video, YouTuber Michael Reeves proves that by controlling a drone with Scratch.

Scratch was developed by the MIT Media Lab for the express purpose of introducing kids to programming. So, it’s obviously built to be as easy to use as possible. That said, it’s still a real programming language, which means you can use it for complex applications. Reeves wanted to demonstrate what you can do with a “toy” programming language by controlling a drone entirely with Scratch. Well, and also a tiny bit of JavaScript to communicate with the drone.

The program Reeves wrote takes advantage of Scratch’s innate graphical capabilities to include a GUI that indicates the drone’s pitch, yaw, and elevation in real time. The pilot can use simple keyboard commands to move the drone around, and it actually responds remarkably well. Reeves then took it a step further and built a game into that GUI. The idea is to keep your character away from falling obstacles, but the challenge is that the drone flies around in real life as you move your character. Sure, it’s not the most practical build in the world, but it does prove that Scratch is a real programming language.

Cameron Coward
Writer for Hackster News. Proud husband and dog dad. Maker and serial hobbyist.
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