UAV Challenge, Outback Rescue 2007

UAV Challenge

Outback Rescue 2007

Introduction

Imagine what you could do if you had your very own automatic flying machine that would do whatever you asked of it. It doesn’t get tired, it can fly for weeks on end and it can be your “eye in the sky” or deliver things for you – whenever you wanted it to. The impact of such a machine on modern society would be pretty significant. Imagine all of the new things you could do…..use it to look for sharks out at sea while surfing (and beam it to a TV screen in your surfboard), check the freeway traffic before leaving work and maybe even deliver the mail in rural areas!

Imagine if you could use Google Earth to look at your house, but this time you get a live video feed from a UAV flying at high-altitudes for weeks on end. Imagine….

These robot aircraft are not a dream, they are a quickly emerging technology that is revolutionising the way we live in our modern, information-rich, society. More importantly, their potential to provide safe low-cost airborne delivery or surveillance will have a large impact on large expansive countries such as Australia.

To promote their significance to Australia, the Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation (ARCAA) is hosting an exciting new competition called the UAV Challenge - Outback Rescue .

The purpose of this competition is to promote the fastest growing sector in the international aerospace industry and to solve some of the challenges of using them for Australian applications. Our challenge to you is to develop a UAV that can be used to conduct an outback rescue . You will show how a low-cost UAV can save lives by quickly and cost effectively finding and delivering medical supplies to people lost in the Australian outback.

This is a competition and so there are prizes. There are High-School and University/Hobbyist prizes - We even have prizes for film-makers. Interested…. Then read on

What is a UAV?

UAV is short for Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle. These are flying machines which can perform activities without actually needing human pilots. They rely on modern computers and sensors (such as the Global Positioning System) to figure out where they need to go in order to perform the tasks that the human operator has asked them to do.

UAV’s are already in use in large number by the Defence forces around the world – since they have no pilots, there are no lives to risk in combat situations; however they also have many practical civilian uses which this competition will demonstrate.

The Challenge

From 24 to 27 September 2007 the 2007 UAV Challenge - Outback Rescue will be held at Kingaroy airport in Queensland. Kingaroy is approximately 220 km’s north west of Brisbane, Queensland and is the site for a new UAV test and training centre being used by Boeing Australia and ARCAA.

Entrants in this competition will show how UAVs can be used to find people lost in the Australian Outback and to deliver emergency supplies (like a bottle of water!) - so they can survive until the rescuers arrive.

You will need to design and build a machine to do this. We also want your team to make a documentary about your efforts.

Sound hard – well it’s not supposed to be a piece of cake, but we have specifically designed the rules of the competition so that it is something that high-school students and university students/amateurs can do. Plus we are here to help out with your questions.

Most of all, we want you to learn about an exciting component of the aerospace industry; learn about teamwork and maybe set up your future career. Most importantly you’ll have a lot of fun competing with your peers.

Who can be involved?

OK - if you are a student in a Queensland High-School you can enter. Follow the links on this web-site to register [ http://www.uavoutbackchallenge.com.au/register/index.jsp ] your interest. If you are a High-School student from another state, then stand-by…. We hope to open the competition up to you guys in 2008.

If you are a university student from any institution (Australian or world-wide) or a privateer (perhaps someone who is just keen on RC aeroplanes and technology) then you can enter. Follow the links on this web-site to register your interest.

In any case we really are looking for teams of people to enter – this will be a tough competition for an individual to win – plus we really want to promote the team work aspect of this competition, as this is a very important component of working in the Aerospace industry.

Goals

The overall goal of this competition is to provide valuable experience to students and hobbyists in designing, building, testing and operating UAVs. It will also unite these groups with the professional UAV industry (they will be your judges!).

UAVs will play a major part in beating the “tyranny of distance” for Australia. The competition will help create the future workforce that will see this become a reality!