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At the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) 11^th annual Student Unmanned Air Systems (SUAS) Competition held at the Patuxent Naval Air Station, the Cornell University Unmanned Air Systems Team (CUAir) came in first place.

Team Lead Phillip Tischler said of the team’s win at the competition, “it was a great victory not just for the team members, but also for everyone involved - our sponsors, the Cornell community, and friends and family. Without their support, we would not be where we are today. We have been working hard all year to achieve this monumental feat, and I have no doubt the team will only improve in the coming years.”

The AUVSI is the world’s largest non-profit organization that promotes interest and advances in unmanned systems, both air and ground. In their annual SUAS competition, unmanned air vehicles developed and outfitted by student teams attempt to execute autonomous flights to locate, identify, and classify targets on the ground using on-board imaging systems, as well as perform a Simulate Remote Intelligence Center (SRIC) task, which involves connecting to a directional wifi network and obtaining mission data. The entire mission, from take-off to landing, must be completed within a 30-minute time frame.

This year, the AUVSI experienced a record number of applications for the 2013 competition. As a result, strict constraints were imposed on mission setup, mission flight, and cleanup time requirements to accommodate all teams. CUAir took to the challenge head-on and placed first Overall, first in Mission Performance, and first in Journal Paper out of over 30 teams from around the world including India, Canada, Turkey, and the United States, making CUAir the world champions.

CUAir’s plane, Hyperion, gracefully navigated various aerodynamically difficult maneuvers, and all systems performed smoothly from start to finish. In fact, CUAir was one of the few teams at the competition that created a completely custom airframe, which allowed for more flexibility in designing and building a plane to complete the competition flight.

The imaging system worked flawlessly, taking crisp pictures attached with geotagged data, as Hyperion navigated the designated search grid. All ten targets were found, four more than the next best team, and CUAir was the only team to find the off axis target. Additionally, CUAir was one of only a handful of teams to perform the SRIC task.

“It was great to see the year’s hard work culminate in such an amazing ending, and it sets the bar high for next year,” says the rising 2013-2014 Team Lead Joel Heck. “We definitely plan to keep the intensity high.”

Take a look at competition results and Team Lead Phillip Tischler's insight regarding CUAir's success here. CUAir is also in the spotlight on the Cornell Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering homepage here.

Don't forget to Like CUAir on Facebook here! Visit the CUAir website here.