We are very pleased to announce that we have received 38 team registrations for the 2016 Airborne Delivery Challenge. This is a record for the UAV Challenge! The Airborne Delivery Challenge is open to high-school aged students from around the world. Only the top twenty teams will qualify, and their technical report and video is due on August 18. We can’t wait to read all the entries. The teams that have registered are from Australia, USA, China, Puerto Rico, Egypt, India and Pakistan. The event will take place in Calvert, near Ipswich Queensland September 20-21.

The UAV Challenge is pleased to announce that the Western Downs Regional Council is a Bronze Sponsor of the 2016 UAV Challenge. The 2016 Medical Express event will be held close to the Western Downs town of Dalby. The Western Downs region is located three hours drive west of Brisbane. It is a region rich with agricultural heritage and industry, manufacturing and resource industries. The region is also home to a number of iconic attractions and destinations, hosting vibrant and distinct festivals that capture our living history and country ambience. It is great to have the council supporting the first Medical Express event.

The UAV Challenge is delighted to announce that MathWorks is a Silver Sponsor of the 2016 UAV Challenge. MathWorks has been a frequent sponsor of the UAV Challenge events over the past ten years. MathWorks is the leading developer of mathematical computing software. MATLAB, the language of technical computing, is a programming environment for algorithm development, data analysis, visualisation, and numeric computation. Simulink is a graphical environment for simulation and Model-Based Design of multidomain dynamic and embedded systems. Engineers and scientists worldwide rely on these product families to accelerate the pace of discovery, innovation, and development in automotive, aerospace, electronics, financial services, biotech-pharmaceutical, and other industries. MathWorks products are also fundamental teaching and research tools in the world’s universities and learning institutions. Founded in 1984, MathWorks employs more than 3000 people in 15 countries, with headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, USA.

The UAV Challenge is excited to announce that Little Ripper Lifesaver is a Silver Sponsor of the 2016 UAV Challenge. Little Ripper Lifesaver Pty Ltd is a special purpose company specifically established to deploy state of the art UAVs and related vision and sensing technologies to materially enhance and broaden existing search and rescue services in the saving of lives. In the testing and development of these breakthrough technologies, little Ripper Lifesaver has received generous sponsorship support from the Westpac Banking Corporation. It has also developed collaborative partnerships with a range of leaders in this sector, including Telstra, Intel, Surf Life Saving NSW, University of Technology Sydney, SOS Marine, Schiller Australia, Shark Shield, and Precision Autonomy.

The UAV Challenge Medical Express event is now less than four months away. There are currently 22 teams left in the competition and who we hope are carefully testing their aircraft. The recent Deliverable 2 decisions saw teams from nine countries qualify for the final Go/No-go decision point of the UAV Challenge. These teams come from the following countries: Australia (10), India (3) , USA (2), Poland (2) , Singapore (1), The Netherlands (1), Canada (1) , Thailand (1) and France (1). Did you know that since the UAV Challenge began in 2007 over 2,000 people have taken part.

The organisers of the UAV Challenge are delighted to announce that the Australian Robotics and Automation Association (ARAA) are a Bronze Sponsor of the UAV Challenge 2016.

The Australian Robotics and Automation Association Inc. is a professional society in Australia and New Zealand that is concerned with robots, their applications and their implications, and related automation technologies. The Association organises conferences and other meetings, and serves as a focal point for Australian industry and researchers concerned with robotics and automation. You can find out more about the ARAA from their website.

Lockheed Martin representatives with Aviation High Airborne Delivery Challenge team in 2012

Lockheed Martin has been announced today as a sponsor for the 2016 UAV Challenge, furthering their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) support for the next generation of innovators. The UAV Challenge is a global competition that aims to inspire and harness the ingenuity and passion of enthusiasts, high-school and university students from around the world to develop novel and cost-effective solutions to real-world problems.

UAV Challenge co-founder Professor Jonathan Roberts, a QUT robotics expert with the Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation, welcomed Lockheed Martin’s involvement.

“Lockheed Martin has more than 100 years of experience in developing exciting new aircraft, and to have them on board as a platinum sponsor of the UAV Challenge is fantastic,” Professor Roberts said.

“The UAV Challenge was created to inspire and educate young people in STEM for real world applications such as search and rescue and medical delivery.”

Lockheed Martin Australia & New Zealand Chief Executive, Raydon Gates, said the event provides Australian students with a real-world opportunity to explore the possibilities of where a STEM career could lead them.

“Our future success as an advanced technology innovator depends on the constant supply of highly trained, highly motivated and highly capable technical talent. By supporting events like the UAV Challenge we are helping to inspire the next generation to pursue STEM careers by showing today’s students how exciting and rewarding these jobs can be,” Mr Gates said.

The UAV Challenge runs as a series of events over a two-year cycle, and is open to high school students, universities and enthusiasts from around the world.

The 2016 events comprise:

The Airborne Delivery Challenge (September 20-22, 2016), involving high-school students responding to a hypothetical emergency situation that necessitates their delivering a life-saving medicine to @Outback_Joe, and

The Medical Express Challenge (September 27-30, 2016), where entrants (enthusiasts and university students) must retrieve a medical sample from a hypothetically stranded farmer (@Outback_Joe) who’s been cut off by flood waters and urgently needs some medical analysis to be conducted.

With the recent Deliverable 2 decisions for the Medical Express Challenge, there are 22 teams who have received a “Go” decision and continue to the Deliverable 3 checkpoint. These teams come from the following countries, epitomising the international reach of the UAV Challenge competition: Australia (10), India (3) , USA (2), Poland (2) , Singapore (1), The Netherlands (1) , Canada (1) , Thailand (1) and France (1).

About Lockheed Martin Australia

Headquartered in Canberra, Lockheed Martin Australia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation. The company employs more than 1,000 people in Australia and New Zealand working on a wide range of major programmes spanning the aerospace, defence and civil sectors.

About the UAV Challenge

The UAV Challenge is a global UAV competition that is co-organised by QUT|ARCAA and DATA61|CSIRO. In its tenth year of running, the competition has seen 355 teams compete, with more than 2000 team members in that time. It has greatly influenced the development of three of the most widely used low-cost autopilots (APM:Plane, PX4 and Paparazzi), and encouraged the development and commercialization of components such as the RFD900 communications modem and the Millswood Engineering failsafe flight termination device.

Media contacts

• Michelle Scully, Lockheed Martin Communications +61-448-032-387
• Rose Trapnell, QUT Media Team Leader +61-7-3138-2361 or +61-407-585-901

The UAV Challenge Technical Committee has reviewed the Deliverable 2 documents and videos and today have sent their decisions to the teams. Twenty-five teams submitted D2s. Of those, 10 were given a “Go” decision and continue to the Deliverable 3 checkpoint. Another 13 teams were given an “Improve and resubmit” decision and if their resubmissions (due in two weeks) are acceptable they will also continue on. Finally, two teams were given “No-go” decisions. The Technical Committee are excited by the proposed mission solutions that they reviewed and look forward to receiving Deliverable 3 documents on August 10. Good luck to the remaining teams as they continue their development and testing.

Due to the tremendous success of the recently launched SF11/C, LightWare Optoelectronics now offers this product as part of their equipment sponsorship of the 2016 UAV Challenge Medical Express.

Contestants successfully passing Deliverable 2 can now choose between the faster SF10/B (32 Hz, 50 m) or the longer range SF11/C (16 Hz, 120 m).

“The SF11/C’s adoption by the market has been phenomenal and we’ve had fantastic market feedback from users.” Says James Portman, CEO of LightWare. “We hope participating teams will benefit from this remarkable product in their quest to save Outback Joe.”

LightWare is sponsoring twenty laser rangefinders, one to each of the first twenty teams successfully passing the Deliverable 2 gate. First-come, first-served: eligible teams must email LightWare directly to claim their rangefinder after May 1st 00:00 UTC.

LightWare wishes all participating teams the best for this challenging event.

Email: info@lightware.co.za Web: www.lightware.co.za Phone: +27 12 942 0408

Version 2 of the Airborne Delivery Challenge 2016 have just been released. Please check the High-School Page for details and a link to the new rules. The changes relate to the announcement of the Impact Monitor (the medical package) that teams will use during the competition. A new Page has also been created that will be updated as more details of the package and the package loan scheme are announced.