Aerial Drones Robotics Competition

Students gain experience with the physics of flying objects as they learn to maneuver their drones through the sky, building skills such as problem solving, organization, and collaboration. From the minute their drones first lift off, and likely immediately crash into the wall, students are encouraged to think critically: Was there an off-by-one indexing error in their code? Did they swap the drone's forward and backward propellers?

These questions and more are brought up time and again as they work through the competition's different missions:

• Autonomous Flight: Emphasizing skills in computers and programming, the drone must complete a course without continuous user input.
• Teamwork Mission: Teams pair up, making their way through a field of tasks that can't be completed without mutual participation and patience.
• Piloting Skills: Students have the chance to showcase their dexterity as they maneuver the drone around obstacles under the pressure of time.
• Communications Challenge: A written log judged on technical writing and clarity is presented in an interview on the team's work throughout the season.

Team members typically specialize in either coding or piloting, but this varies based on team dynamics and the decisions of the students.

All team members must contribute to the communications challenge logbook, including tasks such as writing, record-keeping, research, and formatting.

Note: Students are required to wear protective goggles at all times that the drone is in flight as a safety precaution.