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Thirteen university student teams from across Canada competed in the flying phase of the ninth Unmanned Systems Canada UAS Student Competition hosted by Centre d’Excellence sur les Drones (CED) in Alma Que., from April 28 to 30.
Congratulations to the winner, University of Toronto–UAV Division. The purpose of this annual competition is to promote and develop Canadian expertise, innovation and experience in unmanned systems technologies at the university and college levels.
This year’s wildlife monitoring scenario tasked the teams to census and locate nests of three different types of geese in the remote Canadian wilderness. The special challenge this year was that the unmanned aerial system (UAS) was required to extract eggs from the nests to allow wildlife biologists to test the eggs for levels of pesticides.
This phase was preceded by a design phase for which submissions and winners were announced earlier this year. Unmanned Systems Canada congratulated all participating teams for their ingenuity, dedication and their respective institutions for the support given to their endeavors.
Phase 1: Design Phase Results
- First place: University of Toronto–Aerial Robotics Division;
- Second place: University of Toronto–UAV Division;
- Third place: Université de Sherbrooke–VAMUdeS
Phase 2: Flying Phase Results
- First place: University of Toronto–UAV Division;
- Second place: Ryerson University–Team RUAV;
- Third place: École de technologie supérieure–Team Dronolab.
To recognize innovation, perseverance and a healthy competitive spirit, prizes recognizing those attributes were awarded. Unmanned Systems Canada said it is grateful for the participation of industry sponsors acting as judges to select the winners.
Innovation prize: École de Technologie Supérieure–Team Dronolab, who custom-designed a robust modular system, easy to maintain, with the ability to integrate various payload components.
Pip Rudkin Memorial Award for Perseverance: University of British Columbia–UAS. The team came prepared for adversity by bringing their UAS from last year. When both of their UAS became unserviceable they made extensive modifications to the spare one and were able to get good data.
Judges Award for professionalism: University of Toronto–Aerial Robotics Division. The team conducted itself with professional standards, demonstrating excellent communication skills, a plan for every step including the use of checklists.
Cash prizes were awarded for Phase 1 and 2 in excess of $20,000 at the awards banquet held on the evening of April 30.
According to Mark Aruja, chairman of Unmanned Systems Canada: “This competition is a world class event and amongst the most complex engineering competitions where the teams are required to respond to a customers requirements as they will in their industrial careers. We continue to see the best and brightest of our university students drawn to the innovations possible with unmanned aerial systems, and testing their skills in ever demanding scenarios. Once again I was impressed with how teams responded with novel solutions to the scenario that we presented to them and how they dealt with the chilly and windy conditions.”
This event is organized by a committee of volunteers including global leaders in the development and application of UAS systems, including wildlife biologists and aerospace engineers and former competitors now in industry.
The competition rotates its location annually between Alma, Que., and Southport, Man., In 2018, Southport, Man., will host the 10th annual competition that raises the bar once again to attract the best and brightest in Canada to developing technical solutions to some of society’s greatest challenges.
Unmanned Systems Canada said the competition could not take place without the generous support of its sponsors.
2017 Phase 2 Competition Teams
Carleton University–Blackbird;
Concordia University–UAV;
École de technologie supérieure–Dronolab;
McGill University–Aero McGill Drones;
Ryerson University–RUAV;
Simon Fraser University–Guardian;
University of Calgary–Schulich UAV;
University of British Columbia–UAS;
Université de Sherbrooke–VAMUdeS;
University of Toronto–AeRo;
University of Toronto–UAV;
University of Waterloo–WARG; and
University of Windsor–UWINg.
