2014 Student Competition Results – May 4, Southport MB – Unmanned Systems Canada

Press

Eleven university student teams from across Canada competed in the Operational Phase of the 6^thUnmanned Systems Canada UAV Student Competition hosted by Southport Aerospace Centre, south of Portage la Prairie MB. Congratulations to VAMUdeS – Université de Sherbrooke for winning 1^st Place on May 4, 2014. 13 teams participated in Phase 1 and 11 attended and competed in Phase 2 this past weekend. We congratulate all participating teams for their ingenuity, dedication and their respective institutions for the support given to their endeavors.

The mission for the competition is to address challenges commonly faced by the Oil and Gas, Mining and Agriculture industries. The teams were challenged to use unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to patrol the pipeline ROW (right of way) and surrounding area. This year’s scenario is intended to be a new combination of three commercial challenges. Its format is designed to be an equal challenge for both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. Teams were tasked to identify the percentage of the crop that is affected in a given area and map it; locate the rockslide and calculate its volume so that appropriate machinery can be ordered to remove it; identify any suspicious activities in the pipeline ROW like the presence of unauthorized people or vehicles.

Phase 1: Design Phase Results:

1st place: UTAT– University of Toronto Aeronautics

2nd place: Blackbird – Carleton University

3rd place: VAMUdeS – Université de Sherbrooke

Phase 2: Operational Phase Results

1st place: VAMUdeS – Université de Sherbrooke

2nd place: Team Dronolab – École de technologie supérieur

3rd place: Team Aero – University of Victoria

Prizes were awarded for Phase 1 & 2 and participation totalling $10,750.00 at the Awards Banquet last evening.

“This year, as in past years, the university teams came from all across Canada and arrived at the competition site with incredible levels of enthusiasm, technical capability and fellowship” said Stewart Baillie, Chairman of Unmanned Systems Canada. “Over the course of three days, each team challenged their respective designs and infrastructure to deliver results to the judge “customers”…. And the results were outstanding! My overall impression is that innovation and solid engineering is alive and well in Canada!”

Of course such a competition only can be conducted through the hard work and dedication of a great team. We recognize and deeply thank our volunteer committee for their hard work and support in organizing another successful competition.

Special thanks goes out to all of our sponsors and our event host. The competition’s continued success is a direct result of their continued support: Southport Aerospace Centre, NovAtel, ING Robotic Aviation, Connect Tech Inc., Lockheed Martin, AVIYA, Textron Systems, FLIR Systems, NGC Aérospatiale, Forest Protection Limited (FPL), CED Alma,

LGL Environmental, MicroPilot, Cloud Cap Technology, Xiphos Technologies, FPInnovations

Participating Teams:

AERO University of Victoria, Aeronautical Engineering Research Organization

Blackbird Carleton University

Dronolab École de Technologie supérieure (ETS)

GUARDIAN Simon Fraser University

Smart Bird Polytechnique Montréal

Team Murphy University of Alberta

Thunderbird University British Columbia

UUARG University of Alberta Aerial Robotics Group

UTAT University of Toronto, Aeronautics

VAMUdeS Université de Sherbrooke