FLCC Team Places First in UAV Competition for Third Year in a Row

The team's demonstration of an unmanned aerial vehicle had three perfect runs.

The FLCC team won first place for the third consecutive year in the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Competition, sponsored by the New York State Two-Year Engineering Science Association (TYESA).

The event took place on April 26 at Monroe Community College, where seven teams from five community colleges, including Finger Lakes CC, Broome CC, Hudson Valley CC, Borough of Manhattan CC, and Monroe CC, participated in the competition.

The objective of the competition was to design, build, and pilot an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to transport a small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) through obstacle gates. The UAV must be able to maneuver around and through obstacles, change altitude, carry and deposit the UGV to the proper drop zone, and then navigate back to the starting zone. The UGV must detach from the UAV using an autonomous onboard detachment mechanism and then autonomously drive to a different location after delivery. This project simulates a rescue mission where human navigation is dangerous and aerial navigation is partially difficult.

Student-made UAV and UGV with a first-place plaque (2024).

Teams were evaluated based on their poster presentation and mission demonstrations. FLCC’s team, named Sawney and Beane, was part of the Engineering & Technology Club based at Victor Campus Center. Its members were Theodosios Pierce (team captain and pilot), Gabriel de Souza (pilot), Olivia Smith, Winter Lenhard (pilot), and Dylan Begy. Joshua Bell was the team coach.

This year was FLCC’s seventh year participating in this annual competition. The team’s poster presentation was considered one of the best among the participating teams, and their mission demonstration included three perfect runs.

FLCC UAVs and UGVs from the last three years with first-place plaques.