DARPA UAVForge, the first round of scores are in.

The latest UAVForge newsletter reveals the voting so far. The next round should be interesting, flight demonstration for some of the entries should be challenging. Not only is it winter in the Northern hemisphere but several entries just don’t look all that airworthy.

Its non elimination at the moment and perhaps before the public is given a chance to vote people off the island checks and balances should be put in place to make sure that entries are not voted up.

If 50,000 people were voting perhaps it would even things out and any group voting would make little impact but with only 1300 users the ability to skew the results are somewhat amusing.

Its early days though and big claims are being made. Some teams talk the talk but can they walk the walk.

Team MAAV the peoples favourites

Thank you to all teams and users who volunteered their time and creativity in participating in Milestone 1 — the first step in creating innovative UAV concepts.

48 teams submitted solution videos to the UAVForge website for the more than 1,300 users to view and evaluate.  The 1-5 star votes have been tallied and the results are posted on the home page.   The top rated teams are also highlighted below.

This was a non-elimination round and all competitors are urged to continue.  Every team that participated in the last round impressed us with their ability to present complex and out-of-the-box solutions.  The diversity and breadth of configurations proposed challenged the traditional

approaches to small UAV design.  Teams that did not earn a high ranking and those that did not submit for this milestone are encouraged to make a comeback in December’s Milestone 2.  (Note: the difference between ratings was often a tenth of a point.)  However, each team should consider their own interests and resources in deciding to continue.

The discussions and questions on the videos represent a level of technical savvy indicative of success.  We urge you to continue to post constructive comments and integrate user feedback.  With a limited amount of time for the videos, this space is where you can add detail and share your ideas and skills.

The next round is the Proof of Flight.  Competing teams are asked to demonstrate the early flight behaviors and capabilities of their air vehicle system.  They may also showcase other innovative and creative aspects of their air vehicle system design and performance.  Limiting video submissions to less than 60-seconds is highly recommended (although there is no strict requirement).

Once again this is a non-elimination round.  Teams may start posting their videos immediately to receive feedback and iterate, or to start attracting supporters.  Solutions will be able to be modified up through the close of the submission window (December 11, 2011).

Voting results for Milestone One

1. Team: MAAV                        Score: 4.128

2. Team: GremLion                   Score: 3.450

3. Team: Cooper UDT              Score: 3.339

4. Team: icarusLabs                   Score: 3.259

5. Team: Extractor X                Score: 3.182

6. Team: VoRPaL                      Score: 3.156

7. Team: AeroQuad.com          Score: 3.137

8. Team: Electric UAV            Score: 2.863

9. Team: ATMOS                      Score: 2.853

10. Team: SlightlyNybbled       Score: 2.844

“Thanks to all who contributed to Milestone 1.  The quality, creativity and diversity of submissions exceeded our expectations.  The effort you put into comments, votes and likes has produced valuable indicators of success in the fly-off.  We encourage teams to use these to improve their designs as they mature.  We also seek to learn from this experience to make upcoming rounds more useful for the teams and, ultimately, to help determine the top ten and overall winning solutions.”

– Jim McCormick, UAVForge Program Manager