The Tello drone has lengthy been the gold customary for drone training in Okay-12 lecture rooms. Inexpensive, sturdy and outfitted with a digicam, it checked all of the containers for educators seeking to train all the pieces from primary flight rules to autonomous coding. That’s maybe no shock, because it got here from an organization referred to as Ryze which constructed Tello utilizing DJI elements — presumably the right combo for a drone at a excessive ratio of high quality to value.
However there’s been an issue: the unique Tello app is not supported on newer working methods, and the Tello drone itself has been discontinued, making it more and more troublesome to buy.
For educators who’ve constructed their curriculum across the Tello, this created a critical dilemma. What do you do when your trusted classroom drone turns into tougher to seek out? Thankfully, many colleges proceed to maintain their Tello fleets flying via refurbishment applications and new instruments just like the FlyCode app, which breathe contemporary life into this confirmed platform.
Enter FlyCode, a brand new app from a STEM training firm referred to as Drone Legends that’s designed to unravel precisely this drawback.
How Drone Legends has revived Tello with Flycode
FlyCode is a free app out there on each iOS and Android that offers Tello drones (together with the Tello EDU and RoboMaster TT) a brand new lease on life. The app works on iOS 13.0+ and Android 10.0+ units with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi help.
Not like the unique Tello app, FlyCode is constructed particularly with academics and college students in thoughts. Educators really helped design it, which reveals in options like the power to pre-load as much as 10 Tello drones into the app. College students can merely choose their assigned drone from an inventory, faucet and go. That’s a game-changer for managing classroom drone fleets.
“FlyCode is a breakthrough for faculties and Tello customers in every single place,” mentioned Scott Buell, Founder and CEO of Drone Legends. “We constructed this app to unravel the issues academics face when bringing drones into their lecture rooms — unreliable software program, poor multi-drone administration and a scarcity of coding integration.”
Why having a drone with a digicam issues
Right here’s one thing that usually will get neglected in discussions about instructional drones: imaging is roughly 80% of business drone purposes. Whether or not you’re speaking about infrastructure inspections, search and rescue operations, cinematography or orthomosaic mapping, the digicam is vital.
Whereas platforms like Crazyflie Nano and CoDrone supply coding capabilities, they lack cameras. For applications that need to use drones as a software past merely studying to code, that is likely to be inadequate. Sure, autonomous flight and coding abilities are vital, however they’re solely a part of the equation.
The Tello’s digicam — modest as it might be — makes it a real illustration of what real-world drone work appears to be like like. FlyCode ensures educators can proceed utilizing this entire platform.
BlockCode integration coming in November
The preliminary FlyCode launch focuses on the “Fly” part, providing seamless handbook flight management. However the actual pleasure is available in mid-November when Drone Legends will roll out BlockCode, their proprietary block-based coding atmosphere.
Not like present block coding options resembling Scratch, Tynker or DroneBlocks, BlockCode is custom-built particularly for drone training — not tailored from Google Blockly. It’s designed to be extra superior and, crucially, extra dependable than present alternate options.
Maybe the most important comfort? No extra switching between separate flight and coding purposes. The whole lot might be built-in into one streamlined interface, lowering technical complications and protecting college students centered on studying relatively than troubleshooting.
The Tello provide drawback
There’s an elephant within the room: you possibly can’t simply purchase Tello drones anymore. DJI quietly discontinued them, leaving educators questioning what comes subsequent.
Drone Legends has stepped in to ensure lecture rooms aren’t left grounded. The corporate reserved its remaining Tello stock solely for faculties utilizing its STEM Fundamentals program — that means educators can nonetheless get dependable drones backed by full curriculum help relatively than attempting to piece issues collectively on their very own.
Even higher, each Tello bought via Drone Legends consists of the choice so as to add the DroneCare Restore, Substitute, and Recycle program, designed to maintain Tellos flying and out of landfills. When a drone is broken, it’s repaired or changed. If or when it’s past restore, elements are recycled to scale back e-waste. It’s a sensible, sustainable method that retains expertise investments viable and lecture rooms operating easily.
Founder and CEO Scott Buell informed The Drone Lady that Drone Legends will proceed supporting Tello till a brand new platform meets their strict instructional requirements.
“We’re not abandoning ship,” he mentioned. “We’re protecting Tellos flying.”
The underside line
FlyCode represents greater than only a alternative app. It’s a press release that the Tello nonetheless has a significant function to play in STEM training, and that Drone Legends is dedicated to supporting educators who’ve invested on this platform.
With the core engine now constructed, Drone Legends can be positioned to help future drone platforms as they emerge. However for now, their focus is evident: preserve the Tello flying in lecture rooms all over the world.
FlyCode is on the market now as a free obtain on the App Retailer and Google Play. The BlockCode coding atmosphere might be added through replace in mid-November 2025.
For extra details about Drone Legends’ instructional applications, go to dronelegends.com.
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