Just because you're not heading to FETC does not mean your students have to miss out.

Whether you are attending FETC or not, we think your students would love the demo we’ve designed this year for the Robolink booth. We’ve created a hands-on learning experience based around a search and rescue mission, optimizing some of our favorite features of CoDrone EDU - the color sensors, the programmable LED, and code that can be as simple or advanced as your students need. Therefore - we’re writing it up in lesson plan format for you to bring back to your classroom!

In this activity, students program their drone to fly through a city-style course, identify disaster scenarios using the built-in color sensor, and respond based on what they detect. Every flight feels purposeful. Every line of code has a reason. And students quickly realize they are not just “flying a drone,” they are solving a problem.

The mission is split up into three challenges, each challenge targeting a different scenario so students can see how adaptable their code really is.

Classroom Set Up

Materials

• Blue programming mat

• Drone cage, optional

• 4 color mats: red, brown, yellow, green

• We ended up going with something specifically Robolink for our demo, but we considered these color mats or these mouse pads for the demo but we’ve designed this lesson to work with whatever you have on hand!

• 3 towers to act as buildings or farms

• We used these towers, but boxes would also work great!

• Drone kits

• Laptops

Diagram

Set up tips:
Think of this as building a mini city.

• Use the blue programming mat as your base. This helps ensure your program runs smoothly.

• Towers become buildings, farms, or landmarks

• Color mats represent different emergency scenarios. You can adjust these colors to whatever you deem appropriate or relevant.

• Place obstacles intentionally so students have to think about navigation, not just straight-line flight

Challenge 1: Plan the Flight Path

Before a drone ever takes off, students should plan their flight path.

Students will:

• Collaborate with their team on the challenges of the task

• Draw their intended flight path

• Utilize the Pre-Flight Checklist to ensure that all safety precautions are being accounted for

This is a great moment to pause and ask, “Would a real pilot just wing this?” Spoiler alert: no. Planning matters.

Bonus: want to really get students involved? Have them become city planners and design the physical layout of the course. They’ll decide where the obstacles and color zones should go.

Challenge 2: Create the Color Dataset

Now it is time to teach the drone how to see.

Using the Color Data Collection tool in Blockly, students assign meaning to what the drone detects. Here’s what we used:

• Red = Fire

• Brown = Mudslide

• Full transparency: we originally were going to use blue for water, but it was too similar to our programming mat, so we pivoted. 

• Yellow = Civilians

• Green = Safety

Using the color mats you’ve chosen for your lesson, students will upload this color data so that the drone is working off a correct dataset. Students will test and refine their dataset to make sure the drone consistently recognizes each color. This step feels small, but it is foundational. 

To learn more about using the Color Data Collection tool in Blockly, review the Blockly Color Sensor Lesson in Basecamp.

Challenge 3: Detect, Decide, and Fly

This is where everything comes together.

The following items are what the complete code should include, but tailor the requirements/actions to your students’ skill level. Students will create a program that:

• Uses if and else if/elif statements to evaluate color sensor data

• Prints messages explaining what the drone has detected

• Changes the drone’s LED color to match the scenario

• Navigates through or around the city to land on a target zone

[sample code here]

Students can run the mission up to three times, each time aiming for a different color zone. Watching them tweak one block of code and immediately see the impact is where the magic happens. 

For further information on the above skills, use the corresponding Robolink Learn lessons:

• Conditionals (if and elif statements): Conditionals in Blockly

• Print statements: Variables in Blockly

• LED colors: Lights and Sounds

Extension: The Blackout Mission

Ready to level this up?

Add a blackout screen so the pilot cannot see the course. Rearrange the disaster zones. Assign roles:

• Pilot handles takeoff and landing

• Navigator gives verbal directions

A successful flight ends with the pilot correctly identifying the disaster without ever seeing it. This extension brings communication, trust, and real-world problem solving front and center.

Real-World Application

One of the most powerful real-world applications of this challenge is in search and rescue operations, where drones are not toys — they are life-saving tools. As outlined in the CoDrone to Career: Search & Rescue blog, drones equipped with sensors, AI-enhanced vision, and real-time data are increasingly deployed to reach hazardous or hard-to-access areas, map disaster scenes, and locate missing persons faster than traditional methods ever could. 

In real search and rescue missions, every minute matters. Research from disaster robotics experts shows that gaining even one additional day of emergency response through technologies like drones can accelerate community recovery by years. In this classroom challenge, students practice the same kind of intentional thinking: they program sensor-based decisions, plan navigation routes, and refine their code to respond to situations based on what the drone detects.

This activity gives students a glimpse into how computational thinking, conditionals, and purposeful flight come together in fields where outcomes can affect real lives. It bridges the gap between classroom coding and careers where students help make communities safer. 

Wrap Up

This challenge gives students a reason to slow down, think ahead, and be intentional with their code. When the drone reacts differently based on what it detects, students can immediately see how conditionals, data, and planning work together in a meaningful way. It shifts the focus from “Did it fly?” to “Did it do what we told it to do, and why?”

If you want to keep building on this momentum, head to Robolink Learn to explore lessons, tutorials, and extensions that help students go deeper with sensors, conditionals, and real-world flight scenarios. Everything is designed to be classroom-ready, so you can move from demo to full lesson without starting from scratch.

And if you are attending FETC, make sure to stop by booth 1433. You can see this demo in action, ask questions, and get hands-on with CoDrone EDU to see how it fits into your classroom.

FAQ: Color Sensor Disaster Response Drone Challenge

What grade levels is this drone activity best for?

This activity works well for middle school through high school, depending on how deep you go with the coding. Younger students can focus on Blockly basics and conditionals, while older students can extend the challenge with more complex logic, navigation strategies, and role-based teamwork.

Do students need prior drone or coding experience?

No prior drone experience is required. Students should have basic familiarity with Blockly blocks, including movement commands and simple conditionals. This activity is often used as a bridge between introductory flight lessons and more advanced sensor-based challenges.

Where can I find lesson extensions and supporting resources?

You can find classroom-ready lessons, tutorials, and extensions on Robolink Learn. The platform includes guided activities that build on sensors, conditionals, and real-world applications so you can extend this challenge without creating new materials from scratch.

Where can I see this demo in person at FETC?

If you are attending FETC, stop by booth 1433 to see this demo live. You can fly the course, ask questions, and get hands-on with CoDrone EDU to see how this activity fits into your classroom.