The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones was once limited to the defense industry. Today, drones are sailing everywhere! Anyone in the commercial or private sectors can pick up an off-the-shelf drone or manufacture one with readily available resources.
With this in mind, we've decided to pit our application engineers and technical teams against each other in the first ever TriMech Drone Wars. Let the games begin!
Background
In 2015, the first U.S. National Drone Racing competition was held for enthusiasts of all backgrounds. 3D printing has played an important role in this, enabling hobbyists to get involved. In fact, many of the drones at the U.S. National Drone Racing competition were modified with 3D printed parts or entirely 3D printed.
When people think of drones, they typically imagine the standard quadcopter. However, there are only two real specifications that define a drone:
- It must be unmanned
- It needs the ability to fly
TriMech Drone Wars
Over the next 10 weeks, four teams will study, design and improve an off-the-shelf drone (see below). The drone wars will culminate with all teams meeting at our Richmond headquarters to go head-to-head in competition.
The competition will consist of the following challenges:
- A race
- A precision test where the drone has to fly directly over three locations
- A payload test
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| "The Drone" | |
For each phase, teams will document their methods and share progress with followers across the country!
5 Phase Drone Design Competition
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PHASE 1: Teams are delivered an off-the-shelf drone to model and run a FEA study |
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PHASE 2: Re-design/modifications | |
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PHASE 3: Performance testing | |
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PHASE 4: Final re-design | |
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PHASE 5: Competition |
In addition to above criteria, we will equally weigh the following:
- Aesthetics
- Quality of technical content
- Teamwork
The newly designed drone must contain 3D printed parts and no more than $250 in modifications. Click here to see how Drone Wars Week 1: Part 1 went.
