ST2: Lesson 3 Controlling a Drone Swarm Light Show

How does a computer system control dozens of flying drones without losing sync?

In this KS3 / lower secondary computing lesson, students step into the role of digital choreographers, creating light show routines for three autonomous drones. They explore how changing the number, type, and sequence of instructions affects the system’s ability to stay in sync - and how the CPU, output devices, and timing logic interact across multiple processor cores. Learners analyse core load bars, adjust their designs, and reflect on the realities of processor strain, animation accuracy, and parallel control.

This lesson builds on ST2_2 by applying those same multicore and processing speed concepts to a real-time, performance-based offline simulation - introducing output coordination, glow brightness, and instruction load as new challenges in processor management.

Through this, students uncover:

• How output devices like LEDs are used to control drone light displays
• What the multicore processor does to manage multiple drones simultaneously
• How clock speed affects timing accuracy in real-time control
• The concept of parallel execution across processor cores
• Why processing load and timing matter in synchronised systems

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