Flying robots?

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by EricH

A note where I'm coming from on safety: Safety is a top concern. I compete in the SAE Aero Design competition. (OP, you're in CA; if you want to relax the day after the L.A. Regional, come on out to the R/C field in Van Nuys and watch a few dozen teams of college students crashfly their heavy-lift planes.) At this competition, with full aircraft-designed systems and at least decent pilots, flying planes that are roughly 1/3 of the weight of an FRC robot in a wide-open space, spectators are behind a fence, which is behind a row of trees, roughly 50 feet away from the side of the runway. Any plane that looks like it's heading for the trees is ordered downed on the spot, and there are a number of other safety measures in place to prevent injury in case something goes SNAFU. FIRST doesn't have anywhere near the safety measures for full-fledged flight by the robots, IMO. (CARD has better safety measures, including netting around the field to "restrain" errant robots.)

Interesting. The International Aerial Robotics Competition (in 2007 and 2008, at least) took a different approach to safety.

Competitors were permitted to fly in much closer proximity to buildings, people and other equipment, because the challenge involved identifying and delivering payloads into a building. Nevertheless, there were certain areas designated as a restricted, and only event staff and vehicle crews were allowed in.

There were a couple interesting incidents, including the crash of a poorly-executed small helicopter UAV in proximity to a judge and its pilot.

Our 45 kg aircraft was allowed to pass almost directly over spectators at an altitude of around 50 m, after demonstrating a payload delivery pass under manual control.

All vehicles were required to be "rendered ballistic" upon command, for safety. Is that what SAE Aero Design mandates?

Originally Posted by EricH

FIRST isn't doing it, but CARD is still going--there was a thread on it revived a few hours ago. They're competing in April, IIRC.

I wonder what prompted FIRST to drop it (or the organizers to sever ties)?