Are we allowed to use ready-made frames/structures for our unmanned aircraft or do we make it from scratch? 

Answer: The rules are quite clear that airframe kits are not permissible – para 3.1.13:

“The UAS airframe and control systems shall be designed from scratch, and not based upon commercially available kits or systems.’’  The airframe and control systems design should be your own and not a copy of a commercial UAS.  We are looking for innovative ideas.

What is the cost of entering the UAS Challenge? 

Answer: The UAS Challenge fee is £850 plus VAT. This brings the fee to £1020 per team. 

The UAS airframe and control systems shall be designed from scratch, and not based upon commercially available kits or systems. This is a qualifying rule, meaning that an entrant based on a commercially available system will not be eligible for consideration. We would like to buy a flight controller which has many integrated systems. Are we allowed to use such commercially available set of hardware? 

Answer: The note in para 3.1.13 lists the type of stock components that are permissible as COTS items. We want you to design your own airframe but you are permitted to use off-the-shelf autopilots.

Does the camera count as an off shelf component that is part of the suggested budget?

Answer: Yes, the camera counts as a COTS item and should be included in your COTS budget.

The COTS products budget is set at £1000. I am aware this includes off the shelf components such as motors and batteries etc. Does this also include all material and manufacturing costs too? Is the cost of either the sandwich panel itself or the associated manufacturing costs included in this COTS budget?

Answer: The rules state that the guideline maximum value of COTS is £1,000; it is not a limit but we are looking for the best value for money (competitiveness) of the UAS. COTS, in this context, is for bought-in finished components, e.g. motors, batteries, servos, control boards, etc.  Materials that the team will be using in the manufacturing of the UAS would not be included in COTS.

Annex F specifies the structure and content of the deliverable documents.  Is this mandatory or guidance on how to cover the subject matter? 

Answer: The structure, word and page counts are mandatory.  The sections will be split up for assessment by different judges and, therefore, it is important that you clearly follow the individual section content, including the information required on the cover page.

If we acquire backup components for the build that may not be used in the final system during the flight missions, should we include it in the budget/ cost declaration?

Answer: No, you need not declare backup components in your cost budget but you may want to mention that you have taken the precaution of buying some as a risk mitigation.

Is it allowed to use Dronekit for the path planning?

Answer: Yes, but it will need to be accounted for in the COTS budget and do not forget that there are points for innovation.

Does the failsafe system need to remove power to the motors or can the failsafe system simply remove the control signals to the electronic speed controller which in turn shall prevent the motor using power (both ways will bring the motors to a standstill and the UAV to a safe glide to ground)?

Answer: The means by which you achieve the engine shut down is up to you but as this is a key safety issue you should satisfy yourself that your design is of high integrity and will operate immediately that the FTS system has been triggered either through loss of the link or commanded by the Flight Safety Officer.

In the competition document it says that the aircraft should operate on grass or hard runway surfaces. Does this mean we get to choose whether we want to launch/land on grass or asphalt runway?

Answer: You are required to be able to do either but the take-off and landing site will be chosen and designated by the Flight Safety Officer at the start of the flight demonstration event.

The rule states: “The accuracy of the marker placement shall be within 30m of nominal course”.

• Does this mean that the marker shall be within a 30m bound total or 30m either side of the UAV flight path?
  
  Answer: It is not clear what you mean by “a bound total” but the rules clearly state that the Ground Markers will lie on a straight line between waypoints within a placement accuracy within 30 m either side of this straight line.
• Will the placement of the marker be on a straight within the two waypoint or can the marker be placed a point where the UAV is required to bank?
  
  Answer: See above but they will not be placed so close to a waypoint that your vehicle will still be turning if it is following the correct course.

Could you please provide a full list of all PPE that the team will require to be compliant with your risk assessment?

Answer:  The PPE requirement will vary for each team, depending on what tooling they bring with them to use at the event, therefore, no specification will be provided by the IMechE; if we did it would state “all PPE required for the tasks to be performed”.

Teams should be advised to consult the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance for PPE at work and demonstrate to the IMechE that they have selected suitable PPE for the maintenance/manufacturing tasks they will be performing, as part of their own Safety Assessment/Risk Assessment as part of the Concept Paper, CDR and FRR deliverables and through volunteer observation of PPE usage at the event.

While the brief does provide a good idea of what the targets will look like, it is possible that the physical manifestation of these could differ on the day. Are any photos of previous targets available for reference?

Answer: The dimensions will be adhered to but the exact formation of the letter may vary. Unfortunately there are no photographs of previous year’s targets but these would not necessarily be helpful.

I assume that the characters will be hand-painted so will not be of a particular 'font'. That said, can you confirm that they will be similar to standard sans-serif fonts such as that used in the brief?

Answer: They will be handmade but will be as near as possible to the font shown in Figure A1.

Could you post an example picture of the actual target? Knowing the material and character font would allow us to fine tune the object detection system. I'm sure all the teams would benefit from having this.

Answer: No, you are only being given the approximate dimensions in the rules.

Regarding the video downlink, is the 1km range a strict requirement even if the video downlink is not essential in the operation of the UAS? Telemetry and RC will of course comply with the 1km range.

Answer:  No, you do not have to achieve a 1km range for the video downlink if it is not critical to the operation of the UAS but it must comply with EU directives and be licensed for use in the UK. All a/c are flown within Visual Line Of Sight (VLOS) rules iaw CAP722/CAP393, therefore, any video imagery is not essential for Safety of operation.

We have a sponsor who will be helping us fabricate our frame. If we have to, how do we declare the costs associated with this?

Answer: You need to clearly state what work your sponsor is doing for you. Please take particular note of the words in sections 2.6 and 3.1.15 (particularly 4th paragraph) of the Rules.

The idea of the competition is that this should be your own airframe and control system design and aside from off-the-shelf components, e.g. autopilots, batteries, motors, etc. should largely be manufactured and assembled by yourselves.
I
f it is a specialised component/assembly from your sponsor then it should be included in the COTS budget. If the sponsor is helping with specialised manufacturing equipment then it need not but should be acknowledged.

1. Is it possible for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers to help our team financially in order to cut down costs? The Institution is not able to sponsor any teams but you are eligible to apply for a Group Project Award 

If we want to add an additional member to the team (giving more than 10 people + supervisor) is this possible?

Answer: Team attendance at the Demonstration Event is currently limited to no more than 10 members per team, plus your Academic Lead or Team Supervisor.  This is because of the expected number of teams and the logistics constraints at the BMFA Buckminster site.

Can this just be anyone, for instance, someone from the team, or does this have to be someone more official, such as a university lecturer?

Answer: The team supervisor should be a university staff member.

We plan to run the 2021 competition as close to its traditional format as possible. However, we think it is likely that we will include some virtual elements, either as a direct replacement for some of the live event elements, or as an option for international teams who may still be facing travel restrictions.

These are uncertain times for us all and we are here to support and advise you along the way. We’ve given the July deadline in order for us to be able to plan accordingly for the 2021 competition. If there is a chance that your university won’t be supporting an entry into UASC2021, please ask your academic lead/ team leader to get in touch with us as soon as possible.

If you choose Option 1, your entry fee will be covered, so there will be nothing more to pay to the IMechE for enrolment into the 2021 competition.

The UAS Challenge is a year-round project, launched in September and culminating in June. The project is supported throughout its annual lifecycle by a team of permanent and contract staff in a variety of roles, as well as a large group of expert volunteers, without whom the UAS Challenge would not be possible.

As part of this year’s cycle, teams were invited to participate in the welcome seminar, Workshop hosted by Bombardier, Ask the Industry webinar and the virtual competition. Similarly, some teams took part in the mentoring scheme, which linked them directly to industry experts.

A virtual competition was provided in replacement of the face to face ‘fly off’. The opportunity to compete and be judged on a significant proportion of the programme this year was provided.

We do encourage you to take Option 1, as this effectively gives you free entry into the 2021 competition. Think of it as a “deferred refund”.

We’ve given the July deadline in order for us to plan accordingly for the 2021 competition, therefore whichever option you choose by 31 July will be final.

To encourage innovation, the Rules have been formulated in such a way that the same design cannot be reused.

Please email uaschallenge@imeche.org to confirm that you wish to go ahead with Option 2. 

Please note – we can only credit the 60% refund to the original payment method and source i.e. the same credit card or bank account used to pay your entry fee.

If you paid via credit card, we will refund directly to your card and you do not have to do anything further. 

If you paid by bank transfer (either with or without an invoice) you need to provide your bank account information as we do not store these details on file. 

To request a refund, please complete the attached excel file with your bank detail information (either UK or International). For any refund requests on behalf of Universities, you must send university’s bank details on a headed paper as proof.

Our aim is to have all refunds processed by 1 September.