flight About SAEISS Drone Development Challenge (DDC)2024-25

The purpose of the SAEISS Drone Development Challenge (DDC)2024-25 is to promote and develop Indian expertise and experience in unmanned systems technologies at the university and college levels. Even small scale unmanned vehicles are complex systems requiring a well planned and executed design approach. In addition, safety considerations are important factors in this competition as in any other vehicle design project. Read more..

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  • The competition is intended to provide Bachelor / Master / Diploma students with a real-life engineering challenge. It has been designed to provide exposure to the kinds of situations that engineers face in their real-life work environment. Each team is required to conceive, design and develop a prototype of fixed wing UAV meeting the mission requirements. First and foremost a design competition, students will find themselves performing trade studies and making compromises to arrive at a design solution that will optimally meet the mission requirements while still conforming to the configuration limitations.

  • The importance of interpersonal communication skills is sometimes overlooked, yet both written and oral communication skills are vital in the engineering workplace. To help teams develop these skills, a high percentage of a team's score is devoted to the design report and the oral presentation required in the competition.

  • SAEISS Aero Design features two classes of competition - Regular and Micro. Regular Class continues to be the class with the purpose to develop the fundamental understanding of flight and the goal is to lift as much payload as possible. Micro Class teams are required to make trades between two potentially conflicting requirements, carrying the highest payload fraction possible, while simultaneously pursuing the lowest empty weight possible.

  • The Competition also provides multiple opportunities for teams from all over India to showcase the extraordinary talents of engineering students while encouraging them to develop innovative ideas towards development of improved systems for UAVs.

  • There are two parts to each competition, each with their own series of events. These parts are known as Static and Dynamic Events. The events award the team points towards a grand total. The team with the greatest total wins the competition overall. Some events, such as tech inspection, award no points but are required in order to proceed to other events for safety reasons.

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  • question_answerFAQ's
    • question_answerWho conduct this event?

      SAEIndia Southern Section is a non-profit organization conducts Drone Development Challenge(Formerly Known as AERODESIGN CHALLANGE) every year for the students to provide an opportunity towards designing methodology and hands on fabrication experience on Fixed Wing RC Planes.

    • question_answerWho can participate?

      Students who are enrolled in Bachelor/Master/Diploma degree can participate in this competition. All the participants and mentors should be members of SAE India.

    • question_answerWhat are the benefits?
      • - During the workshop, each team will be given hands-on training on RC model fabrication
      • - One member from each team will be provided RC Pilot training
      • - During the competition, the team will be judged by Scientist and Industrial Experts (National Laboratories and Aerospace Companies)
      • - Able to connect with UAV Experts
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    • question_answerAre there additional charges for the above training?

      All the above training is included in the registration fee and there is no additional charge. However, food, accommodation, and travel must be borne by the participant. 

    • question_answerWhere will the workshop/training will be conducted and when?

      Workshop date, venue will be announced once all the teams are registered in your web portal

    • question_answerWhat is the minimum and maximum size of team size?

      There is no minimum size/member to register for a team. The maximum team size is limited to 10 members. However, we suggest a team have the maximum number as this will provide you an opportunity to experience teamwork and manage the budget effectively.

    • question_answerHow much is the Prize money?

      Cash prize worth 4.1 lakhs will be awarded to teams based on the performance in each category

    • question_answerWhich one to Participate Micro or Regular?

      The design and fabrication of both the category vehicle are the same. Micro (MCA) category represents planes less than 2kg and if you are a beginner venturing into RC plane fabrication for the first time then the Micro (MCA) category will be more suitable. Regular (RCA) category represents planes less than 5kg in weight. It is more challenging to build and fly. 

    • question_answerWhat is the registration Fee?

      The registration Fee is Rs. 22,000/team + 18% GST = Rs. 25,960

    • question_answerHow to Register?
      1. The payment proof has to be uploaded in http://adc.saeiss.org/auth/register.php along with details of team captain and Faculty. 
      2. Once the payment proof is verified you will receive a mail along with login credentials. 
      3. You then you those login credentials to login to your account. You can enter your team member details there.
      4. Your team ID will be available in your login page.
    • question_answerWill the event happen in the pandemic situation?

      Yes. We are planning to have all the events offline. However, if there are any changes in the mode of the training and conduct of the final event due to unprecedented situation like COVID’19, all registered teams will be informed well in advance about the changes if any, based on government’s decision and regulations. Changes will be updated regularly on the ADC website as well.

    • question_answerWhom to contact in case of additional information is required?

      If you need addition information for registration and more information above the event Drone Development Challenge 2023 (formerly AERO DESIGN CHALLENGE) you can always write to adc@saeiss.org
       


       

    • question_answerDefinitions

      What is a Drone?
       

      A drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system. It is essentially a flying robot this is controlled remotely or can fly autonomously with software-controlled flight plans embedded in its system that work in conjunction with sensors and a global positioning system (GPS). Drones are of different types and sizes and are used for a variety of purposes.

      Types of Drones

      Here’s a rundown of the four main types of drones, their uses, their strengths and weaknesses:

      1. Multi-Rotor Drones
      2. Fixed-Wing Drones
      3. Single-Rotor Drones
      4. Fixed-Wing Hybrid VTOL
    • question_answerWhat is Difference between AERO DESIGN CHALLENGE (ADC)2022 & DRONE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE (DDC)2023?

      DRONE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE (DDC)2023 is same as AERO DESIGN CHALLENGE 2022
       

      The same fixed wing competition with two classes- Micro and Regular. However there may be some changes in the rules. 

    • question_answerWorkshop details

      5 Members maximum per team OR 2 members minimum per team allowed for the workshop . One team allowed to attend one workshop only 

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