0D: Pair to Blockly

When you use the remote control, the drone and remote pair automatically once you turn them on. To use Blockly with CoDrone Mini, you will have to do a few new steps to set up your computer. Don’t worry! We will walk you through all the steps so you can get to coding!

If you prefer a video walkthrough, click here.

Windows

You should be running Windows 10 or later. To check, hold down the Windows + R keys and search for “winver”. The version you are running of Windows 10 will appear on the window. You may need to update Windows if you have a version below 1703.

MacOS

If you are using Mac OS, you should have 2012 hardware or newer and your machine should be enabled with Bluetooth. To check this, go to About this Mac > System Report… > Bluetooth.

Chromebooks/Chrome browser

Your Google Chrome should be version 89 or later, but ideally updated to the most recent version. If you are not sure how to check, click on the Chrome menu on the top right, scroll down to “Help”, and select “About Google Chrome”. Google Chrome might automatically update. If not, please update Chrome.

For more about Blockly minimum requirements, please visit https://www.robolink.com/blockly-min-requirements/.

Once you are sure you’ve met the requirements, plug the CoDrone Mini remote into this computer’s USB port with the provided USB cable (some cables can transfer power, but not data). Also, power on the CoDrone Mini, and make sure the CoDrone Mini and remote are paired. This is indicated by the CoDrone Mini’s LED and the remote LED being solid (not blinking).

Note: If at any point during this step you encounter some difficulty, see Step 5. You may be missing a driver or Google Chrome may be outdated.

Try restarting Chrome and go back to the Blockly page. Click on “Pair” in the pairing menu, and a list of devices should pop up. Look for a USB port —  on Macs this will be something like USB-Serial, and on Windows this will look like COM.

This may take some trial and error on your part, but the good news is that if you pick the wrong port, you will get a notification that Blockly was unable to pair!

If you pick the correct port, you will see “Paired: CoDrone Mini” in the pairing menu.

Your device is now ready to use Blockly with CoDrone Mini! Next time you want to pair with CoDrone Mini, you don’t have to set up the experimental flags anymore. Just plug and play!
You will only need to do these steps again if you switch to a new computer. See the next lesson to learn more about Blockly.