Student team rises above technical obstacles
July 22, 2009
STARKVILLE, Miss. – A Mississippi State student team earned its second highest finish in team history, despite encountering technical difficulties during an unmanned flight competition.
The 14-member X-ipiter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Team placed fifth overall and second in oral presentation during the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Seventh Annual Student Unmanned Systems Competition. Marking its sixth year to compete, this year’s result is second only to the team’s first place honors from last year.
The competition challenges teams to design and build a remote controlled aircraft capable of autonomous flight. After months of development, the vehicles must complete a mission to locate and identify targets hidden on an airfield. This year’s event was held at Webster Field in St. Inigoes, Md.
“As returning champions, our plane attracted a lot of attention. But when we began our flight mission our video did not work. We took a timeout to try to fix the problem but were unsuccessful,” explained Wade Spurlock, team lead.
This was not the team’s first time to experience technical difficulties during competition. Two years ago, after a last minute crash clipped the team’s wings, X-ipiter still placed eighth by intercepting other teams’ signals, earning the competition’s first “Best Use of Intel” award. Learning from the past, other teams now encrypt their data during transmission.
“Practicing in Starkville definitely helped us prepare for the pressure. Unfortunately, you can’t foresee everything,” Spurlock said.
Both the airframe and avionics divisions of the team experienced setbacks throughout the year due to design and monetary challenges, but Spurlock explained that help from sponsors and the team’s dedication helped keep X-ipiter in a good position leading up to the competition.
“Our team worked really well together.” Spurlock said. “Next year will be difficult since we will lose many experienced team members. We haven’t started planning yet, but our initial goal will be to recruit new members, so we can continue our competition success.”
With more than 1,400 member companies and organizations in 50 countries, AUVSI is considered the world’s largest non-profit organization devoted exclusively to advancing the unmanned systems community. Headquartered in Arlington, Va., the organization represents professionals in government, industry and academia.
The interdisciplinary X-ipiter team is co-advised by Calvin Walker, a senior flight test engineer at Raspet Flight Center, and Dr. Randy Follett, an assistant professor in the electrical and computer engineering department.
X-ipiter team members by hometown:
ARLINGTON, Tenn. – Ben Nesbit, a sophomore in aerospace engineering.
BAXTON, Miss. – Sam Dollar, a sophomore in aerospace engineering.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Travis Cope, a junior in aerospace engineering.
CALEDONIA, Miss. – Jared Gates, a sophomore in aerospace engineering.
ELLISVILLE, Miss. – Chris Brown, a graduate student in electrical engineering.
GERMANTOWN, Tenn. – Chris Edwards, a graduate student in electrical engineering.
HAMILTON, Miss. – Daniel Wilson, a senior in aerospace engineering.
HAMILTON, Ohio – Savannah Ponder, a May graduate in aerospace engineering.
HOUSTON, Texas – Evan Bellis, a freshman in mechanical engineering.
OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. – Melissa Lyons, a graduate student in counselor education.
RICHLAND, Miss. – Willard (Trace) Turner, a sophomore in aerospace engineering.
SLIDELL, La. – Rebecca Owens, a senior in computer engineering.
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Aerospace engineering senior Wade Spurlock, team lead.
STERLINGTON, La. – Eric Hill, a sophomore aerospace engineering major.