CooeeUAV, formula one style advertising for UAVs

Adelaide based Nick Peppas of team CooeeUAV Outback Challenge entry has come up with an inventive method of attracting sponsorship.

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.