Media Advisory: International student UAS competition takes off in Southern Maryland on June 25
Hundreds of university and high school students from more than 70 schools across the globe will descend on Southern Maryland to compete their self-built unmanned systems at the 22nd annual RoboNation Student Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) Competition on June 25-26 at the St. Mary’s County Regional Airport.
The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD)—the Navy’s center for aircraft development—has hosted, staffed, and judged the competition since its inception in 2002.
RoboNation’s SUAS Competition gives students an opportunity to showcase their engineering skills while fostering cooperation with the international STEM community and inspiring future aerospace talent.
This year’s unmanned obstacle course challenges the students to build an unmanned system that focuses on logistics transportation, requiring systems to travel to a recipient, identify drop locations, and safely deliver a package autonomously—all while avoiding other UAVs. Student teams who are the top achievers in technical design, flight readiness, and mission demonstration will take home up to $20,000 in cash prizes.
Navy pilots and engineers—many who are former competitors themselves—will be on site to help student teams get their systems airborne and safely navigated through the course, and Navy leaders will serve as safety officials and competition judges.
NAWCAD recruiters will also be on site to share employment opportunities with undergraduate participants. With a workforce of more than 17,000 people, NAWCAD is Southern Maryland’s largest employer, and the D.C. region’s largest source of STEM jobs.
Teams this year will join from California Polytechnic State University, Cornell University, Purdue University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, University of California at Berkley, University of Illinois, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Virginia Tech, and more. Additionally, the competition features participation from international schools across Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Italy, United Kingdom, Norway, and beyond. Meet the teams at suas-competition.org/teams.
The event is open to the public. Guests can secure a free ticket online at the RoboNation shop.
NAWCAD employs more than 17,000 military, civilian and contract personnel. It operates test ranges, laboratories and aircraft in support of test, evaluation, research, development and sustainment of everything flown by the Navy and Marine Corps. Based in Patuxent River, Maryland, the command also has major sites in St. Inigoes, Maryland, Lakehurst, New Jersey, and Orlando, Florida.
RoboNation, a nonprofit organization, is on a mission to provide hands-on robotics education, empowering students to tackle global challenges. With a portfolio of nine educational programs spanning K-12 and university levels, RoboNation cultivates the next generation of engineers, manufacturers, fabricators, programmers, and more. Participants in RoboNation programs represent the highly skilled workforce of tomorrow. Learn more at robonation.org.
International teams pose for a photo with their self-built unmanned systems on the flightline following the annual RoboNation Student Unmanned Air Systems competition in partnership with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Southern Maryland in June 2023. The engineering competition has grown to more than 70 international team participants since its inaugural event in 2002. (RoboNation photo)
Student groups prepare to launch and compete hand-built autonomous aircraft during the annual RoboNation Student Unmanned Air Systems (SUAS) competition hosted in partnership with the Naval Aircraft Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Southern Maryland, the Navy’s center for aircraft development. Each year the Navy helps RoboNation determine the competition’s challenge, which often focuses on service-relevant scenarios like logistics transportation, search and rescue, aid delivery, and more. (U.S. Navy photo)