Teams from ten different countries across five continents will compete to rescue Outback Joe and collect A$50,000 in prize money:

Australia
Brazil
Canada
Estonia
Hong Kong
Iran
Israel
Netherlands
Switzerland
USA

With teams from the four corners of the Earth converging on Kingaroy in September, Joe stands his best chance yet of being rescued!

More details

http://www.uavoutbackchallenge.com.au/2010/

During the forthcoming Sheppard group Heli & UV Pacific 2010 exhibition attendees will be able to contribute towards advertising space on Mr Peppas UAV. The airframe is set to compete in the popular and ground breaking UAV search and rescue competition, the Outback Challenge in September.

Just like a formula one car companies can place their brand on parts of the airframe and get their message soaring above the rest. The big money is for space on the wings, plainly an area able to carry a sizeable ad.

But you just don’t get the chance of a spot on an airframe destined for great things, there is a “but wait there’s more” angle. The highest contributer in each category will also receive some great prizes, the star prize is an AttoPilot autopilot, an example of which will be steering Team CooeeUAVs entry in the Outback challenge. Should a sponsor decide to go wild and brand the entire airframe they would walk away with all the electronic equipment required to create a cutting edge UAV.

The Millswood Failsafe device, or as its known in the UAS world, the crashinator, is a flight termination device its the prize for contributions over $750. It shot to fame at the 2009 Outback Challenge, when it worked as advertised and terminated the Team Melbourne UAV entry. The aftermath is apparent at the end of this clip.

It might seem perverse to end a flight in that manner if the UAS has only lost communications for a few seconds, but rules are rules. This year things are expected to be different. The failsafe not only ends flights, it is also able to control pan tilt and zoom video cameras on-board the UAV and speaks very nicely to its own ground control station.

Heli and UV Pacific has been running since 2004 and is the biggest industry event of its kind in Australia. It runs May 26, 2010 – May 27, 2010 at
RACV Royal Pines Resort, Queensland, Australia.

Split into several tasks as follows, taken from the official site.

AIRBORNE DELIVERY CHALLENGE

This category is only open to students in Australian High Schools.

The Mission

An emergency package (shape and size specified in rules) will be made available to competing teams, for use on the day of the competition.

Participants must develop an airborne delivery system that can deliver this package to a lost bushwalker.

The airborne vehicle will be remotely controlled by a human operator, known as the “UAV controller”.

On the test day, two hurdles will map out the course. The pilot must ensure that the UAV flies above these hurdles. The target zone will appear between the hurdles.

The delivery of the payload will be controlled by a human operator, known as the mission manager. The mission manager’s zone will be marked on the test day and will be a 2m x 2m square. The mission manager and associated equipment must be located within this square at all times during the mission. The mission manager’s area will be enclosed with a barricade around the edges and covered from the top for safety. The mission manager will NOT be able to see the target zone during the competition and will NOT be able to communicate with the UAV controller during the drop sequence. The control of the delivery mechanism must be made by the mission manager, independently of the actions of the UAV controller. The mission manager must remotely deploy the package such that it lands in the centre of the target zone.

ROBOT AIRBORNE DELIVERY CHALLENGE

The Mission

An emergency package (shape and size specified in rules) will be made available to competing teams, for use on the day of the competition.

Participants must develop an airborne delivery system that can deliver this package to a lost bushwalker.

On the test day, two hurdles will map out the course. The pilot must ensure that the UAV flies above these hurdles. The target zone will appear between the hurdles.

Teams will receive points based upon the level of autonomy their UAV demonstrates. Teams can choose to autonomously drop the emergency package to receive maximum points.

Points will be awarded based on the time required to complete the mission and the proximity of the package to the target. A total of three drops will be allowed in 30 minutes. The participant’s best result will be used for judging.

SEARCH AND RESCUE CHALLENGE

This category is open to Australian and international university students and aerospace enthusiasts.

The Mission

Outback Joe is lost in the Australian outback and desperately needs assistance. You must develop a UAV that is capable of locating Outback Joe and delivering an emergency package to him.

Where’s Outback Joe?

Your system must be capable of searching an area of at least 2nm x 2nm, up to 5nm from the aerodrome. The target for your search will be a human (or dummy) positioned in a typical resting pose in a rural setting.

The GPS coordinates representing the four corners of the search area will be provided in the days leading up to the competition. The air vehicle must not travel outside of the search area or transit lane, for its flight will be terminated if it does so. The search area will be not more that 5nm from the aerodrome.

Over a 60 minute period, teams must deploy their air vehicle systems and conduct the search. Once the search has been conducted a decision must be made as to where Outback Joe is located. A GPS coordinate, representing Outback Joe’s location, must be provided to the judges.

Rescue Outback Joe!

Once Joe has been located with the judges’ approval, the air vehicle must be tasked with delivering its emergency package. The emergency package will contain 500ml of ‘life saving’ water. The package must be dropped as closely as possible to Outback Joe, without landing on him. The UAV will then return to the Kingaroy airport for recovery.

The minimum requirements for the air vehicle are as follows:

The air vehicle must not weigh more than 100 kg (rotary) or 150kg (fixed wing) in the competition configuration

Points will be awarded based on the time required to complete the mission and the accuracy of the emergency package delivery.

DOCUMENTARY CHALLENGE

The challenge

In order to record the events leading up to the 2010 UAV Challenge – Outback Rescue, the organisers will offer a prize to the film maker/s that create the best documentary about their team.

The documentary should show the full story of a team preparing for the Challenge. Teams will submit their documentary to the challenge organising committee.

The winning entrants may be featured in the official documentary of the event.

It is not compulsory for teams to enter the documentary competition component of the UAV Challenge. However, teams may be required to produce video evidence of flights as part of the submission process outlined in the UAV Challenge Rules document.

Read more at the official site.

http://www.uavoutbackchallenge.com.au

Certainly one to watch in the 2010 Australian Outback Challenge, the team has designed their own autopilot and are now integrating it into their airframe.

Good luck to them and all the other contenders!

Follow built blog progress here

Website here

If the quality of the website is anything to go by it should be a cracking entry into the worlds most popular UAV competition.

Organisers of the Outback Challenge have released the list of those entries that have made it through the various rounds of technical requirements.

Well done to all of them.

1. Melbourne UAV
2. Team Galah
3. Team Heads Up UAV
4. Open UAS
5. Team Rocky
6. Team Javelin
7. Team Jatayu
8. QUT SRUAV09
9. Cooee Rescue
10. Team Sasha
11. University of Adeladie
12. UQ AVRG

Airborne Delivery Challenge:
1. Wynnum North State High School
2. The Young Guns (Kingaroy State High School)
3. The Flying Nutters (Kingaroy State High School)
4. Stihl Flying (Kingaroy State High School)
5. Cloud 9 (Aviation High)
6. AV8 (Aviation High)
7. MUROC Mozzies
8. MUROC Dingoes
9. MUROC Brumbies

In the Robot Airborne Delivery Challenge:

1. MUROC Bush-Rangers
2. MUROC Bush-Bashers
3. Look mAh, no hands! (Brisbane Grammar School)

The competition due to be held at the Queensland town of Kingaroy from the 28th September to 1st of October attracts teams from around the world. It is held in high regard and affection by those in the UAS world.

Find oit more here http://www.uavoutbackchallenge.com.au and you can even follow the object of desire, Outback Joe, whos out there lost on twitter! http://twitter.com/Outback_Joe