3.6 Object Detection & Air Drop

UAS should be able to air drop a payload to an object of interest. As with all other mission elements, the UAS must remain above the 50’ AGL minimum altitude fence while conducting air drop.

Teams will be given four air drop objects at Setup Time. Each air drop object will be a GP908 Strobing Beacon w/ 3 AAA batteries installed. The objects weigh approximately 155g and will be labeled with an identifier for the team. An STL and pictures of the air drop object can be found for download here.

UAS may carry multiple air drop object at the same time, or they can land to pick up payloads. The UAS must refly a full waypoint lap before performing another air drop, regardless of whether the UAS lands or not.

Judges may be in the Air Drop Boundary to score the drops, and the ground may be marked to identify the 25ft drop target radius. The objects marking drop targets may be temporarily occluded while judges evaluate drops from another team and clear any debris.

3.6.1 Air Drop Boundary

The following series of GPS points form a quadrilateral polygon that represent the Air Drop Boundary specified for each runway. Each runway's Air Drop Boundary will include the ODLC objects (same for both runways).. Please refer to A. Flight Area Overview for a view of the Air Drop Boundaries on Google Maps.

Runway 1:

• 38.315386, -76.550875

• 38.315683, -76.552586

• 38.315895, -76.552519

• 38.315607, -76.550800

Runway 2:

• 38.314529, -76.545859

• 38.314731, -76.545792

• 38.314441, -76.544081

• 38.314228, -76.544156

3.6.2 Delivery Requirements

An attempted delivery is classified by any payload that is released by the UAS in flight, with no dependency on the success of the attempted delivery.

Each independent air drop payload must be no heavier than 2lbs and must not contain any ability to sustain flight (propulsion, propellers, etc.). The air drop payload must land undamaged and must be safe for humans to be present in the drop area. The payload must be safe to retrieve and safe to handle. Payloads that are delivered in freefall, with no form of retardant mechanism, will not be deemed successful. If the UAS were to drop multiple payloads at once, only the first dropped payload will be scored appropriately.

Judges must be able to safely and easily retrieve and separate the air drop object from the air drop payload to verify that it’s undamaged. Separation must not require tools or any instructions. If the judge is unable to separate the air drop object, then the drop will not count.

3.6.3 Object Detection, Classification, and Localization (ODCL)

Four objects will be scattered around the air drop boundary. Teams must detect, classify, and localize objects that represent foreign object debris (FOD) on the runway. Four objects will be chosen at random from the following list and teams will not be told which objects are present in the Air Drop Boundary.

• Person/Mannequin

• Car (>1:8 Scale Model)

• Motorcycle (>1:8 Scale Model)

• Airplane (>3m Wing Span Scale Model)

• Bus (>1:8 Scale Model)

• Boat (>1:8 Scale Model)

• Stop Sign (Flat, Upwards Facing)

• Snowboard

• Umbrella

• Sports Ball (Regulation Size Soccer Ball, Basketball, Volleyball, or Football)

• Baseball Bat

• Bed/Mattress (> Twin Size)

• Tennis Racket

• Suitcase

• Skis

3.6.4 Object Detection & Air Drop Scoring

Each of the four air drops will given points as follows - with a maximum points of 100 drops per air drop:

• Air Drop Payload Survives (Within Vicinity of Air Drop Boundary) = 20 Points

• Air Drop Payload Lands within 25' of Object = 50 Points

• Air Drop Payload Delivered to Unique Object = 30 Points

Any air drop payloads that are delivered without the UAS conducting a waypoint lap will not be counted and thus given 0 points.

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