Camera gimbal control in Drone Programming - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

Gimbal pitch angle adjustment output

What is the output of this code controlling the gimbal pitch angle?

Drone Programming

gimbal_pitch = 10
command = 'up'
if command == 'up':
    gimbal_pitch += 5
elif command == 'down':
    gimbal_pitch -= 5
print(gimbal_pitch)

A 15

B 5

C Error

D 10

💡 Hint

Check how the pitch angle changes when the command is 'up'.

The initial pitch is 10. The command 'up' adds 5, so the final pitch is 15.

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding gimbal stabilization purpose

Why do camera gimbals stabilize the camera during drone flight?

A To keep the camera steady despite drone movements

B To increase drone speed

C To reduce battery consumption

D To improve drone GPS accuracy

💡 Hint

Think about what happens to a camera when the drone moves suddenly.

Gimbals keep the camera steady so videos and photos are smooth and not shaky.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Fix the gimbal yaw control error

What error does this code produce when trying to set the gimbal yaw angle?

Drone Programming

gimbal_yaw = 0
def set_yaw(angle):
    if angle >= -90 and angle <= 90:
        gimbal_yaw = angle
set_yaw(45)
print(gimbal_yaw)

A TypeError because of wrong variable type

B SyntaxError due to missing colon

C NameError because gimbal_yaw is not defined

D No error, prints 45

💡 Hint

Check the if statement syntax carefully.

The if statement is missing a colon at the end, causing a SyntaxError.

📝 Syntax

advanced

Identify the correct gimbal pitch control syntax

Which option correctly sets the gimbal pitch to 30 degrees using a function?

A

def set_pitch(angle):
    pitch == angle
set_pitch(30)
print(pitch)

B

def set_pitch(angle):
    pitch = angle
set_pitch(30)
print(pitch)

C

def set_pitch(angle):
    global pitch
    pitch = angle
set_pitch(30)
print(pitch)

D

def set_pitch(angle):
    pitch = angle
print(pitch)
set_pitch(30)

💡 Hint

Consider variable scope inside and outside the function.

Option C uses 'global' to modify the pitch variable outside the function, so print(pitch) works.

🚀 Application

expert

Calculate final gimbal roll angle after commands

Given the initial roll angle is 0, and the commands ['left', 'left', 'right', 'left'] change the roll by -10, -10, +10, -10 degrees respectively, what is the final roll angle?

A 0

B -10

C -30

D -20

💡 Hint

Add each command's effect step by step starting from 0.

Starting at 0: left(-10) → -10, left(-10) → -20, right(+10) → -10, left(-10) → -20 final.