Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group

Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group

General Information

Primary Objectives


Education


Tutorial Sessions


Design Reviews


Opportunity to

design and

develop advanced

technology


Compete in

International Aerial

Robotics Competition

(
IARC
)


Members


Almost 300 Members since 1997


From Engineering (Computer, Electrical, Systems
Design, Mechatronics, Mechanical), Math
(Computer Science, Applied Math, Actuarial
Science) Science and Arts


Contribute anywhere from 1 hr/week to 60+
hr/week


Often use WARG projects for academic credit (i.e.
4
th

year design project)


4 Levels must be completed fully
autonomously


Fly a 3km course around GPS waypoints


Search a city for a marked building and an open
window (1m x 1m)


Enter the open window, locate specific visual
information, relay it to the judges


Complete entire mission in under 15 minutes


Held annually at Fort Benning, GA


Prize is $60,000 USD and grows by
$10,000/year

IARC Requirements

Fort Benning, Georgia

2004 IARC


WARG won
First Place for 2004


Achieved fully autonomous flight across 3km GPS
course using “old fixed wing aircraft”


Won Best Technical
Paper

Past Accomplishments


Awards since 1998


Most Innovative

System Design (3x)


Most Innovative

Vehicle Design (1x)


Best Journal Paper (5x)


Best Technical

Presentation (1x)


IARC Team Comparison

Team

Estimated System
Cost ($CDN)

Level
Achieved

2004 Points
Scored

Georgia Institute of
Technology

$100,000

2

Did not
attend

University of Waterloo

$3,500

1

478.5

University of Arizona

$30,000

1

383.5

South Dakota School of
Mines and Technology

$40,000

None

333

Southern Polytechnic State
University

$20,000

None

312

Simon Fraser University

$4,000

None

53

“Old Fixed Wing Aircraft”


This plane achieved level 1

behavior in 2004


Designed as a low budget

custom UAV


Costs less than $3500 CDN


Custom microcontroller PCB, Operating System,
autopilot, analog sensors and other misc. items all
designed by students


Our competitors pay between $20,000 and $50,000
US for similar systems

Fixed Wing Aircraft




Specifications:


Wingspan: 4m


Length: 3m


Speed: 40kph
–

90kph


Flight Duration: 50min


Max Takeoff Weight: 50lbs

Fixed Wing Aircraft

Fixed Wing Aircraft
Construction

Vision System




Stereo Vision Processing


Locate symbols and windows


Provide depth perception


4
th

Year Projects


Programming Competition

Autonomous Parachute


Dropped from
airplane


Must autonomously
navigate itself
through a 1m by 1m
window


GPS/INS used first


Visual information
used to “home in” on
window

Ground Vehicle “The Bug”


Deployed by parachute


Searches the interior of the building

Special Thanks

to our Sponsors