Week 09 · overview
Week 09: Mission Software, Geofences, and Failsafes
This week, you will build mission logic and failsafe review for a bounded Drone Engineering scenario. The work stays in classroom-safe analysis, supplied evidence, simulation, planning, and documentation. It does not authorize real flight or unsupervised hardware work.
The engineering problem
A waypoint plan crosses close to a boundary and the team assumes return-to-home will solve any problem.
The core idea is that automation follows its design, not your hopes. Students will connect that idea to waypoints, altitude commands, speed settings, geofence boundaries, battery triggers, and lost-link actions create a conditional mission plan.
Evidence you keep
| Sequence | Evidence artifact |
|---|---|
| Lesson 1 | Mechanism explanation and first evidence table |
| Lesson 2 | Boundary note and no-go or revision condition |
| Lesson 3 | Review-ready decision table |
| Flight Log | Mission logic and failsafe review with limitation statement |
Vocabulary and decision lens
Important language this week includes: system boundary, evidence, limitation, no-go condition, revision rule, and mission software, geofences, and failsafes.
Decision lens: reject mission plans that depend on a failsafe without verifying the trigger, path, altitude, and consequence.
Approximate time: 3 to 4 class periods, about 160 to 200 minutes of reading, analysis, evidence writing, and review.