Students win awards at national UAS competition

Engineering students have won a number of awards at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Challenge. Four teams entered the competition that took place on 6 and 7 July at Pershore Airfield in Worcester.

The Southampton Team Daedalus (Quadcoptor, led by Steve Mace who is currently serving in the Royal Navy but was seconded on the MSc in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Design Programme) took overall second place, with 372 points (from a possible 500) and were only 11 points behind the winning team from Loughborough University.

Southampton Team Saffire (Overlapping Hexrotor, led by Jon Arnarson) won the Autonomous Operations Award and Innovation Award and the Southampton Team Gryphon (Co-Axial Quad, led by Mike Emptage) won the Safety Award.

Dr Stephen Prior, Reader in Unmanned Air Vehicles, said: “All three Southampton teams represented the University with distinction. Their multi-rotor solutions proved that they were a match for the faster, but less accurate fixed-wing solutions. Winning the three awards is testament to the quality of our Unmanned Aircraft Systems Design MSc.”

The annual event encouraged teams of undergraduates to design and build a UAS with specific mission objectives from September 2015 before competing in a final ‘fly-off’ and judging earlier this week.