Controller

Introduction

The VEX AIR Drone Controller features a 12-button layout and two joysticks. These inputs allow the drone to detect button presses and joystick movements, enabling interactive and responsive control.

Below is a list of all available blocks:

• controller button pressed — Checks if a specific button is currently being pressed.

• controller axis position — Reports the position of the joystick along a specified axis.

• controller is connected — Reports whether the controller is connected to the drone.

• controller battery level — Reports the controller’s battery level.

• when controller button — Runs a stack of blocks when a button is pressed or released.

• when controller axis is changed — Runs a stack of blocks when the joystick position changes.

controller button pressed

The controller button pressed Boolean block reports if a specific controller button is being pressed.

• True — The specified button is being pressed.

• False — The specified button is not being pressed.

The Controller button pressed Boolean block.

    <controller button [5 v] pressed?>

Parameters	Description
button	The button to check if it has been pressed, ranging from 5 to 12.

Example

    when started
    [Take a picture when button 5 is pressed.]
    take off to [500] [mm v] ▶
    forever
        move with controller
        if <controller button [5 v] pressed?> then
            capture image on [forward v] camera
        end
    end

controller axis position

The controller axis position reporter block reports the position of the specified joystick axis. This reports an integer from –100 to 100.

The Controller axis position reporter block.

    (controller axis [1 v] position)

Parameters	Description
axis	The axis to report the position of: 1 — The left joystick vertical axis. 2 — The left joystick horizontal axis. 3 — The right joystick horizontal axis. 4 — The right joystick vertical axis.

Example

    when started
    [Climb when the left joystick is moved up.]
    take off to [500] [mm v] ▶
    forever
        if <(controller axis [1 v] position) [math_greater_than v] [0]> then
            climb [up v]
        else
            hover
    end

controller is connected

The controller is connected Boolean block reports if the controller is connected to the drone.

• True — The controller is connected.

• False — The controller is not connected.

The Controller axis position reporter block.

    <controller is connected to drone?>

Parameters	Description
	This block has no parameters.

Example

    when started
    [Print controller connection status on screen.]
    forever
        if <controller is connected to drone?> then
            clear screen
            set cursor to row (1) column (1) on screen
            print [Controller connected] on screen ▶
            wait (0.5) seconds
        end
    end

controller battery level

The controller battery level reporter block reports the battery level of the controller, as a percentage from 0% to 100%.

The Controller axis position reporter block.

    (controller battery level in %)

Parameters	Description
	This block has no parameters.

Example

    when started
    [Show controller's battery level.]
    if <(controller battery level in %) [math_greater_than v] [50]> then
        print [Battery level ok] on screen ▶
    else
        print [Battery level low] on screen ▶

when controller button

The when controller button hat block runs the attached stack of blocks when the button is being pressed or released.

The When Controller button hat block.

    when controller button [5 v] [pressed v]

Parameters	Description
button	Determines which button will trigger the event, ranging from 5 to 12.
action	Determines when the attached stack of blocks will execute: pressed will run when a button is pressed, and released will run when a button is released.

Example

    when started
    take off to [500] [mm v] ▶
    forever
        move with controller
    end

    when controller button [5 v] [pressed v]
        [Take a picture when button 5 is pressed.]
        capture image on [forward v] camera

when controller axis is changed

The when controller axis is changed hat block runs the attached stack of blocks when the specified axis is being changed.

The When Controller axis is changed hat block.

    when controller axis [1 v] is changed

Parameters	Description
axis	The axis to monitor for changes: 1 — The left joystick vertical axis. 2 — The left joystick horizontal axis. 3 — The right joystick horizontal axis. 4 — The right joystick vertical axis.

Example

    when started
    [Move forward when the left joystick moves.]
    take off to [500] [mm v] ▶

    when controller axis [1 v] is changed
    move [forward v] for (200) [mm v] ▶