The Vertical Flight Society
This competition's ultimate goal is to have our eVTOL navigate a course as quickly, and efficiently, as possible. There are 2 parts to the competition, a manual and autonomous section. This competition has 3 parameters that we measure success by:
How fast we complete the first 3 laps
How many additional laps we can do on top of the first three
How much additional weight we can carry on top of the mandatory 2 lb payload
The manual section involves a human pilot controlling the eVTOL via a handheld remote while it is in the fixed wing configuration. Remote pilots experienced in operating fixed wing RC planes are highly encouraged to apply. The autonomous section involves utilizing the onboard GPS and flight controller to command the aircraft through the same as the manned section; speed and efficiency remain highly valued in the autonomous section.
Fly off date is Mid April 2025. Final timeline will be announced Nov 2024.
Last competition was located in Churchville, MD 21028. Major travel expenses such as transportation and lodging will be covered. Final location will be announced Nov 2024.
The Mars Society
This competition's ultimate goal is for the Wisconsin Robotics MARS rover team to traverse challenging terrain to locate and analyze objects of interest and soil for signs of life. The goal of our aircraft is to aid MARS Rover operators in locating said objects using a live camera feed and a human observer to avoid the ground MARS Rover having to waste time and energy searching. (no ai identification possible since we won't know what the object is until the day of the comp). This competition has 2 parameters that we measure success by:
How quickly we can locate an object of interest using a live camera feed and a human observer
Flight time; the longer we stay in the air the better chance we have of locating the object of interest
Another perimeter unique to this competition is ease of switching between autonomous and manned flight controls; the search for the objects of interest starts using an automated grid flight pattern to ensure the entire area is searched, once an object is identified we want to be able to descend and loiter over the object to continue aiding ground ROVER team in navigation.