Features Innovations UAVs
Students compete for UAV supremacy

May 7, 2014, Portage la Prairie, Man. – Eleven teams competed at
Southport near Portage la Prairie, Man. May 2-4 during the operational
phase of the 2014 Unmanned Systems Canada (USC) Student UAV Competition.

In a departure from previous competitions, the focus this year was from a
business perspective rather than the technical competitions of previous
years. Teams were presented with a series of challenges representing
real-life scenarios from the real world – patrolling a pipeline ROW,
assessing agricultural crops and assessing the size and scope of a
simulated rockslide. Instead of making a technical presentation to the
judges, teams were required to present a business proposal to potential
customers, outlining what they could do, how they would do it and
establishing deliverables.

Mother Nature added a real life wrinkle to the competition by providing
strong windy rain and a sampling of snow on the Friday and Saturday of
the competition, forcing many teams to forgo training time and pass on
the first day of competition. The third day was the charm, as Sunday
brought blue skies and sunshine with only the barest hint of a breeze.
Team VAMUdeS, from the Universite de Sherbrooke, literally flew away
with the competition as its aircraft performed flawlessly. All 11 teams
made it to the starting line, some flew very well and for others, it was
“oh well.” It may have been disappointing for some, but they are not
easily discouraged. The planning for next year is already well underway.

The Final Results

Design Phase (Phase 1) – conducted in January
1. UTAT – University of Toronto
2. Blackbird – Carleton University
3. VAMUdeS – Universite de Sherbrooke

Operational Phase (Phase 2) – Southport – May 2-4
1. VAMUdeS – Universite de Sherbrooke
2. Team Dronolab – École de technologie supérieur (ETS)
3. Team Aero – University of Victoria