When it comes to autonomous aerial vehicles—the sky is the limit! With that in mind, AIAA and Drone World Expo have come together to challenge you. We want to encourage new ideas that connect the UAS-related R&D and end-user communities.
The objective of the competition is providing a platform for sharing ideas and research related to the design, utilization, and applications of autonomous aerial systems.
The AIAA Unmanned Systems Program Committee and Drone World Expo (DWE) will select three finalists to present their work at DWE, 15-16 November 2016, in San Jose, CA. Winners will receive a $2,500 travel stipend and complimentary DWE registration.
We are soliciting related to:
- Vehicle technologies
- Integration technologies
- National airspace integration
- Autonomy
- Robotics
- Machine intelligence
- UAS Traffic Management
- Propulsion and power technologies
- Command, control and communications technologies
Competition Rules
- The competition is open to individuals of high school-level and above.
- Entrants are invited to describe on-going, currently funded research. There are no research funds associated with this competition.
- Late submissions will not be accepted.
- Winners are expected to travel to San Jose in November 2016 to present during Drone World Expo (DWE).
- Winners will be provided a travel stipend not to exceed $2500 and a complimentary registration to DWE. If a team enters and wins, only one representative will receive the travel stipend and present at DWE.
- Winners will adhere to deadlines and expectations related to participation in the DWE session.
- This competition does not involve opportunities to present ideas to investors or request funding from DWE attendees.
- Winning presentations must be approved for public release and will be posted on AIAA and DWE websites and distributed via other social media platforms. However, competition participants retain all intellectual property associated with the material they submit.
Competition Timeline
Abstracts due: 15 July 2016 (NLT 2359 hrs ET)
- The abstract should describe your UAS-related research and why you think it would be of interest/benefit to the end user community. Abstracts should be 500 words or less in PDF format
Evaluation of abstracts: by 31 July 2016
- Abstracts will be evaluated on technical merit, relevance to end user community, innovation, and potential for unique applications.
Notification of top 10 entrants: 5 August 2016
- Semifinalists will be invited to submit a presentation outline for the next round of the competition.
Presentation due: 31 August 2016 (NLT 2359 hrs ET)
- Presentations will be in PowerPoint format with 6 charts or less that include:
- Goals/objectives of the research
- Background (why is this research important)
- Specifics of the research, including important research milestones
- Timeline of technology development
Evaluation of presentations: by 15 September 2016
- Presentations will be evaluated on technical merit, relevance to end user community, innovation, potential for unique applications, and presentation quality.
Notification of winners: 19 September 2016
- The top 3 presentations will be selected and the winners will receive a $2500 travel stipend and complimentary Drone World Expo registration.
Presentations by top 3 winners at Drone World Expo: 15-16 November 2016
- Winners will travel to Drone World Expo and present their research results at a session organized and sponsored by AIAA.
IDEA Competition Co-Sponsors