Student team soars to competition success
July 10, 2008
STARKVILLE, Miss- Students in the Bagley College of Engineering (BCoE) illustrated how high an interdisciplinary team can soar by taking top honors in a national unmanned aerial system (UAS) competition.
Sponsored by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the competition pitted MSU’s 17-member team X-ipiter against students from 13 other universities. In addition to an oral presentation and journal paper submission, each team flew an autonomous mission to acquire the location and description of various targets.
“Competing with an uninhabited aerial system requires precise performance from an interdisciplinary team,” explained Dr. Anthony Vizzini, head of the aerospace engineering department. “The UAS team has demonstrated the excellence that we have come to expect from our students. They are ambassadors who exemplify the quality of the programs and students at MSU.”
The first place finish earned the team over $10,000 in prize money while its performance netted numerous other honors. The team also was recognized for the best flight, and scored second in the journal paper and oral presentation competitions. The total score for team X-ipiter was the highest number of points posted by any team in the six-year history of the competition.
Although many teams compete with planes built from kits, MSU’s “Xawk X-2C” features an original design that was developed, built, tested, and automated by BCoE students.
“I feel our interdisciplinary team, with classifications ranging from freshmen to graduate students, really gives us an edge. Coming together and creating a product like this team did is similar to what you would see at any company,” said Calvin Walker, the team co-adviser. “This competition is an invaluable learning experience for students.”
This was MSU’s fifth time to enter the competition. Team X-ipiter finished eighth in last year’s event despite not being able to actually fly the mission. The precursor to “Xawk X-2C” crashed just days before the competition rendering it unserviceable, however that experience left a lasting impression with the team members giving them an even stronger drive to succeed this year.
“This team’s performance is really a testimony to the hard work and good decisions made by team members over their five years of involvement in the competition,” explained Dr. Randy Follett, the team’s co-adviser. “They have incrementally improved not only their entry into the competition, but the individuals and the team as a whole, which naturally led to them winning the overall competition this year.”
Team captain Chris Edwards added, “We began preparing for this year’s competition almost immediately after the last one. Everyone knew what needed to be done in order to succeed at the competition and we really pulled together to meet those goals.”
For more information about team X-ipiter and the student UAS competition please contact Calvin Walker.