The competition, now in its fourth year, is a year-long project where teams are challenged to design, build and operate an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) that could be used in a humanitarian aid mission 鈥 completing a series of tasks such as waypoint navigation (following a route towards a specific mark), location search and accurate delivery of an aid package.
Taking part in the UAS challenge provides students with an excellent opportunity to bridge the gap between education and industry.
Peter Finegold
Head of Education Policy at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Twenty-one teams took part in the 2018 Challenge, with students coming from across the UK as well as from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey. Project HEX, from the University of 葫芦影业, was pleased to be competing amongst them and not for the first time.
As Andreas Mertzios, Project HEX team captain and MEng Mechanical Engineering student explains:
鈥淭his is the third time Project HEX has taken part in the UAS Challenge and, as the name suggests, it has been a challenge, but that鈥檚 the most rewarding part!
鈥淥ur aircraft was a hexacopter - hence the team name - and our aircraft consisted mainly of carbon fibre and 3D-printed parts.
鈥3D printing was chosen as our main manufacturing process as it provides huge flexibility on geometries of the parts and rapid prototyping. This became particularly important as we had a major crash whilst testing two weeks before competition. The design and manufacturing process meant we were able to rebuild as well as undertake further flight tests in time for the final fly-off event.鈥
The 鈥榝ly-off鈥 took place over two days in June at the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre in Wales and was sponsored by Qinetiq and GKN Aerospace. Alongside the operating tasks, the commercial viability of each project was also tested with a Dragons鈥 Den style pitch to a panel of judges.
Peter Finegold, Head of Education Policy at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said:
鈥淭aking part in the UAS challenge provides students with an excellent opportunity to bridge the gap between education and industry.
鈥淪tudents are involved in an engineering project which brings theoretical knowledge to life and encourages authentic work experiences such as working in teams, to deadlines and solving real problems as they arise.鈥
After two days of intense competition, Team Hedef from Istanbul Technical University in Turkey were crowned grand champions followed by the University of Southampton in the runner up position.
And although Team Project HEX didn鈥檛 come away with an award, the team gained invaluable experience that will support their development as engineers.
鈥淏eing involved in the project whilst keeping up with coursework can really test your ability to work under pressure,鈥 added Andreas.
鈥淏ut we鈥檝e all gained so much from taking part and I have personally enjoyed every single moment - even the drawbacks and when things don鈥檛 go as planned as they make sure you鈥檙e always learning.鈥
Congratulations Team Project HEX!