All software needed for the project is available for free, making it accessible for students to load onto their own devices and computers.
Mobile Software
In order to initially fly the drones on mobile devices (e.g. iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android) software is needed from the relevant app store for the device. The most suitable software is Free Flight, published by Parrot (the manufacturer of the AR.Drone) and provides an easy-to-use app for students to play around and get familiar with the drones.
- For iOS devices, Free Flight is available for free at: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/freeflight/id373065271?mt=8
- For Android devices, Free flight is available for free at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.parrot.freeflight3&hl=en
Computer Software
There are many different software packages which can be used to control the drones from a computer. This project uses the node-ar-drone project from GitHub to program the drones using Node.js (a variant of the JavaScript programming language). Instructions about the installation of this package are included in the Introduction to Drone Programming section.