Package Delivery Challenge

Update: Timeslots announced

The timeslots for each team are published on the Schedule page. The timeslots have been assigned randomly and are final. If a team misses its timeslot, a later timeslot may be given out if time permits. We urge teams to not count on this option as there are no guarantees, and the wind will be worse in the afternoon.

Package delivery challenge 

Autonomous package delivery is one of the most-awaited uses of outdoor flying drones. However, the challenges to make such drones are daunting. The drones will have to fly possibly large distances, but also need to deliver packages in tight landing spots, requiring vertical take-off and landing capabilities. This poses both challenges for design and control. Moreover, ideally, drones could take and release packages themselves, posing problems of interaction and manipulation.  

In this competition, we want teams to autonomously deliver packages to delivery locations of varying difficulty. Moreover, there is an emphasis on the design of small drones able to cover large distances, focusing on endurance and range. 

You can find the current version of the rules here.  Please note that these rules can be subject to (likely minor) changes over time, based on feedback from participating teams, etc. 

Additionally, all teams need to comply with the latest version of the safety rules:


Pre-registering for the competitions 

Each competition has a limited number of places for participating teams. Hence, if you want to participate in any of these competitions, please let us know before May 15 with a “pre-registration”.  

Pre-registration means sending an email to Email: imavsdotorg@gmail.com, including the following information: 

  • Team name 
  • Team members 
  • Affiliation (University, institute, company, or otherwise) & Country/countries 
  • Which competition(s) do you want to participate in, and what your rough plan is for the competition(s). 
  • Mention experience with past competitions 

The packages

The ArUco Markers

Each package delivery site contains an Aruco marker. The smaller the distance of the delivered package to the marker, the more points. In order to create markers that can handle a bit of rain, do not blow away and are not reflective, we opted for painting wooden panels. The result you can see below: