UAV competition proves value in fighting forest fires

 As Canada continues to build acceptance for the commercial use of unmanned vehicles, the annual student competition of Unmanned Systems Canada has been a proving ground for the art of the possible. This past weekend, 10 university teams from across the country took part in the operational phase of the event, hosted by Ville d’Alma at the Centre d’excellence sur les drones in Alma, Quebec.

The teams were challenged to use a UAV to support forest fire fighting by locating targets representing points of interest in an actual scenario in the remote Canadian wilderness.

After finishing third in the design phase of the competition, Team VAMUdeS of the Université de Sherbrooke took first place. The University of Toronto finished second in both phases while Team COBRA of the University of New Brunswick, the design champions, placed third in the operational phase.

All 10 contenders, which included teams from British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, received a cash award from a prize pool of $12,000.00.

“It’s incredibly satisfying to see the rapid growth in capability that these teams bring to our annual competition,” said Eric Edwards, chairman of Unmanned Systems Canada. “We provide a safe environment where the students can fully exercise their technical creativity, and the results are just stunning. They are self-motivated, and they are the best of the best from their respective faculties.”