It's one thing to fly a drone around in your backyard, but it's quite another to race one through obstacles wearing FPV goggles as part of a team in a competition like this one! Starting this year, CNY Drones will hold a themed team STEM drone challenge and this year's inauguration event is called 'Rig Rescue' and will be held at SUNY Poly on well, Tax Deadline Day! Let's set the stage:

Imagine that a a fire has broken out on an off-shore oil drilling platform (Deepwater Horizon anyone?) You and your drone team have been dispatched during inclement weather to help retrieve sensitive data from computers and rescue anyone still trapped on the rig.

Racing drones chasing in the sky
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Here's some of the tasks that each time will compete on for this mock rescue drill:

  • Navigate an air corridor and obstacles
  • Assess the situation & take photos of key issues
  • Activate a fire suppression system
  • Land on the oil rig platform in 1 of 2 locations
  • Retrieve a hard drive within the rig structure
  • Secure a crane
  • Toss out flotation devices to those in the water
  • Rescue survivors in the water
  • Return to a moving rescue ship

Competition is open to all drone teams whether official or pick-up with between 2-5 racers and aged 11 and up. So, get some friends together as only 10 teams are competing and half of the field is already full!

Grab more info at CNYDrones.org and they also do drone birthday parties (who knew?) and other racing events throughout the year too. More to come!

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