Manipal: MIT students shine in US drone competition
- The team participated in AUVSI SUAS – 2022 (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Student Unmanned Aerial Systems – 2022) held at St. Mary’s, Maryland, USA
- Project MANAS achieved overall 18th Rank amongst 71 teams competing across the globe
- They were ranked 2nd in Flight Readiness Review Rank
Manipal July 08, 2022: Project MANAS, a Students’ Major Project Team at MIT, MAHE, specializing in AI and Robotics, bagged an overall rank of 18th amongst 71 teams competing across the globe in the event AUVSI SUAS – 2022 (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Student Unmanned Aerial Systems – 2022) held at St. Mary’s, Maryland, USA. The event was held during June 15-18.
AUVSI SUAS, held annually since 2002, requires students to design, integrate, report on, and demonstrate an Unmanned Aerial system i.e. a Drone, capable of autonomous flight and navigation, remote sensing via onboard payload sensors, and execution of a specific set of tasks.
With this being their first attempt at the competition, Project MANAS completed the mission demonstration, and their performance was highly appreciated by the competition authorities and judges. Project MANAS achieved 2nd Rank in Flight Readiness Review, 18th Rank in Mission Demonstration and 10th Rank in Technical Design Report.
The 6 feet wide Unmanned Aerial System (Drone) developed by the team carried out the entire mission in autonomous mode, i.e., without human intervention. Radio Frequency Device (RFD) was used to navigate the flight of Drone, only in the manual mode. This was their mission task at the event.
Lt. Gen (Dr)MD Venkatesh, Vice Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education lauded the students for their achievement.
“We are extremely proud and delighted of Project MANAS team’s accomplishment. Their efforts in completing the mission demonstration and achieving 18th rank globally are testament of their talent and commitment” he said.
Cdr. (Dr.) Anil Rana, Director, Manipal Institute of Technology, MAHE said that Project MANAS and its members have showcased Indian talent at a global stage in the field of AI and Robotics.
“We are happy that they got an excellent learning experience at the event, where they got to learn and apply knowledge in the fields of AI, Image processing, Mechanical Design, Power electronics, Control theory etc. With their dedication and perseverance, we are sure they will shine in AUVSI SUAS 2023 as well,” he added.
