Now that we know the basics of drone movement, let's try putting it all together! Remember to keep the following rules in mind for drone movement:

Rules for Vertical Motion

• If the total lift is greater than the force of gravity, the drone moves up.
• If the total lift is less than the force of gravity, the drone moves down.
• If the total lift is equal to the force of gravity, the drone doesn't move vertically.

Rules for Lateral Motion

• If the lifts of the left propellers add up to more than the lifts of of the right propellers added together, it moves right.
• If the lifts of the right propellers add up to more than the lifts of of the left propellers added together, it moves left.
• If the lifts of the back propellers add up to more than the lifts of of the front propellers added together, it moves forward.
• If the lifts of the front propellers add up to more than the lifts of of the back propellers added together, it moves backward.

Rules for Rotation

• If the lifts of propellers 1 and 3 add up to more than the lifts of propellers 2 and 4, it rotates counterclockwise.
• If the lifts of propellers 2 and 4 add up to more than the lifts of propellers 1 and 3, it rotates clockwise.
• Otherwise, there is no rotational movement

Putting It All Together!

Now that you have reviewed the rules above try using the image and table below to determine how the drone will move! For these examples, we will assume the drone needs 4 N of lift to hover.

Congratulations! You now have the knowledge to determine how a drone will behave in flight!