Today, the organizers of the 2014 AUVSI Drone Prize (www.droneprize.com) announced the three teams of finalists who will be traveling to Oregon on August 22, 23 & 24 to participate in a series of competitions that will determine the overall winner of the prize.
The prize was created by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (www.auvsi.org) to encourage enthusiasts and non-profit organizations to demonstrate beneficial applications for hobby-level Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), commonly known as “drones.”
The three finalists selected by the judging panel are:
“Three Chicks and a Drone”
Environmental scientist Pat Welle, along with her friends Veronica and Deb, is working with the Scappoose Bay Watershed Council, using a hobby multirotor equipped with a high-definition video camera to document Duck Lake and the surrounding environment, with the goal of enhancing wetlands in the area. You can learn more about their project by watching their video submission to the competition, here:
“Furman University”
John R. Conrad, Mike Winiski and Taylor DeLench of Furman University utilized a hobby multirotor equipped with a high-definition video camera to plot the location of functioning streetlights in the Washington Heights and Poe Mill neighborhoods of Greenville, South Carolina. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, the team was able to explore the relationship between nighttime illumination and crime. You can learn more about their project by watching their video submission to the competition, here:
“Grady 3G UAV Team”
Gardner Chambliss is a volunteer mentor to the Grady High School Robotics Team in Atlanta, Georgia. With his support and guidance, the students have participated in a series of demonstrations and projects, including working with law enforcement to study the potential use of drones in tactical situations such as bomb disposal and presenting to the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers. You can learn more about their project by watching their video submission to the competition, here:
On Friday, August 22, representative of all three teams will participate in an Aerial Robotics Innovation Day in Bend, Oregon – a hotbed for the emerging SUAS industry – sponsored by Intel (www.intel.com). For additional information about this event, follow this link:
http://www.soaroregon.com/innovation-day/
The final competition will be held the following day – Saturday, August 23 – on a drone test range designated by the Federal Aviation Administration, under the auspices of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (www.modelaircraft.org) safety program. The event concludes on Sunday, August 24, with an awards ceremony and celebration in Portland, Oregon.
