(Image courtesy of Institution of Mechanical Engineers.)
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) has announced their Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Challenge for 2016. This marks the second year of the contest.
The UAS Challenge brings together teams of engineering undergraduates from across various disciplines to design and build an unmanned aircraft vehicle.
The Challenge asks the teams to undertake a full design and build cycle. This cumulates in a “fly-off” competition in July.
The fly-off challenges the teams to develop their drones to transport a package as rapidly and accurately as possible. The exercise is designed as a hypothetical scenario for military or humanitarian relief delivery.
The competition gives students the opportunity to demonstrate and develop their engineering, design, manufacturing and technical skills.
“The event has been set up to give students real world engineering experience before they leave university. The competition also offers recruitment opportunities for employers,” said John Turton, chairman of the UAS Challenge.
He added that, “the Challenge helps students to learn more about practical aerospace engineering skills as well as develop connections with other like-minded students from other universities.”
“The competition directly supports the Institution's objectives of inspiring young people about engineering while raising awareness of engineering and increasing the profile of the Institution,” Turton continued.
The confirmed list of participating universities for 2016 includes teams from across the UK, as well as one team from Egypt:
- University of Surrey
- Sheffield Hallam University
- University of Bath
- Loughborough University
- University of Glasgow
- University of Nottingham
- Swansea University
- University of Manchester
- University of Southampton (four teams)
- University of Liverpool (two teams)
- University of the West of England
- University of Sheffield
- Military Technical College, Kafr El-Sheikh University and Tanta University (one team)
The event takes place at Pershore Airfield near Worcester on July 6 and 7th, 2016.
For more information, check out last year’s UAS Challenge 2015 video or visit their website.